ID 
Choice Ferns for Amateurs. 
form; wliile F, hiaurita iieinoralis variegata and 
P. qnodriaiirifa tricolor are alike distinctive and 
beautiful. Of variegated Maidenhairs we have 
Adiantum formosnrn variegatuin and A. macroyJiyl- 
lum striatum; while distinctly lovely is the Japanese 
Neplirodium Otaria variegattim, a very popular sub- 
ject because of its robust constitution, a characteristic 
Fig. 7. A noteworthy example of Crested Ferns originally 
found growing at Tramore, Waterford— Asplenium Adian^ 
tum=nigrum grandiceps. The fronds are from Sin. to 1ft. 
long, and lin. to IJ^in. broad. 
not often associated with variegated plants. " Spot- 
ting rather than variegation, as ordinarily under- 
stood, must be applied to the very distinctive Gymiio- 
gramrne Muelleri and the leathery foliaged Nephro- 
dium albo-punctatum. 
Crested Ferns (Fig. 7), by some regarded as mon- 
strosities, are extremely numerous. To the botanist 
cristation is a most interesting variation from the 
normal; while to the cultivator the variety it pro- 
vides is infinite. Sometimes the whole extremity 
of the frond may be so sub-divided as to form a tassel- 
