1 54 
E uropean Ferns. 
the dose of the eighteenth century, its remedial value was brought forward both in Frussia 
and France : in the former country by a Swiss apothecary named Mathieu, whose treatment of 
tapeworm was so successful that his secret was purchased by Frederick the Great for an 
annuity of two hundred thalers ; 
and in France by a Madame 
Nuffler, the widow of a Swiss sur- 
geon, who obtained from Louis the 
Fourteenth no less than eighteen 
thousand livres for her remedy, 
which was first subjected to an 
investigation by savans of the 
period. In both of these cases it 
was found that the active prin- 
ciple of the remedy was supplied 
by the powdered rhizome of the 
Male Fern ; and it was always 
employed in the form of powder 
until about 1825, when a chemist of 
Geneva suggested the substitution 
of the more convenient ethereal 
extract, in which form the drug is 
now always administered. 
We have already said that the 
Male Fern is a very variable species. 
Mr. Moore describes twenty-five of 
these at length, and gives botanical 
diagnoses of twelve of them. There 
are, indeed, certain differences — in 
the duration of the fronds, for ex- 
ample — which cannot fail to strike 
any one who knows the plant in 
its native habitats, although, per- 
haps, they are not such as are 
usually reckoned of botanical value. 
In some plants the fronds die 
down in the winter ; in others they 
remain green and fresh through the 
coldest weather, and are thus in- 
valuable for winter bouquets or for 
home decoration of various kinds. 
They also vary considerably in form, 
and this variation is especially 
FROND OF I.ASTREA EROSA. t j • r ,, , 
marked in the case of the barren 
fronds. One of the most distinct 
forms is the variety vicisa, which was considered by Deakin as a species, and is figured by 
him under the name of Lastrea crosa. This is a very large and handsome form, with tall 
