46 ASPLENIUM MARINUM. 
of this Fern, it' being seldom found higher up the 
Bristol Channel than Clevedon." 
Ray, who, like many clergymen of his time, combined 
the study of Medicine with that of Divinity, is rather 
strong in the narration of the medicinal qualities of 
this Fern. He says " It is given in obstructions of 
the viscera, but especially of the spleen. Its gurnmy 
extract applied outwardly to burns has afforded relief 
when all other applications have failed." (Synopsis 
Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum. 119.) 
We know of no one who has succeeded in cultivating 
this Fern in the open air. Its roots cling so firmly to 
the sides of the chinks of the rocks where it grows 
naturally, that they are scarcely capable of being 
separated from the rocks undestroyed, and seemingly 
afford a warning that the soil and situation they prefer 
must be sedulously provided for them. 
It should be planted in a well-drained pot, in a 
mixture of equal parts sand, small fragments of 
brick, and peat, and kept in the most shady part 
of a greenhouse, where the temperature never fulls 
below 35. The water employed should have half- 
an-ounce of common salt dissolved in a gallon ; 
and this Fern should not be watered over the 
leaves, though it delights in a moist atmosphere, 
and, therefore, flourishes under a glass shade. When 
grown " in a hothouse it will attain a large size, 
and when the air is kept moist, does not require 
a glass. In such circumstances, I have seen the 
fronds eighteen or twenty inches long ; certainly it 
