THE CRESTED BUCKLER FERN 
329 
tures of the pinnules. The sori are borne in lines along on 
each side of the mid-veins of the pinnules. They extend 
over the whole under surface of the frond, and are covered 
by kidney-shaped indusia attached by their notched or 
indented sides. 
Distribution. — In Europe this Fern has a tolerably wide 
distribution. It occurs in Belgium, Boeotia, and Croatia, 
France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Russia, Scandinavia, 
Switzerland, and Transylvania. It is found in Siberia, as 
well as in Canada and the United States of America. In 
the British Islands its range is extremely limited. It has 
been found in only six counties. In Cheshire it has been 
obtained from the Wybunbury Bog. In Norfolk it has been 
obtained in the following places, namely At Edgefield, 
near Holt; at Bawsey Heath, near Lynn; at Surlingham 
Broad, near Norwich ; and at Fritton, near Yarmouth. In 
Nottinghamshire it is found in Oxton Bogs ; in Staffordshire it 
has been found near Madeley, and in a bog near New- 
castle-under-Lyne. In Suffolk it has been discovered at 
Westleton, and at Bexley Decoy, near Ipswich. In York- 
shire it has been found on the Plumpton rocks, near 
Knaresborougli, and also near Malton. 
Culture. — No difficulty whatever attends the cultivation 
of Lastrea cristatci so long as it is kept in an exceedingly 
damp situation. It will grow readily in the open rockery, in 
y>ots, or in the Fern house. It is scarcely possible to give it 
too much water, and the saucer in which the pot stands, 
whether it be grown in the open pot or in the Fern house, 
should be kept filled with clean fresh water. The soil 
selected must be essentially of a peaty nature — one half 
peat, and the other half leaf-mould, with just a little sand in 
the compost. When grown in the rockery, the lowest tiers 
must always be selected, and the deepest shade, without the 
smallest gleam of sunshine, is essential. 
