342 
THE FERN WORLD 
Algiers, of the Cape of Good Hope, of North and of South 
America, and of New Zealand. In England it is found — often 
covering large areas — in the counties of Bedford, Berks, 
Cambridge, Chester, Cumberland, Devon, Essex, Hants 
(including the Isle of Wight), Hereford, Huntingdon, Kent, 
Norfolk, Northumberland, Nottingham, Salop, Somerset, 
Stafford, Suffolk', Surrey, Sussex, Warwick, Westmoreland, 
and York. In Wales its habitats are in the counties of 
Anglesea, Glamorgan, and Pembroke. In Scotland it is 
very rare, only one county — Forfar — being named as its 
habitat. In Ireland it is an inhabitant of the counties of 
Antrim, Galway, Kerry, and Mayo. 
Culture. — In the culture of this semi-aquatic and beau- 
tiful Fern, the closest possible imitation of Nature should be 
attempted. Some of the finest wild specimens we have seen 
we found growing in a bog, hid beneath the shelter of 
clustering trees at the foot of a sloping hill. The spot 
would have been a dangerous one for the unwary tourist, and 
we had to wend our way carefully from tiny islet to tiny islet 
formed by mossy tree-stumps. But we had a sure and 
trusty guide, and we made no false steps, or we might have 
slipped into the black and liquid depths of this wood-covered 
morass. In its most liquid parts, we came upon an abun- 
dance of the Marsh Fern, their rhizomas appearing to float 
on the surface of the bog, their beautiful light -green 
waving fronds contrasting with its dark substance. In such 
a position it is clear that the annual crops of leaves dropping 
from the sheltering wood must have added a rich store of 
leaf-mould to the peaty substance of the bog, thus stimu- 
lating the growth of the Ferns. Under cultivation, the 
soil must be of a semi-liquid kind, composed of two parts 
peat and one part of leaf-mould. If a sufficiently wet 
situation cannot be found at the foot of a fountain, or else- 
where, a situation should be extemporized by cementing 
