THE POLYPODIES. 
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moist and shady nook, whether on the open rockery, 
or indoors in pots, or under glass. It must have: 
a soil very similar to that in which the Common 
Polypody delights. But with the leaf-mould some 
peat may be mixed with advantage, together with 
sand. Indeed, all soil for ferns needs an admixture 
of sand to keep the composition sufficiently light 
and porous. Peat is never found in the situations 
chosen by the Common Polypody ; but the Beech 
Fern, growing at lower elevations, comes within the 
range of peat. Hence the desirability of an ad- 
mixture of peat in the compost used to grow this 
fern in cultivation. But leaf-mould is the chief 
vitalizing element in its growth. 
3. THE THREE-BRANCHED POLYPODY. 
Poly podium dryopteris . 
The charming colour of the Three-branched 
Polypody, or, as it is also called, the Oak Fern, 
is its most marked characteristic — a kind of 
light golden green that is most refreshing to look 
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