244 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
and in a saturated soil. We found it in Devonshire, 
in a bog which lay under a wood at the bottom 
of a hill. There it was growing at the foot of 
the mounds of moss surmounting the -roots of the 
sedge-grasses. 
In cultivation it must have incessant moisture, 
especially at its roots, where it should be sodden. 
Peat and leaf-mould should compose the soil — 
peat preponderating. It is a really beautiful fern, 
and will thrive in the open rockery, in the green- 
house, or indoors, if grown under the conditions 
which have been described. 
6. THE MOUNTAIN BUCKLER FERN. 
Lastrea montanci. 
Two peculiarities, strongly marked, distinguish 
this beautiful and symmetrically-formed species 
from the rest of the group amongst which it is 
ranked. Ordinarily, when ferns are bruised in the 
hand, a strong starchy odour is emitted. It has 
been already mentioned, however, that in the case 
