26 o 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
lobes are thick and leathery in texture, and of 
a dark shining green colour. When the spores 
ripen they usually become confluent, so that in 
the autumn the backs of the leaflets are thickly 
covered with rich brown masses of seed. Ever- 
green in habit, the fronds of the little fern endure 
through the winter. 
Some difficulty is experienced by amateur fern 
growers in the cultivation of the Wall-rue, a 
difficulty which it is to be feared arises chiefly 
from want of care in sufficiently studying the 
natural conditions under which it thrives. Too 
frequently the fern is not properly transplanted. 
Perhaps only a third of its little fibrous roots 
are secured when it is taken from its natural 
habitat. In such a case failure in growing it is 
almost inevitable. It is often very difficult to 
transplant it without doing injury to crown or 
root, and, indeed, it is generally impossible to 
obtain it entire and uninjured without removing 
the stones amongst which it is growing. But this 
difficulty overcome, and the tiny plant secured 
intact, it will be generally found comparatively 
