CULTIVATION IN HOTHOUSES. 
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3-branched, pinnate, triangular in form; stems black 
and shining ; rachis and secondary rachis also black ; 
leaflets dark green above, white beneath ; caudex creep- 
ing. A dwarf evergreen species, measuring only 5 
inches. Its home is Siberia. 
Cheilanthes hirta. Hairy Cheilanthes . Fronds tri pin- 
nate a foot long ; leaflets delicately small, covered with 
glandular hairs; stems brown. Very elegant. An 
African species. 
Cassebeera dealbata . Powdered Cassebeera. Fronds 
bipinnate, minute, dusted over with white powder. A 
native of Mexico. 
Alsophila is a genus of large tree-ferns, characterized 
by the sori being round, and placed halfway between 
the margin and the midrib. In cultivation they require 
ample space, and a quantity of water. 
Alsophila articulata. Jointed Alsophila . Caudex 5 
feet high, bearing a crown of fronds 6 or 8 feet in length, 
bipinnate, jointed; the stem covered with scales and 
prickles. A noble arborescent species from J amaica. 
Alsophila fer ox. Rough Alsophila . Caudex 5 feet high, 
much taller in its native climate; fronds on the summit 
of the stem, large and feathery ; the stem-rachis and 
secondary rachis beset by thorny prickles. A native of 
the West Indies. 
Alsophila pruinata. FrostedJeaved Alsophila . Caudex 
erect, tall; fronds and stalks all covered with white 
woolly hairs reminding you of a coating of hoar-frost ; 
the fronds are very feathery and beautiful, being very 
much divided, sometimes quadripinnate. It is a West 
Indian and Brazilian fern. 
Alsophila villosa. Shaggy Alsophila . The stems and 
fronds are covered with shaggy hair instead of the frost- 
