• EQUISETUM. 
281 
Ferns ; or, in the case of some of the aquatic species, to 
sink the pots just beneath the surface of a tank of water. 
There are, it should be remarked, two sets of Equise- 
turns, which may be called the evergreen and the deciduous 
groups ; and. this is a distinction of some importance in re- 
ference to their cultivation. Under the head of evergreen 
should be classed the rough "" group, consisting of E. 
hyemale, Mackayi, and mriegatum. All the remaining 
species come under the head of deciduous, by which is 
meant that the fronds die down annually in autumn, and 
are renewed from the underground stems in spring. 
The evergreen species are desirable plants for damp, 
shady rockwork, requiring no peculiar care or culture ; and 
though they cannot lay claim to any considerable elegance 
of growth or habit, yet, from their peculiar' form and 
character, they must be looked upon as interesting plants, 
no less for their own sakes, than for the mere pictorial 
effect which their distinct appearance may help to bring 
out in such situations. 
Of the deciduous kinds most desirable for a similar 
purpose, we should select E. sylmticum and E, umbrosum; 
these being among the most eleg^^nt of the race, and of 
moderate size. Both of them would require shade, but 
