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The Fern Garden . 
moss-like, one of the best. S. denticulata, green, well 
known, one of the most useful. There is a white- 
tipped variety which makes beautiful tufts in green- 
house or stove. S. Willdenovi , green, fern-like, very 
hardy; one of the best. S. lepidophylla , dark green, 
like a miniature cedar tree. This is the American 
“ Resurrection plant.” S. ohtusa , green, moss-like, 
beautiful. 
Stove Selaginellas. — S. rubricaulis , red-stemmed, 
tree-like. S. laevigata , blue, a splendid climbing plant, 
well adapted for the fern case or to train as a climber. 
S. jamaicensiSy phosphorescent, a delicate little gem. 
Pepper-worts. — These plants are known in botany 
as the Marsileaceae ; they are for the most part insig- 
nificant and would have no place in this chapter were 
it not for the peculiar merit of one of the family which 
many fern-growers would like to possess. This is the 
Marsilea macropus , the Nardoo plant of Australian ex- 
plorers, the plant mentioned as the last resource against 
starvation in the tragic story of the Burke and Wills 
exploring expedition. This species may easily be taken 
at first sight for a large-leaved oxalis, or trefoil, owing 
to the peculiar divisions of its leaves. It may be grown 
with the greatest ease in a pot of spongy peat kept 
constantly plunged in one or two inches depth of water. 
M. quadrifolia } a native of Germany, is also a pretty 
species, but it has no story to recommend it like the 
other. 
Horsetails or Equisetums. — There is a rather 
troublesome weed, of very elegant structure and curious 
history, met with in undrained clay and loamy soils ; 
