Fern Allies . 
141 
of Paradise, the colour the most tender shade of emerald 
green, no apology will be needed for calling attention 
to it in these pages, for it is, in fact, one of the most 
desirable of plants for the fern garden. 
Equisetum sylvaticum is a British plant, very scarce 
generally, but plentiful enough in some districts. When 
met with it is usually in a peaty soil, beside a water-course 
in a shady wood, or on a bank beside a ditch overhung 
with trees and rank herbage ; always in a moist, shady 
spot, and if not in peat, in some light soil of similar 
nature. My best plants in pots are kept under a 
stage, and have all the drip that results from the 
watering of plants above them, besides the water given 
them in the usual way, and their appearance is so 
delightful, they so fascinate me that I never enter the 
house where they are kept without having a peep at 
them. They are to me a feast which never satiates, 
though I sometimes become tired of flowers, especially 
after I have for weeks constantly been visiting great 
gardens, and comparing and criticising bedding effects. 
We have it also planted out in the shadiest and dampest 
part of a rockery, in a cool fernery, and also in a 
shady part of the fernery out-of-doors. It increases 
fast, and may, if desirable, be parted annually in spring 
when it begins to grow ; but to make a fine specimen 
it should not be parted, but be shifted to a larger and 
larger pot every year, and this should be done without 
breaking the ball when the plant is shifted ; no, not 
even the crocks should be removed. 
Another grand species is Equisetum telmateia , which 
is of more robust habit than the last, with regular 
