15 
FERNS, SELAGINELLAS AND LYCOPODIUMS. 
THESE AEE NOW THE MOST FASHIONABLE PLANTS CULTIVATED. 
The bright colours in flowers are admired by the least intellectual, but the beauty 
of form and texture requires a higher degree of mental perception and a more cultivated 
intellect for its proper appreciation. Hence we regard the growing taste for the culti- 
vation of ferns as a proof of mental advancement ; and as beauty of form is not only 
more exquisite, but more lasting than that of colour, we presume that the cultivation of 
ferns will have a still wider range. Nothing but the plumage of the feathered tribes 
can equal the delicacy of their parts, or the exquisite beauty of their forms ; and to a 
cultivated mind they need only be seen to be admired. Many of the shield ferns may be 
grown in the secluded or shady portions of shrubberies, where everj^thing else refuses 
to live; and thus the judicious cultivator may cover his barren ground with, plumy 
vegetation, equal in many respects to that of tropical forms. Many of the hardy kinds 
succeed admirably on the north aspects of rockwork ; and here their minute delicacy of 
form, symmetry and elegance of structure, contrast admirably with the rugged nature 
of rocks and stones. In glass shades, wardian cases, and other glass structures, they 
are subservient to an infinity of ornamental purposes which it is not necessary here to 
particularize. 
A. Stansfield and Son have long been cultivators of ferns, and are regularly send- 
ing out collections for the above purposes. Any further orders with which they may 
be favoured will receive their prompt attention, and an inspection of their stock will 
oblige. 
With reference to the cultivation of ferns and selaginellas, we may observe that 
most of the species succeed best in a compost of fibrous peat, leaf-mould, and silver 
sand, with an addition of a fourth part of turfy loam to some of the more vigorous 
growing kinds : in all cases the drainage should be abundant and perfect ; and the ad- 
dition of pieces of soft brick, charcoal, or other porous material, into the compost is 
frequently of considerable advantage. Most of the species will thrive best in a moist 
atmosphere and partial shade. During the summer months those grown in pots should 
be watered with soft water every evening ; in winter the watering should be done in the 
morning, but less frequently. 
Those marked thus (•) are hardy, B. British, Gr. Greenhouse, and the 
remainder Stove. 
larlrg, ^xm\mu, |em, JidagiKdte, ^ f gwpte, -^c. 
Acrostichum (Platecerium) alsicome, Stag’s Horn Fern, Is. 6d. to 3s. 6d. 
Adiantum iEthiopicum, roundish pinnules, a beautiful little fern. 
,, asimile, pretty, light green, well adapted for bouquets, Is. to 2s. 6d. 
,, afiine, handsome species and very distinct, colour dark brown. Is. to 2s. 6d. 
„ Braziliense, (intermedia) a very beautiful species, 3s. 6d. to 5s. 
B. „ capillus Veneris, (English Maiden’s Hair) a well-known and handsome 
little fern, Is. 
* „ „ „ Broughtonii, similar to the last named, but somewhat larger. 
Is. 6d. 
* M „ „ Moritzianum, do. do., Is. 6d. 
„ caudatum, a most distinct, scarce, and elegant fern, having delicate caudal 
appendages to the end of each frond, which droop gracefully and ulti- 
mately become plants, well calculated fpr suspending in pots or baskets, 
2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. 
,, concinnum, yellowish green, one of the most beautiful species, 3s. 6d. 
„ cuneatum, light green, graceful and elegant, 2s. 6d. 
„ curvatum, stipes almost black, fronds divided_five or six times, pinnae beauti- 
fully curved, 3s. 6d. to 5s. 
„ cultratum ( pentadactylon ) stipes dark, frond thrice divided, pinnae curved, 
rosy tinted when young, 3s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. 
„ formosum, stipes ebony black, rich green fronds, much divided, upright, 
very handsome. Is. 9d to 3s. 6d. 
5 , Foveanum (serrulatum,) deep green fronds, shining, and almost crimson 
w'hen young, 3s. 6d. 
„ fulvum, a free-growing and handsome species. Is. Gd. to 3s. 6d. 
„ hispidulum, dark green, erect, pretty. Is. 6d. to 2s. 6d. 
