IV EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 
enjoyed quite a treat ! Imagine some of the deep mossy chasms 
of our mountain districts in Wales and Cumberland clothed with 
sheets of such ferns as Hymenopfajllum caudiculatum, fuciforme, 
Magellanicum and cruentum ! And there is not a doubt of their 
thriving perfectly in such situations. No vegetable forms could 
be more lovely, and they must assuredly] claim the favourable 
notice of multitudes when their charms are known. Un- 
fortunately most of these gems are still rare and costly. Owing 
to the extreme difficulty of getting them down from inland 
mountain regions, and still more from the “terrible ordeal” of 
having to endure long voyages through the tropics, the “ decima- 
tion ” which the importer has to endure is so great, as frequently 
to make the cost price of each survivor very high. Sometimes 
a mere fragment lives, and many years have to roll by before 
there is a possibility of multiplication. As a rule, when once 
“ established ” they are easy to cultivate. Many of those from 
temperate climates — like the species of New Zealand and Chili 
thrive well in Wardian Cases and other positions in an at- 
mosphere fitted for the “ Killarney Fern” (T. radicans) and our 
wild British Hymenophyllums. Those which have hairy fronds 
usually suffer by much mechanical watering, and prefer to be 
moistened only by condensation. Nearly all thrive well in sandy 
peat mixed with a little loam and numerous pieces of broken 
sandstone. The creeping Hymenophyllums do not like to have 
their slender rhizomes buried. Most of these succeed best on 
sandstone very slightly covered with the mixture of soil just 
named ; their “nature ” being to creep upon the surface of the 
rock, under or among the mosses which coat it; the slender 
rootlets only being buried. A very high temperature is especially 
to be avoided. Two or three hours of a dry and heated 
atmosphere will sometimes undo the work of years. Good 
light with absolute protection from every ray of actual sunshine 
