EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 
V 
is the point to be aimed at. Few only like deep shade. The 
Killarney Fern in a wild state sometimes grows in positions so 
gloomy that its fronds are scarcely discernible, and some of its 
West Indian congeners (T. spicatum for instance) also court deep 
shade. In the following Catalogue where two temperatures are 
given, the best extremes of winter and summer are intended. 
For instance “ 40° to 60° ” implies that above 60° in summer, is 
as much “ a step in the wrong direction,” as below 40° in winter. 
In our hottest summer weather it is difficult to maintain the low 
temperature of 60°, but this does not alter the fact that it would 
be better for the ferns if we could! Being chiefly “moun- 
taineers” they enjoy very cool nights in their wild stations, 
even in summer ; and it is well known that on some of the 
tropical plateaus where they abound at an elevation of 7000 
to 8,000 ft., the annual variation of temperature scarcely* ever 
exceeds 25 degrees. Purity of water is also an important 
matter. A Hymenophyllum or Trichomanes frequently moistened 
(by hand) with water containing lime, quickly loses its vigour. 
Pain water is the best for hand use, but no kind of watering of the 
fronds is at all comparable to that effected by the heavy “ dew ” 
of condensation, which is of course perfectly pure, assuming the 
air of the house to be so. 
The descriptions given in the following pages are not intended 
to be scientifically complete, but to give a good general idea of 
each kind. 
Where the term 11 pinnate'' is used, the fern is divided quite 
down to the midrib. Where “ pinnatifid" is used, there is a 
membranaceous margin or wing to the midrib, or main rachis. 
Where a fern is described as “ thrice divided ( 'pinnate J," it means 
that the main stem or central rachis has no winged margin, 
but that the midrib of the branches and branchlets is winged. 
