FERNS AND FERNERIES. 
115 
producing plantlets. A. neo-caledonise, one of Messrs. Birkenhead’s introductions, is very 
distinct, with deltoid tripinnate fronds. This was fully described, I think, in the Gardener's 
Chronicle by*Mr. Moore. A very fine batch of A. Victorias, so dwarf and handsome, with broad 
cuneate pinnules, quite distinct, was especially noticeable, while the rarer Henslovianum was also in 
good order. A. Seemanni and peruvianum were well represented, as well as A. princeps, veluti- 
— a magnificent species — Wilsoni, amabile, rubellum, venustum, pelludicum, Williamsu — these 
three being stepping-stones one to the other — Lathomi, the rare reniforme, sulphureum, aneitense, 
speciosum, and a host of others, were all in excellent health, and mostly in strong force. Before 
leaving, the Adiantums, I must not forget the charming little A. Capillus-veneris daphnites, of which 
there is a large lot of most beautiful plants; also the North American A. pedatum, of which there 
are two distinct forms, one of which may be regarded as normal, having flat pinnules, while in 
the other the pinnules are distinctly curled upwards, and if one may be godfather I would propose 
that it should be named crispum. Adiantopsis radiata is so much like a Maidenhair Fern that one 
may be pardoned for naming it with them ; but really it belongs to a section of Cheilanthes. It is a 
charming Fern, and never have I seen it in better condition than at Sale, all the plants being in the 
best possible health, with their pretty radiating fronds. Being a native of tropical America, this 
plant is grown in stove heat. 
The Spleen worts also muster in strong force both as regards the number of varieties and plants. 
There are several South African forms which are by no means satisfactorily identified, and it is quite 
likely some fresh species may turn up. A. affine and species or varieties clustering round it are 
especially worth attention. There is also an excellent variety of A. furcatum, named laceratum, 
which is very graceful in appearance, and is certainly one of the best cool-house Spleen worts in culti- 
vation. A. dimorphum is a very scarce plant ; the plant usually supplied as such is A. bifolium, 
which is here largely grown ; and a most useful subject it is. A. laxum, resectum, Fernandezianum, 
and flabellifolium, are also temperate Ferns of the first merit ; while too much praise cannot be levied 
upon A. rutssfolium, which we have never seen so abundant anywhere as at Sale ; handsome plants 
in all sizes plainly reveal its decorative and most useful character. I quite think this will ultimately 
prove itself one of the most useful of all Ferns. Nice batches of the rock Spleenwort (A. fontanum) 
and the Pyrenean A. flssum are attractive ; the latter is a very pretty species, while septentrionale, 
germanicum, and the queer little Seelosii are represented, with many other hardy or frame Ferns. 
Glancing at the stove Aspleniums we notice the graceful alatum, also the old and much too seldom 
seen A. Belangerii. Here, too, are A. abscissum, Baptistii, cicutarium, formosum, heterodon, 
longissimum— excellent for baskets or mural pockets— and the charming viviparum, the latter one of 
the best case Ferns in cultivation— all of which are most attractive kinds. The Bird’s-nest Fern, A. 
nidus, and the charming little A. obtusilobum are also well grown ; the latter is arranged in pot 
pyramids, and very pretty it looks. 
Cheilanthes, Nothochleenas, and Pellasas constitute a most interesting series, and it is when 
amongst these gems that the blood of the enthusiast reaches fever heat. I mention these together be- 
cause in my opinion, they should be grown together, and further, because I regard them as a beautiful 
group. Of the former genus there are many kinds. Fancy the exquisite beauty of the “Lace Fern” 
(C. elegans), as it droops over the shelf upon which it stands, each frond a picture of beauty ; this 
species is especially well suited at Sale. Other species of Cheilanthes we admired and made note of 
are gracillima, tenuis, viscosa, alabamensis, californica, Clevelandii, the very rare Eatoni, and Fend- 
leri, lanuginosa, and the extremely scarce Lindheimeri (a most charming species), muitifida, Sieberi, 
tomentosa, viscida, and Wrightii ; these, with others, formed a most interesting series, which might 
well engage one’s attention for a much more extended period. C. Eatoni is a very pretty species. 
Accommodated with them was a charming batch of the rare Gymnogramma hispida with its trian- 
gular woolly fronds ; also a few plants of the rarer G. vestita from the Indian hills, and some of the 
Californian G. triangularis. The species of Nothochlsena are also numerous ; especially noticeable 
was a fine batch of the little golden-fronded N. flavens, and the silvery N. nivea ; also Eckloniana 
rufa, sinuata— a very lovely species, with the underside of the fronds densely clothed with silvery 
scales ; while well worth mention are Candida, dealbata, Grayii— a very rare and pretty species — 
Lemmonii, the charming S. European Marantae, Newberryi, and the very scarce Parryi, which perhaps 
is scarcely found in any other collection. The Pellaeas are also well grown, and numerous ; indeed it 
would be difficult to know where to find such another lot. Take the more familiar European P. atro- 
purpurea, or the Bird’s-foot Pellsea (P. ornithopus) from California as examples; here they are in good 
numbers and quite happy, and the same may be said of the charming P. calomelanos, andromsedi- 
folia, densa, the rare and very charming Bridgesii, Breweri, geranifolia, intramarginalis, and the ever 
graceful ternifolia with its pretty arching fronds, the stipes of which pass through the glaucous 
— . . __ . 
