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which is then covered with a glass plate, In 1 euang 
Gardens a Fern rockery lias been made by collecting stones 
chiefly of sandstone or granite, the older and rougher the 
better, and arranging them under a small wood ot trees. 
Here certain Ferns have done exceptionally well, ana espe- 
cially the stiff leaved Ferns such as Uumata which requires 
a certain amount of dryness. The rare Ptens Dalhousiac 
is growing here finely. But limestone rock seems to suit 
the Ferns better than sandstone or granite. 
Bests. — There are not many pests on Ferns, lhe most 
troublesome being a caterpillar which spins togetliei the 
ends of the fronds and destroys them. It chiefly attacks 
the Nephrodiums and Ahgiopteris and should be destroyed 
as soon as it is seen. The Maidenhairs it neglected are 
liable to attacks of Coccus (white blight) and should be 
cleaned if necessary with tobacco water. 
Some Exceptional Ferns. 
V few Ferns which possess somevjmt peculiar habits 
mav be noted. The water Fern Cemtoptcris thalictroides 
is a truly aquatic plant and is best, grown in ponds or 
ditches, it is said to lie biennial, whether this is so or not 
does not seem clear but it certainly has the habit of dis- 
appearing entirely from the ditches in these gardens and 
then after some months reappearing in abundance. 
Ophioglossum pendulum the long pendent Adder s 
tongue Fern usually prefers to grow in a plant of the 
Elk’s-horn Fern, Platycenum , where it pierces the large 
supporting fronds of this plant and hangs down below it. 
It appeared on one occasion on a Date-palm in the Gardens 
growing on the vegetable remains on the trunk and in soil 
brought up by Termites, and eventually it quite draped the 
trunk of the tree with its long green ribbon-like fronds. 
The little Adder’s tongue Fern, Ophioglossum nudi - 
cattle is not easy to cultivate but on occasions when speci- 
mens have been brought from other part of the Peninsula 
for the Herbarium, it has almost invariably turned up 
sporadically in the gravel paths, apparently from spores 
drifted away from the dried plant. 
Davallia triphylla though by no means a rare plant in 
the Peninsula was for a long time very rare in collections 
of dried ferns and was not known in cultivation at all till 
it was sent from the Botanic Gardens, in Singapore. The 
reason for that was that it grows habitually on the topmost 
brandies on the loftiest trees, where it was quite inacces- 
sible. It is however to be obtained from fallen branches 
