134 
The Fern Garden . 
L . selago , the Fir-club moss, is a noble species, quite 
common on stony mountain tracts, a plant of great 
interest too on account of its medicinal properties. In 
the open fernery, probably, all our British species would 
thrive if taken up in large masses and planted in fully 
exposed positions in soil specially prepared to resemble 
that of their original sites. With them should be asso¬ 
ciated an American species, L . lucidulum , which 
closely resembles our L. selago, but is of a shining 
dark-green colour. This thrives in peat soil in the 
open fernery if favoured with shade and moisture. 
Selaginellas. —Amongst these occur so many lovely 
forms of vegetation, that we can safely say for the 
guidance of the cultivator, the larger the collection the 
better. The delicate cushion-like growth of S. apoda , 
scarcely to be equalled by any of the true mosses, is 
unique for beauty. It will suggest to the reader of 
Milton the description of the home life of the matchless 
pair in the happy garden— 
“ Of grassy turf their table was, 
And mossy seats had round.” 
The metallic blue of S. laevigata ($. caesium) is posi¬ 
tively marvellous, yet the plant is common and will 
grow in any moist warm close spot, scarcely needing 
warmth or daylight, though growing the better for 
a little of both. In S. rubricaulis we have the colours 
of the red coral and the emerald combined; in S. for - 
mosa we have a charming semblance to a fern, yet a kind 
of beauty which no fern possesses. 
In practice we find them all adaptable to cool houses 
