January 11, 1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
33 
tatum, Jones (also crested), are the next finest, and being all distinct, 
form a splendid group when well grown. 
In any Fern district, where the Harts-tongue prevails, it will need 
very little search to discover here and there in the hedgerows or on the 
walls plants in which the tips of some of the fronds are more or less 
forked, and it will be strange if a little more perseverance will not yield 
a plant of this sort which is true, i.e., in which all the fronds are so 
characterised. In this case a find of S. v. lobatum may be scheduled. 
Extended search will, however, reveal the fact that the plant is capable 
of bearing heavy tassels of countless divisions, and one of my happiest 
discoveries (S. v. corymbiferum, Bruenf) was found when investigating 
a huge plant of lobatum which was poking its great forked fronds most 
obtrusively through a hedge near Sidmouth. Opening the hedge to get 
a good look at this plant we found a round bunch of apparent moss 
bobbing against my nose, and this I discovered was at the tip of a frond 
of an independent plant, all five fronds of which were similarly charac¬ 
terised, though all the rest were hidden by the lobatum in question. 
This was one of those unexpected hits which now and then fall to the 
lot of the Fern hunter. In this the frond is normal to within an inch 
or so of the tip, the midrib then thickens and divides into infinite ramifi¬ 
cations, forming quite moss-like balls. Of this tasselled section the 
name is legion, and we can only specify a few of the best. To take first 
those with branched and crested fronds, S. v. ramo-cristatum, ramo- 
digittatum, keratoides, ramo-cristulatum, constellatum, unguiceps, and 
ramo-marginatum, Clapham, are the best of this type, the last especially 
forming highly decorative plants when well grown. The best with 
single or unbranched fronds bearing tassels at their tips of varying 
character are S. v. cristatum, cristatum, Barraud (a very neat new find), 
corymbiferum, coronatum, capitatum cristulatum, flabellatum, grandi- 
ceps, Cornells, nudicaule capitatum, and crista-galli. The extreme forms 
of cresting are termed conglomerate, the whole frond being repeatedly 
divided from the very base. To this section belong the well known 
varieties Kelwayi, Coolingi, and Baxteri, which are almost if not quite 
identical. These have the peculiar faculty of throwing young plants 
from bulbils on their edges, and from one of these was raised con- 
glomeratum densum, Kelway, in which the whole plant is a small dense 
absolutely moss-like mass, not unlike Selaginella apoda. S. v. Cousensi 
is a denser form a la Kelwayi, and Wardi is of same tribe. 
The base of the normal Harts-tongue frond is cordate or heart-shaped, 
consisting of two rounded lobes. In some of the varieties these lobes 
are considerably lengthened, and even tasselled, forming what is termed 
the sagittate or arrow-shaped section. The old variety, known as 
laceratum or endivaefolium, is a good example, the rough outline of the 
frond being a triangle, each point of which is formed out into a tassel. 
In this form, too, the edges of the frond are deeply cut into long 
segments, an obvious attempt in the species to assume the pinnate or 
feathery character of its confreres. S. v. sagittato-projectum, Westropp, 
and S. V. sagittato-projectum, Sclater, are bolder growing Ferns of like 
character. Sagittato-cristatum, Dodds, is a small variety without side 
lobes, but with more pronounced trifoliation. S. v. cristato-viviparum, 
O'Kelly, is another small form with enlarged basal lobes, but is singular 
in its capacity for forming bunches of young plants on its upper surface. 
S. V. Hankeyi is a grand sagittate variety, and so is Mr. Moly’s sagittato- 
projectum. 
In the bulk of those named the character of the frond is only altered 
by extension of its parts, but there are several sections in which the 
smooth surface, upper or under, is affected as well. S. v. marginatum, 
for instance, which has afforded a good quota of tasselled forms, has its 
under surface longitudinally ribbed between the midrib and the 
edges, a distinct ridge running down each side. In S. v. supralineatum 
we have these ridges on the upper surface instead. In some forms the 
frond is contracted and narrow, with the whole surface wrinkled and 
roughened. S. v. muricatum, S. v. rugosum, and S. v. sculpturatum, to 
wit, or, as in S. v. pappillosum, a line of warty projections may exist. 
In some plants several characters are combined, and they may be 
dwarfed as well, so that the changes are rung ad infinitum. Nor must 
we forget the peculiar peraferous sports in which the fronds may be 
long or short, but ends abruptly with a pouch either at the back or the 
front of the frond, the midrib projecting for some distance therefrom 
like a Thorn. I have in my possession a variety of this in which 
the basal lobes have also pouches, breeches pockets as it were. In 
another direction there are the variegated forms, both yellow and 
white, but much remains to be done with these by selective culture 
before we can boast of a really beautiful one. The possibility is, how 
ever, manifest, and it remains for our hybridisers to persevere until 
they attain it. 
This brings us to possibly the most interesting group of all—viz., 
those remarkable mixed forms which Mr. E. J. Lowe has exhibited of 
late years at the various British Fern exhibitions held under the 
auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society in London. In these it is 
manifest that he has managed to cross several marked forms together so 
as to combine in one plant the salient characteristics of, it may be, half a 
dozen. He takes, for instance, S. v. spirale, a dwarf plant like a bunch 
of fat corkscrews, S. v. muricatum, a plant with roughened fronds, an 
undulate or wavy variety, a crested variety, and a variegated form, sows 
these spores thickly together, and eventually pricks out from the crop 
plants of all sorts, some with two characters combined, some with three, 
and now and again one embodying the whole. The plants have been in 
evidence beyond a doubt, but so far it has been impossible to make the 
scientific biologist swallow such a pill as the mixed parentage constitutes, 
assuming the maximum results to be produced by a single crossing— 
i.e., in one generation. For a long time the capacity of Ferns for 
crossing at all was doubted, but now it is a well recognised possibility 
and systematically acted upon, but it is generally assumed that to obtain 
plants of more characters than two parental ones, a second crossing 
between the compound parents must be effected, when four might be 
expected, and so on ; and of course, clear as is the evidence afforded by 
Mr. Lowe’s exhibits, it is impossible when once there are innumerable 
crossed plants in a collection, to eliminate the chance of stray spores 
from these effecting results which the register would not lead one to 
expect. 
The Lake District has afforded a very fair quota of good varieties, 
seventy-four being recorded in “The Ferns of the Lake District,” edited 
by the late Mr. Baines, no less than 211 figure in Mr. E. J. Lowe’s lists 
as wild finds out of a total of 450 described, this being by far the 
largest number of distinct forms yielded by any known Fern, though I 
venture to assert that were a common Harts-tongue frond handed to the 
more versatile decorative artist existing with a commission to invent a 
hundred variations of that simple theme, he would find himself non¬ 
plussed halfway through his task.— Chas. T. Dexjery, F.L.S., F.R.H.S. 
(To be continued.! 
RASPBERRY JOTTINGS. 
I HAVE no doubt the pleasant jottings from “ W. P. W.” (page 571 
last vol.) proved very interesting to all fruit growers. Probably the 
phenomenal weather caused some people to indulge in the abnormal 
figure of £40 per ton. I would very much like to know any grower 
who obtained anything like such a figure. I know some growers in 
Kent who did not realise more than £20 per ton, and if they add the 
light crop to this, it will be seen at once the Raspberry crop of 1893 
was barely remunerative. Many growers will probably be glad to have 
particulars of any Raspberry likely to supersede Carter’s Prolific. I 
have never met with Dr. Maclean, but it appears to be an old variety. 
I see Mr. J. Fraser of the Lea Bridge Nurseries catalogues it, though it 
does not figure in the “ Fruit Manual,” neither do many fruit nursery¬ 
men appear to grow it. I shall be looking out for information respecting 
it, for though at present I am of the same opinion as the Kentish 
growers, “ There’s nothing like Prolific,” I shall be pleased to make the 
acquaintance of a better variety. 
I suppose it is almost out of the question for market growers to adopt 
the tall-growing varieties on any large scale; but I am under the 
impression where a tall variety, such as Rivers’ Hornet, could be grown 
to wires in lines 5 feet asunder, it could not fail to prove remunerative. 
The cost of wire at the present day is a very small item, while the posts 
could be made of rough pieces of oak. The labour in fixing would not 
be great, for, providing the posts are dipped in tar, they will last 
almost as long as the crop of Raspberries, which should be ten years at 
the outside. I notice “ W. P. W.” mentions my initials in reference to 
Rivers’ Hornet. I first saw it growing at Sawbridgeworth some 
years ago. I was told it was a French Raspberry, and would make 
a good one. So it has turned out. The grower mentioned by 
“W. P. W.” sends me particulars of his last year’s crop, which I find 
works out at 2 lbs. to the yard rnn. This, too, in a bad season, with a 
light soil resting on gravel, and no mulching. In an ordinary season it 
must be conceded, this would be greatly surpassed without the least 
difficulty. The fruits individually are very fine, and always command a 
ready sale. The surplus canes are sold each season to other growers in 
the neighbourhood, and I daresay help to swell the margin on the right 
side. My friend finds the Raspberry crop the most remunerative of his 
fruit crops. I am confident if private gardeners were acquainted with 
the merits of this variety, they would give it a trial. It has a very 
vigorous constitution and crops well. 
It will be a matter of surprise to many readers to know the barbarous 
practice of digging between the rows of canes is not yet obsolete. I was 
under the impression it was till I saw a case a few weeks back. I very 
mildly suggested the roots would be much better were the autumn 
digging discarded, but was in'^ormed they always had good crops 
of Raspberries, so there was no necessity to alter their system. It 
appears so palpably plain the roots get destroyed by such a method of 
procedure, that one can only marvel to see it being accomplished.— 
J. R. B, 
Coffee in Mexico. —The facilities offered by this country for 
the growing of Coffee, at present one of the most profitable of tropical 
crops, are attracting much attention in the United States. A short time 
ago Americans took up for Coffee culture large tracts of land on the 
isthmus of Tehuantepec, and since then the enterprise has taken definite 
shape under the name of the Mexico Land and Improvement Company. 
Following the lead of this Company several private individuals have 
made purchases of Coffee lands in other parts of the State of Vera Cruz. 
Some of these investors, says a Mexican paper, have settled on their 
plantations in order personally to acquire a knowledge of the business 
of Coffee growing, while others have appointed agents to watch over 
their interests. As long as the price of Coffee rules high, the investment 
of American capital in Mexico Coffee lands is likely to continue. The 
unfavourable conditions of the labour market in Brazil and the unsettled 
state of affairs there generally, have furnished Mexico with her golden 
opportunity in the matter of Coffee production. 
