NOVEMBER. 
239 
freely watered, after which, but very little water will be required, or they are 
apt to rot beneath the soil. They should remain in these pots till March, and 
then be potted off singly, and grown on in the usual manner. Should there 
happen to be a scarcity of plants, and if the old ones have been retained, cuttings 
taken then and placed in a good bottom heat will rapidly root and make 
blooming plants for the same season. 
They can also be propagated by division of the old roots; the plant should 
be potted up in October, and wintered in cold frames; and in this way they 
will make strong plants for planting out the following spring. The mode of 
propagation from “ eyes ” is essentially a nurseryman’s method, and is one 
I would not recommend to gardeners or amateurs. 
Seed sown in February or March in heat, and the plants potted off as soon 
as they are strong enough, and grown on, will invariably flower the same season 
if it is at all favourable. The very best seed should be secured, as only good 
flowers can be obtained from seed saved from the choicest varieties. 
Elsenham Hall Gardens. William Plester. 
FERN-HUNTING IN THE ISLAND OF ARRAN, 
IN THE FIRTII OF CLYDE. 
The Island of Arran is one of the most interesting in the kingdom, and 
presents a rich field to the botanical and geological explorer. On the south 
side of the island the climate is similar to the Isle of Wight; this can easily 
be seen by the half-hardy plants now growing there, and never in the least 
injured by the severest winters. Whether the gulf stream has any effect 
on the climate of the western islands of Scotland or not, is a question 
not easily solved. The following list of plants may be found growing at 
Brodick Castle, or in the grounds of the hotels at Invercloy and Corrie :— 
Leycesteria formosa, in large bushes and full of fruit; the common Hydrangea, 
12 feet high, with large bunches of flowers ; the Port Famine Fuchsia (Fuchsia 
discolor), variety Riccartoni, has grown into little trees, and is everywhere 
seen planted near the fishermens’ cottages; the Coronilla glauca grows q\uite 
unprotected as a bush; Myrtles, the Sweet Bay, Benthamia fragifera, and 
Arbutus of sorts are quite hardy; and on the walls of the hotel at Corrie may 
be seen large plants of Clianthus puniceus and Escallonia macrantha in full 
flower, and never covered in the winter. It is, however, in the varieties of 
British Ferns that Arran is worthy of a visit from collectors. Near the shore 
road at Corrie, where the Devonian, or old red sandstone, crops out at the base 
of Goatfell, the Filmy Ferns (Hymenophyllum tunbridgense and Wilsoni) are 
found plentifully on the damp shaded rocks. In the same locality the Asplenium 
marinum may be found amongst the boulders close to the sea. Between Brodick 
and Corrie a small cataract tumbles from the precipitous side of Goatfell. In 
the winter months and during heavy rains it is swelled to the size of a small 
rivulet, and must be singularly grand, as its fall is many hundred feet high, and 
can be seen from the Ayrshire coast, though the distance is thirteen miles off. 
At the base of the mountain, as far as the Hazels and other trees and bushes 
ascend, it leaps amongst the boulders of the old red sandstone rock, and is 
quite the home of the Fern tribe. The Blechnum spicant grows finer than I 
ever saw it before, some of the fertile fronds being 18 inches long. The 
Asplenium viride is likewise plentiful, as well as Asplenium lanceolatum. Poly¬ 
podium dryopteris, phegopteris, and alpestre, and Lastrea maculata may be found 
in places, and all the common Ferns in abundance. Near the hotel at Invercloy, 
there is ravine, where Allosorus crispus and Cystopteris fragilis may be found 
