NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y„ MAY 1, 1875, 
ADIANTUM SEEMANNI. 
Though not a new name amongst our 
garden Ferns, this is in reality a new garden 
Fern ; at the same time it is not new to 
scienca, having been described by Sir W, J. 
Hooker bo long since as 1851, This seeming 
anomaly is thus explained. When publishing 
hiB^pec/e$ FUtoum, Sir AY. Hooker described 
under the name of Adiantum Seemnnui n 
remarkably fine pinnate species, gathered by 
Seemann in 18SS in Central America. Somo 
four or live years ago, on the occasion of 
one of his subsequent trips to Central 
America, Dr. Seemann gathered fertile 
fronds of a pinnate Adiantum which lie 
supposed to bo the same as that just referred 
to, a id these were either sent or brought 
home by him, and handed to Mr. Bull, who 
raised from them a crop of plants, which In 
the Juvenile state passed unchallenged as A. 
Seemanni, for which Seemann had gathered 
them. Tiie error was not discovered until 
Messrs. Veiteh & Sons exhibited under the 
provisional name of Adiantum Zahnii, a 
fine pinnated Maiden-hair, collected also in 
Central America by their collector, Zahn, 
when a closer examination showed that the 
plant introduced by Seemann was really 
Adiantum WiUoui and not Seemanni, while 
the supposed now A. Zahnii was not, strictly 
new, but the already described A, Seemanni. 
The mistake- was one that might easily be 
made,) since both species have pinnate 
fronds with large, oblique, long-pointed 
pinnae, and it was only when fructification 
was produced by the young plants that any 
tangible materials for their iden¬ 
tification were availble, and even 
then they were overlooked until 
the advent of Zalm's plant led to 
their closer scrnnlty. 
Adiantum Seemanni, as will be 
seen from our illustrations, is a 
noble species. We are indebted to 
Messrs. Veiteh for fronds from 
their specimen plant represented 
by the illustration, which are fully 
2 feet long, with fertile pinnae 3 
inches long and 2 inches broad at 
the base, while some of the sterile 
pinme are nearly 4 inches long and 
2}j inches broad. They have a 
comparatively slender, glossy black 
stripe, bare on the lower part, and /p 
bearing towards the top from four Ax''' 
to eight of the magnificent pinnae 
already noted, which are attached 
l>y a slender petiole an inch long, 
and are prominently rounded on ^ 
the anterior base, and sloped olY on 
the posterior side, the color being a / f -^- 
deep olive-tinted green, slightly <•> 
glaucous beneath. The sori in the 
more perfect fronds occupy the 
whole margin except the Bioping 
portion of the base and the acumin¬ 
ate point, which latter, as well as ^ 
the sterile pinnae, is iucisely toothed: 
they are very large and prominent, 
in some places oblong, a quarter of 
an Inch long, sometimes more, 
sometimes less, in other places co¬ 
hering for a length of an inch or 
more, chiefiy at the upper base. 
When shown at the Royal Botanic 
Society’s fete in June’Jast under the 
name of A. Zahnii, the plant was 
awarded a certificate. The speci¬ 
men represented in the illustration 
measures about two feet two inches across. 
Description : Adiantum Seemanni, Hook¬ 
er.— Caudex creeping, knotted, sending down 
copious woolly roots; frond ovate, pin- 
petioles black, ebenous, and very glcB y. 
The beautiful fern illustrated herewith, 
and described as above in the Gardeners’s 
Chronicle, appeal's to have attracted much 
LEAVES OF A.. SEETvA: AISTTvri. 
nated; pinn® few, large, 4—6, on long | 
slender petioles, obliquely and broadly 1 
deltoideo-ovate acuminate, not lobed, cori- | 
nceo-membranacKOUs ; sterile ones closely 
and deeply Inciso serrated, striated with the 
copious veins, dark brown-green and glossy 
above, glaucous and opaque beneath ; sori 
contiguous, short oblong or linear-oblong j 
and elongated, or less combined or con tine us, 
hard and coriaceous ; stripes, rachis, and 
attention n England. It is allied to our 
common native Maiden-hair Fern (Adian¬ 
tum pedulum) a beautiful species found in 
shady woods,and it is well worthy of culture 
either as a window or garden plant. The 
leaves shown are natural size. Fertile fronde 
on the left; x.40 and x.lCOl, magnified 
sj ores. 
While Europeans search the world over 
for ferns, few of our people take sufficient 
interest in our native species even to learn 
their names. 
- ♦ + ♦- 
FLORAL GOSSIP FROM “ BROWNIE.” 
What a comfort house plants are, to be 
sure ! To-day, while the snow is falling 
thick and fast, the thermometer down to 
zero, I am pleased to sit and admire the Eu- 
patorium - both the white and blue variety— 
iu full bloom ; Geraniums—pink, salmon col¬ 
ored, and of the Gen. Grant variety, which 
i? a profuse bloomer both summer and win¬ 
ter; Lantunas and Heliotropes that gladdened 
us with their (lowers all summer, seeming 
never to take a rest; the beaut iful Ice Pink, 
trained to a suitable ladder, chock fullof buds 
just ready to unfold their bright pink blos¬ 
soms to the sun ; Petunias of the variegated 
Variety, both single and double, blooming 
profusely, a little, miniature red rose bud¬ 
ded ; then come the Lilies—the Calla and 
Johntonia, of wliich I have a number in each 
pot, furnishing u a with lily buds all the long 
winter; and lastly, though not least, come 
the Verbenas, that have Just commenced 
showing their purple, scarlet, crimRon and 
M white blossoms, having brought them safely 
through the winter with now and then a hot 
water bath—I notice they will bear pretty 
hot water ; ditto green louse. 
1 have now some V«rboua slips growing 
finely for bidding out In the spring that, were 
rooted upon the sitting-room stove ; a. novel 
way you will say, perhaps, but have done so 
successfully with a number of otlicr varie¬ 
ties. In the center of the window is sus¬ 
pended by a stout cord a basket filled with 
Ivy Geranium, Silver leaved Geranium mid 
Sweet AlyssUm, the latter having bloomed 
incessantly all winter. As soon as it begins 
to look ragged, I prune it severely ; 
in a week or two it will again bud 
and bloom freely. I have followed 
this plan in out-doOr culture as a 
bedrler, cutting it back in July, and 
by the last of August it will be a 
mass of flowers until very hard frost. 
In speaking of bedding plants, 
there ia none that oxeelB the Ge¬ 
ranium for the purpose named. 
Last fall, not wishing to let my pete 
all winter-kill, I proceeded to save 
them in this wise Taking them 
up carefully with a spading fork, 
shaking the dirt from the roots ; 
pruning the roots and tops severely; 
packed them closely In an old bread 
tray, such as our grandmothers 
used to knead bread in ; put good 
dirt well around them ; watered 
them; had them carried into a 
-—^ room through which the stovepipe 
goes; have given but little water 
until now. I shall water them more 
frequently to allow of their braneh- 
ing somewhat before setting them 
out, when they will soon bud and 
■ r bloom. Have bad no success with 
Y\\ keeping geraniums in the cellar, 
but the best of success this way. 
'N V The choicest cuttings were placed 
in a box, when not one in fifty 
failed to root. Brownie. 
iA'A i CatsklU, Greene Co., N. Y. 
AIDIA-IMTTTIN/E SEIVE A-lSnSTI. 
New German Dahlias. — It is 
asserted by the Hamburger Garten 
Zeitung that the number of new 
varieties of Dahlias offered by Ger¬ 
man growers this year is 530, of 
which number one grower, Sieck- 
mann, furnishes 405. 
PRICE SIX CENTS. 
*2.05 PEIt YEAR. 
VOL. XXXI. No. 18. 
WHOLE No. 131S. 
[Entered according to Act of CongToas. in tbe year 1875, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
