A.SPLENIUM GERMANICUM. 
35 
proportions of sharp river sand, sandy peat, and limy 
rubbish. One-third of the pot in which it is planted 
should be filled with drainage of broken potsherds. 
Nothing destroys this Fern so soon as an excess of 
water either about its roots or its foliage. 
The soil in the pot should rise to a conical point, and 
in that point the Fern should be planted with the tufted 
head of its root well above the surface, so that water 
cannot settle in it. If grown under a bell-glass, this 
should be taken off daily, and be raised at the sides 
almost continually to avoid a close, damp atmosphere, 
for such an atmosphere is injurious and even fatal to 
the plant if long continued. We prefer growing it in 
a greenhouse where a bell-glass is not needed. It must 
bo shaded from the sun; and in watering, no water 
must be poured over the crown of the root. 
Unless all these precautions are taken this Fern will 
not live under cultivation. Its dislike of a close at¬ 
mosphere precludes it from the Wardian case, for which 
its diminutive size renders it peculiar^ suitable. 
