May G. COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 91 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
D 
M 
D 
W 
MAY 6—12, 0856. 
Weather ni 
| Barometer. 
car London in 1855. 
Thermo. Wind. Bain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun Moon 
Sets. It, & S, 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
af. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
6 
To 
Malthinus humeralis. 
| 29-951—29.938 
6.3—41 W. — 
24 a 4 
29 a 7 10 41 
2 
3 
34 
127 
7 
w 
Dasytes ater. 
i 29.970-29.719 
60-33 1 S.W. — 
22 
30 j 11 51 
3 
3 
38 
128 
8 
Th 
Dasytes seneus. 
29.830—29772 
56-21 IN.W. 01 
21 
32 morn. 
4 
3 
42 
129 
9 
F 
Malachius seneus. 
30.001—29.6I6 
62—43 J S.W. 09 
19 
34 i 0 44 
5 
3 
4 5 
130 
10 
3 
Malachius biguttatus. 
29-508—29.409 
63—44 S.W. 04 
17 
35 1 20 
6 
3 
48 
131 
11 
Sdn 
Whit Sunday. 
29.624-29.366 
59-34 , S.W. 0.36 
16 
37 1 45 
3 ) 
3 
50 
132 
12 
M 
Whit Monday. 
) 29.831—29.780 
53—28 In,' — 
14 
38 2 3 
8 
3 
61 
133 
Meteorology of the Week. —AtChiswick, from observations during the last twenty-nine years, the average highestand lowest tem¬ 
peratures of these days are 62.0°, and 42.0°, respectively. The greatest heat, 81°, occurred on the 12th, in 1833; and the lowest cold, 27°, 
on the 10th, in 1653. During the period 117 days were fine, and on 79 rain fell. 
CYSTO'PTERIS FRA’GILIS. 
Tins Fern has been also called by modern botanists 
Polypodium fragile, Polypodium album, Cgatheafragilis, 
and Aspidium fragile. Fragileness or brittleness is a 
j striking characteristic of its stems, and as in its Latin 
| names this is uniformly alluded to, so is itinits English 
title of Brittle Bladder Fern, and Brittle Polypody. 
Root tufted, scaly, black, and having numerous fibrous 
rootlets; it extends slowly, throwing out fresh crowns 
around the old one. Fronds many together, usually about 
six inches high, though in favourable situations, warm, 
moist, and shaded, they attain to nearly twelve inches. 
; Their general outline is spear-headed but sharp-pointed, 
and their colour a bright green. The leaflets have the 
same spear head form as the fronds, but are not so 
sharply pointed; they are not quite opposite, but so i 
nearly so as scarcely to be described as alternate; they 
clothe rather more than half the stem, and are not re¬ 
gularly arranged. The leaflts are usually alternate, 
pointed-egg-shaped, but in barren fronds blunt, tapering 
at the base and decurrent, their edge deeply, numerously, 
and sharply toothed ; the lower leafits are so deeply cut 
sometimes as to be nearly formed into smaller leafits, 
and such form may be described as doubly-leafited. 
Stem reddish-brown, becoming almost black, very slender, 
brittle, juicy, smooth, but with a few scales at the very 
bottom. The fructification on almost all the side-veins, 
and near their end. It is in round masses, numerous, 
crowded, and finally running together ; at first pale, but 
becoming black, and covering the whole back of each 
leafit. The cover ( indusium ) of the masses of spores is 
white, loose, membranous, sinking inward, irregularly 
jagged, sometimes lengthened to a point, but soon 
turned back, and forced off by the spores, which are 
black when young, but become browner with age. 
This species is extremely liable to alter its form ac¬ 
cording to the temperature of the season, and the moist¬ 
ness or dryness of the situation; but such alterations 
are not in any way permanent. 
It is not an uncommon Fern in mountain districts, 
especially on old walls, and chalky, damp, shaded rocks- 
In England it has been found at Richmond, and 
Settle, in Yorkshire; Peveril Castle, Peak’s Hole, 
Castleton, Lovers Leap, near Buxton, and Matlock, in 
Derbyshire; near Hyde, in Gloucestershire ; Cheddar, 
in Somersetshire; in Nottinghamshire; near Bristol; 
on the ground from Bourn Heath to Wormsash, near 
Bromsgrove; and at Exwick, near Exeter. 
In Wales, in a cave at Clogwyn Coch, Snowdon, rocks 
above Cwnn Idwel, near Twll Der, and near Wrexham. 
In Scotland, in Aberdeenshire, Moray, Ross-shire, 
near Maens, in Berwickshire; Sutherland and the Kin- 
cardinshire coast; and near Ivillin, 
In Ireland, in Kerry, at Lough Inn, and Lough 
Derryclare, Connamara. 
The first time this Fern is mentioned as a native of 
Britain, we think, was in 1G9G, by Bay, in the second 
edition of his “ Synopsis Methodica Sterpium Britan 
nicum.” He calls it “ Filix saxatilis caule tenui fragile 
Fine-cut Stove Fern, with slender and brittle stalks’ 
On old stone walls and rocks in the mountains of the 
Peak, in Derbyshire, and in the West-riding of York¬ 
shire, and in Westmoreland plentifully. Dr. Tancred 
Robinson found this Fern ou the dropping rock at 
Ho- CCCXCYII. Vor, XYI. 
