390 THE COTTAGE GARDENEll. February 20. 
POLYSTICHUM ACROSTICHOIDES. 
(Acrostichum-like.) 
A North American Fern of great beauty. It has the 
advantage, also, of being evergreen; that is, the fronds 
do not die oif in autumn. Fronds lance-shaped, two 
feet high, and pinnated; the leaves are narrow, with 
short stems, with long, spiny hairs. Seed-vessels on the 
upper part of the frond, where it contracts. Stems 
scaly. Root-stock tufted; hence it is slow to increase 
by division. 
\ SUJ 
POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM (Thorny F^f ). 
A British Fern, and also found in every quarter of 
the globe. Fronds two feet high, broad, lance-shaped, 
bipinnate ; dark green leaves, rigid and thorny, the one 
nearest the radus, or leaf-stem, generally the largest. 
Seed-vessels thickly placed on the upper part of the 
frond. Stems thickly covered with brown scales. Root- 
stock tufted. Increased by dividing large, many-tufted 
plants. Common on hedge hanks about Farnham 
Beeches, in Buckinghamshire. A very handsome Fern, 
keeping its leaves green through the winter. Grows 
well on old stumps of trees in rockwork, 
There are several varieties of this fine Fern, of which 
P. A. lobatum is the most distinct. 
POLYSTICHUM ANGULAR (Angular). 
This is also a British Fern, and has been found 
also in some parts of Germany. Frond soft and droop¬ 
ing, growing two feet long. This species is easily known 
by its stems being very woolly or chaffy. Seed-vessels 
numerous. Evergreen, and increased by dividing large, 
many-tufted plants. It is a fine Fern, and grows well 
in not overshady woods, in leaf-mould and loam. 
POLYSTICHUM LONCHITIS (Holly Fern). 
A stiff-growing, fine species, native of Britain and 
some parts of Scotland, but by no means common. 
Fronds pinnate, a foot high, very hardy, and evergreen, 
narrow, lance-shaped, and of a deep green colour. Leaves 
short and thickly set on the frond, very thorny, like 
the leaves of the Holly. Stems covered with chaffy 
scales. Slow to increase: but sometimes a second tuft 
is produced on the root-stalk, which may be taken off 
when rooted. Found chiefly amongst rocky regions; 
hence it should be grown on a little hillock of stones, in 
peat and loam. It is one of the finest of our native 
Ferns, and should be in every collection. 
PTERIS. 
Our readers will have noticed many names of Ferns 
ending with pteris ; such, for instance, as Callipteris, 
Ceraptopteris , Gystopteris, and others. The original 
name Pteris is derived from pteron, a wing; because the 
fronds have the appearance of the wings of a bird. 
The compound names describe different sorts of wings, 
as born-winged, ostrich-winged, &c. 
The genus Pteris, as originally formed, contained a 
great number of species. It is now restricted to such 
only as have forked veins, with the seed-vessels on their 
points close to the edge of the leaf. The only hardy 
species left in the genus is 
PTERIS AQUILINA (Eagle like Fern). 
This is the very common Bracken, or Brake, that so 
beautifully clothes many of our wild wastes, affording 
shelter to all kinds of game. The question has been 
asked, Cun this Bracken be transplanted? I say, Yes, 
very easily, and certainly. Take up, in early spring, the 
rhizomas or creeping root-stocks in quantity; dig the 
ground well, draw drills, and lay the long roots in thick, 
covering them two inches deep, and they will certainly 
grow the following summer, and soon form a thick 
plantation ; but the ground must be dry, or if not well 
drained to make it so, because this Fern will not thrive 
in such places. T. Appleby. 
{To be continued.) 
LETTUCES. 
I believe there are few people to whom a salad is. 
not acceptable in the hot weather of summer; cool, 
wholesome, and refreshing, a nicely-blanched Lettuce 
is at all times inviting; and, by way of commencement, 
we may say, that a really good Lettuce is (like many 
other things) not always the best looking one; a 
mixed dish of salad, in which the very whitest kind 
that can be found, is not always the most crisp and 
tender. On the contrary, the best kind of Lettuce we 
know of (the Broun Cos, and its varieties) can rarely 
ever be blanched to the whiteness that the hooded 
White Cos variety assumes; while this last-named variety 
falls still short of the best cabbaging kinds in that 
respect, so that those who will insist on having the 
whitest blanched Lettuce to supply their tables, must not 
expect to always have the best flavoured and crispest; for 
though the White and Oreen Cos varieties are, when in 
good order, very good Lettuces, I yet give the preference 
to the best varieties of Brown Cos, when it is in good 
order, and when (as is not always the case) there has 
been sufficient care in selecting the sort, so as to be 
free from coarseness, and not liable to run to seed until 
it has attained sufficient size to be of use. 
This plant likes a rich, generous soil to grow in, and 
especially delights in one containing as large a prepara¬ 
tion of animal manure as possible; the soil ought also 
to be deep, for though the plant may not root so low as 
6ome others, yet it suffers sooner than many where it 
can no longer obtain the food in abundance on which it 
lives. An old garden soil that has by repeated diggings 
and manuring become a rich, unctuous mass, suits the 
Lettuce best; and, as I have said, it must be deep. I 
need hardly add, it must not be too dry; for though, like 
many things else, the Lettuce will stand the winter best 
when planted in a dry and rather poor soil, it is certain 
that the produce, on such soils, in dry seasons, falls 
very far short of what it ought to be; and as Lettuce is 
in most esteem in dry seasons, it is important that the soil 
should be deep, and though not soddened with stagnant 
water, yet tolerably moist. It is easy to conjecture what 
sort of a soil suits them; for if we look to the districts 
noted for producing the best crops, we shall see that the 
fine alluvial soils by the sides of rivers, which have 
been for a long period under spade-cultivation, are the 
most likely to suit, them; consequently, in small gardens 
this crop must be honoured with one of the best plots 
that is to be had, and not cramped under trees, or in 
any inferior position; and when such places are not to be 
had, much good will accrue from having the ground they 
occupy well watered with liquid-manure at certain times 
during their growth, for though this remedy will not 
entirely equal the benefits of a soil containing this and 
other suitable food in a natural way, yet it will, in a 
measure, make the ground and the crop much better 
than it otherwise would be. However, this will be more 
effectually understood by referring to some of the former 
chapters on soils and their peculiarities. 
As it is important to obtain Lettuce as early and as 
good as possible, means must be taken to secure a batch 
of young plants as soon in the season as can be done ; 
as soon, therefore, as the present wintry weather (for it 
is really so at the time I write, the 10th of February,) 
passes away, prepare some nice, warm, dry border, where 
the seed may be sown; a narrow border close to a south 
I wall, and that well sheltered, or what would be better 
