THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, February 17, 1857. 833 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
Weather near London in 
1856. 
D 
D 
FEBRUARY 17—23, 1857. 
Sun 
Sun 
Moon 
Moon’s 
Clock 
Day of 
M 
w 
Barometer. 
Thermo. 
Wind. 
Inches. 
Rises. 
Sets. 
R.& S. 
Age. 
bf. Sun. 
Year. 
17 
Tu 
29.843—29.831 
43—34 
E. 
, 
12 a. 7 
17 a. 5 
2 10 
© 
14 15 
48 
18 
W 
29 . 762 - 29.707 
36—32 
E. 
01 
10 
18 
3 24 
24 
14 10 
49 
19 
Tn 
29 . 867 - 29.753 
42—32 
N.E. 
— 
8 
20 
4 32 
25 
14 5 
50 
20 
F 
29.908—29.841 
38—32 
N.E. 
— 
6 
22 
5 28 
26 
13 58 
51 
21 
S 
Sun’s declinat., 10° 28' s. 
30.054—29.916 
37—28 
N.E. 
01 
4 
24 
6 9 
27 
13 51 
52 
22 
Sun 
Shrove Sunday. 
30.074-29.976 
43—27 
N.W. 
01 
2 
26 
6 39 
28 
13 44 
53 
23 
M 
30.299—30.017 
50—27 
N. 
— 
0 
27 
7 1 
29 
13 35 
54 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last twenty-eight years, the average highest and 
lowest 
temperatures of these days are 45.5°, and 31.6°, respectively. 
The greatest heat, 58°, occurred on the 23rd, in 1846 
; and the lowest cold, 2°, 
on the 17th, in 1855. During the period 106 days were fine, 
and on Q0 rain fell. 
SCOLOPE'NDRIUM VULGA’RE. 
This is the Asplenium scolopendrium of Linnaeus, and 
the Scolopendrium officinalis, S. phyllitis, Phyllitis vul¬ 
garis, and P. scolopendrium of some other botanists. 
It is the Common Hart's Tongue Fern of English 
herbalists. 
Root compact, penetrating deeply, tufted, slowly 
spreading by forming offsets round the crown. Fronds 
numerous, usually from six to eighteen inches high; 
but Mr. C. Johnson found specimens in the open vault 
near the great hall of Conway Castle four feet long, 
and nearly four inches broad. Stem one-third without 
any leafy development, and this unleafed part is dark 
purple-coloured, and shaggy, with narrow, brown, mem¬ 
branous scales; but sometimes it is smooth. The 
general outline of the leafy portion is long, narrow, 
heart-shaped, and pointed, smooth, entire at the edge, 
but somewhat wavy, bright grass green. The leafed 
portion of the stem is also covered with scales, but they 
are smaller; it puts forth on each side a regular series 
of three-branched veins, each branch being two-forked, 
and where the outer forks almost join the outer forks 
from the next veins there is apparently a single line of 
fructification throughout their length, but each of these 
adjoining forks produces fructification, and the masses 
run together. The fructification occurs only about the 
upper part of the frond, and is composed of numerous 
small brown capsules, which rise up through a pale 
brown, membranous cover, which folds over them in 
their early growth, but in their state of ripeness remains 
nearly erect on each side. 
There are eight forms into which the fronds pass, 
but they so frequently occur with the fronds of the 
usual form that they can scarcely be considered varieties. 
1. Polyscliides has a scolloped, finely-plaited edge. 2. 
Crispum has the edge very wavy and curled. 3. Mar¬ 
ginatum, with the edge double, or, as it were, with a 
hem. 4. Hastatum, with a pair of spreading lobes at 
the base. 5. Lobatum, or rather, furcatum, for the 
point of the frond is divided into two irregular ends. 
G. Multifidum, or many-cleft at the point. 7. Lace- 
raturn, tom, the whole frond, both at the edges and 
point, being deeply cut. 8. Ramosum, branched, tbe 
stem divided in two, and the points of the twin fronds 
much lobed and crisped. 
The Hart's Tongue is one of tbe commonest of our 
Ferns, and is to be found almost in every county of the 
British Islands. 
It was known to Turner, Gerarde, Ray, and other 
ancient herbalists as Phyllitis, and even the lobatum 
variety is described and depicted by Gerarde under the 
name of Phyllitis multifida. He says he found it “ in 
the garden of Master Cranwich, a chirurgion dwelling at 
Much-Dunmow, in Essex,” “ who,” he adds, “ gave me 
a plant for my garden.” 
This Fern looks noble by itself, and also forms a very 
striking object when grown in a collection of pot plants, 
or on a rockery, from neither of which it should be 
absent. It is easily established. It is very distinct 
from all other British Ferns, and it is, moreover, a 
plant that will take its place on any part of the Fernery 
No. CCOCXXXVlir. Vot. XVII. 
