586 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 17, 1890. 
■which they are potted. With all the terrestrial and 
with most of the epiphytal Orchids, this yearly over¬ 
hauling will be found to do them good. The system 
of top-dressing should be guarded against, and never 
carried to excess, as is often done. 
The best time for potting the different species and 
varieties is a most essential point in the successful cul¬ 
ture of Orchids, and for which no “hard and fast” 
rules can be laid down, but it may be taken as a general 
rule that the best time is when the plants are starting 
into growth. 
Manures.— The question of applying artificial ma¬ 
nures to Orchids is often raised. Some good growers 
recommend it, others equally experienced condemn it. 
But I think there are few growers but will admit 
that some of the species are greatly benefited by the 
judicious use of manures, such as the application of 
bones, in the form of bone-meal, for many of the terres¬ 
trial Orchids. One large grower I know speaks very 
highly of horse-droppings, such as would be prepared 
lor a Mushroom bed, being added to the potting 
material for Lycastes, and watering Odontoglossums 
with weak manure water, made by steeping the drop¬ 
pings in water some time before using. He says the 
different appearance of the foliage after the use of 
the manure water is marvellous, and he is gradually 
giving such treatment to the whole of his Odonto¬ 
glossums. I do not recommend any radical change in 
the culture of Orchids where the plants are doing well; 
but experiments carefully carried out often lead to a 
more successful mode of treatment. Do not for a 
moment let us suppose that we have reached the limit 
of successful culture in Orchids, great as has been 
the stride made in that direction during the last few 
years. 
Watering. —When to water and when to withhold 
water is another most important question. As a 
general rule, plants require most water during their 
growing period, but even then great care must be 
taken not to over-water. The sphagnum growing on 
the surface of the pots will help as a guide to watering. 
To keep the sphagnum green and growing on all 
plants during their growing season, and on cool 
Orchids all the year round, will be the aim of most 
Orchid growers. Allowing the sphagnum to become 
partially dry before watering will in most cases ensure 
enough water to the plants. The plants under this 
treatment will produce good growths and flower spikes 
in abundance. Guard against keeping the sphagnum 
always so 6oaked as to rot it; the growth made under 
such conditions is not the kind to flower freely. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
FERN HUNTING— II. 
The Hart’s-tongue and Lady Fern. 
The lane now deepens into a sort of cutting between 
high hedge-banks below the level of the adjoining 
land. Through one of these banks a spring trickles 
into a rude stone trough, round which are clustered 
innumerable seedlings of Hart’s-tongue and other 
species, which seedlings, however, we ignore for the 
present, as we perceive their parents are clothing the 
sides of the banks, and crowning them with their 
waving plumes. Down by the lane-side, where the 
overflow of the spring forms a diminutive crystal 
brooklet, prattling merrily over the pebbles, we find 
at once several species of Ferns which were absent 
in the drier lane above. First the tall, graceful fronds 
of the Lady Fern (Athyrium Filix-fcemina), with its feet 
or rather crowns almost .in the water, claim our 
attention. This Fern, though twice, or it may be 
thrice divided, like the Polystichum, lacks entirely its 
spiny character and harder texture, and is altogether 
of a tenderer and more delicate nature, as befits its 
name. 
We find, too, that its spore-heaps are not only 
more numerous, hut that they are very small, and 
shaped somewhat like a horse-shoe, a ragged indusium 
springing from the inner side. The scales are also few, 
and very inconspicuous. As this Fern lines the road 
all the way until the cutting ends, and the streamlet 
plunges into an adjoining field, we are speedily 
impressed by the fact that there are considerable 
differences of type among the various plants we 
examine, some being much more delicate and finely cut 
than others, quite independently of greater or less 
exposure to light or other conditions affecting growth. 
We find also that the colour of the stems is variable, 
some plants having them bright green, and others a 
purplish red. Glancing up the sloping bank we observe 
that it is nearly covered with a very different moisture- 
loving species—viz., 
The Hard Fern, 
Or Blechnum spicant, with dark shining green, hard- 
looking fronds of two obviously different sorts, some, 
the majority, bending over gracefully close to the soil, 
while the others stand stiffly erect in their midst, 
reaching, in some very robust specimens near the water, 
to our waist. The drooping fronds Are much shorter, 
and pinnatifid like the Polypody, but with more 
numerous divisions laid close together; the upright ones, 
however, are divided right to the midrib, with much 
narrower divisions placed some distance apart. On 
examining these we find a line of spore cases runs down 
the middle of each division, a tough hard indusium 
lapping over it from each side. As the drooping fronds 
are all barren, we recognise that the contracted character 
of these erect fronds is due to the transmutation of leaf- 
producing energy into reproductive vigour. This 
feature of barren fertile fronds of distinct character 
discriminates this Fern from all other British ones; it is, 
indeed, the sole representative hero of a family which 
as Lomaria or Blechnum (there is a slight specific 
difference between the two) figures largely among exotic 
species. 
The next companion of the Lady Fern one hunter 
considers a “find,” as it is much rarer and more 
limited in its distribution than the other species found 
so far. This is 
The Lemon-scented Buckler Fern, 
Or Lastrea montana, a fine bold-growing, twice-divided 
Fern springing up on the shuttlecock plan, and remark¬ 
able for its divisions or pinn® beginning quite at the 
base of the frond as short round lobes, which gradually 
increase in length for about three-quarters the height of 
the frond, decreasing then more rapidly to its apex. 
This Fern is often confounded by beginners with its 
near relative, the common Male or Buckler Fern 
(Lastrea Filix-mas), of which we find a grand specimen 
close by ; the lowest pinn® of this, however, only 
commence some distance up the stalk, and are several 
inches long, the leafy outline being that of a skittle 
instead of an Indian club. Apart from this obvious 
difference, the name of Lemon-scented Fern is found to 
be fully justified if a frond be passed gently through 
the hand. The terms Buckler and Shield, as applied 
to the Lastrea and Polystichum families, mean, philo- 
logically, the same thing, but in their application 
relate to quite distinct families. The Shield Ferns 
(Polystichum) are so called from the shape of the 
indusium, which, as we have seen, is round, with, as it 
were, a handle in the middle by which they are 
attached through the centre of the spore heap. In the 
Buckler Ferns (Lastreas), however, this spore cover is 
kidney shaped and attached to the frond at the notch 
or sinus, as it is called ; the spore cases hence do not 
quite surround the point of attachment. This, it will 
be seen, shows an approach to the horseshoe form of the 
indusium seen in the Lady Fern (Athyrium), which in 
its turn approaches the straight lines of the Spleenwort 
family, to which, indeed,]some botanists have assigned it. 
Pursuing our search, we presently see spreading out, 
from the top of the bank, the huge fronds of a mag¬ 
nificent bold form of Shield Fern, which, from its hard 
shining character, flatter habit of growth, and general 
greater robustness, induces a climb for closer inspec¬ 
tion. This turns out to be 
The Hard Prickly Shield Fern 
(P. aculeatum), a first cousin of P. angulare, and, 
indeed, so nearly related that, distinct as they are in 
type, in some varieties they merge into each other so 
closely as to puzzle even experts to distinguish them. 
Roughly, the differences are indicated above, and seeing 
ordinary plants of the two types together, it is impos¬ 
sible to confound them. The remaining member of the 
family, the Holly Fern (P. lonchitis), being a true 
mountain species, and only found above 3,000 ft. 
elevation, is out of our range to-day. This is pricklier 
and harder than even P. aculeatum, and only once 
divided, the pinn® never, even in the robustest plants, 
being again divided. Undeveloped seedlings of P. 
aculeatum are often mistaken for this by beginners who 
are unaware of its mountain habit; but in this last- 
named species the lowest pinn® even of the seedlings 
are always found to be split—an infallible proof of the 
parentage. 
The Spleenwort Family. 
The tall hedge-bank now gives place to one of those 
stone-faced earthen dykes or walls so common in Devon¬ 
shire, which, from their construction, afford a more 
congenial home for small Ferns than do the more 
loosely-built stone ones of the northern counties. Every 
chink and crevice we find crowded with seedlings of all 
the species common to the locality. Here we speedily 
find two members of the Spleenwort (Asplenium) 
family—viz., the Black Maidenhair Spleenwort (A. 
Adiantum nigrum) and the common Maidenhair 
Spleenwort (A. trichomanes). The former has hard, 
lucent, dark green, twice-divided fronds, on long, stiff, 
purplish black stalks, as much as 1 ft. in length alto¬ 
gether. The latter is a very different plant, which 
forms small radiating tufts of narrow, once-divided 
fronds, formed of tiny oval pinnae attached by minute 
stalks to a central, black, hair-like stalk, whence its 
name, both botanical and popular. Diverse as these 
two plants are in appearance, we find their family 
affinity plainly enough established in the form of fruc¬ 
tification— i.e., short straight lines of spore cases, with 
an indusium springing from the lower side. A rough 
resemblance in miniature is seen to the Hart’s-tongue 
fructification ; but here the lines are single, while in 
that Fern each sausage-shaped mass consists of two 
parallel lines springing from separate veins, and 
coalescing into one as they develop. In point of fact, 
the sori are quite a la Asplenium, but in pairs, with 
the indusia springing from the outer edges of each 
pair. 
The Common Mall Rue. 
Id the drier parts of the wall near the top we find a few 
plants of a third member of the same family, in the 
form of the common Mall Rue (A. Ruta-muraria), a 
dwarf leathery dark green Fern, with small insignificant¬ 
looking fronds once or twice divided in triangular lobes ; 
and peeping over to catch a glimpse of the other side, 
we are fortunate enough to espy some nice tufts of the 
Scale Fern (Ceteraeh officinarum), a find which satisfies 
us that we are out of the beaten track of the ordinary 
Fern Vandal. This curious little Fern has several 
characters quite peculiar to itself, the first and foremost 
being that it chooses the sunny side of the wall. Its 
thick, leathery, once-divided fronds are also densely 
covered on their backs by a rich brown coating of chaffy 
scales, among which lie the spore heaps in the fashion 
of Asplenium, to which it is closely allied. The rich 
olive-green colour of the upper surface contrasting with 
that of the backs, gives the starry clusters of this Fern 
a peculiarly handsome appearance, which is enhanced by 
the white downy character of the young fronds when 
they are rising, the scales only assuming the brown tints 
at maturity. 
The Hard Male Fern. 
Our peep over the dyke ha3 revealed to us a plantation 
of young trees among which we perceive numerous huge 
clumps of Ferns, to inspect which we avail ourselves of 
a convenient gate, and are rewarded by finding some 
grand specimens of the hard Male Ferns (L. pseudo-mas) 
distinguished from the common Male Fern (L. Filix-mas) 
by its robuster growth and harder texture ; their 
relations, indeed, are identical with those of the hard 
and soft prickly Shield Ferns. The majority of the 
clumps, however, we find to be Lady Ferns and the 
Broad Buckler Fern (Lastrea dilatata), a large-growing 
form of Lastrea, with broad, triangular, thrice-divided 
fronds, and somewhat curly divisions. 
On the sides ot a ditch we find Lastrea spinulosa, aform 
closely akin to the last but smaller, and with somewhat 
bristly ultimate divisions, whence its name, while in a 
particularly damp and shady nook a few plants of the 
elegant Lastrea remula, or Hay-scented Buckler Fern, 
reward our expectant search. These last three are 
very closely related, but their family is clearly enough 
indicated by the kidney-shaped spore-cover. L. ®mula 
may also be discriminated by its peculiar recurved 
pinn®, from which it is also called L. recurva, as well 
as for its scent of newly-mown hay, which is clearly 
perceived when the fronds are passed through the hand. 
It has also a peculiarly round tufted crown in fully - 
developed plants, formed of a score or more of incipient 
fronds, whereas in its relations a single crown would 
only show a dozen, and those in a more or less cup¬ 
shaped form. 
-- 
HISTORY OP CULTIVATED 
NARCISSUS.* 
Mr. Burbidge remarked how singularly appro¬ 
priate it seemed to him, this holding of a four days’ 
tournament under the auspices of Queen Daffodil, in 
the time-honoured and memory-haunted precincts of 
the Chiswick Gardens—gardens visited years ago by 
Haworth and Herbert, Salisbury and Sabine, Bindley, 
Sweet, Ellacombe, and many others of the former 
lovers of the Narcissus. 
* Abstract of a paper read at the Narcissus Couference, held 
at the Chiswick Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
April 16th, 1S90, by F. W. Burbidge, M.A., F.L.S., Curator 
of Trinity College Botanical Gardens, Dublin. 
