THE BLADDER FERXS. 
855 
irregular arrangement. The branches themselves 
are distinctly lance-shaped; and on each side, 
above and below them, is a row of leaflets, egg- 
shaped in general outline, and notched or saw- 
edged. On the backs of the fronds the little 
bladder-like clusters of seeds are very plentiful and 
frequently become confluent. Although somewhat 
rare in Ireland—except in two or three localities in 
that country—this Fern is nevertheless widely dis¬ 
tributed throughout the rest of the United King- 
dom; being, indeed, in some places very abundant. 
The delicate Brittle Bladder Fern is easily 
grown. Give it leaf-mould, loam, peat, and sand, 
shade, and an abundance of water, and whether— 
with such soil and subject to such conditions—you 
place it in a cool stony nook of your rockery, or 
in pots, indoors, it will equally thrive. If you 
grow it in pots, plant it amongst some stones, not 
forgetting, however, to give it the appropriate soil. 
The more nearly you can approach, in your treat¬ 
ment of it, its natural conditions of growth, the 
more certain is your prospect of successfully culti¬ 
vating it. 
