SOUTH WICK, MASS., U. S. A. 
19 
OUR HARDY FERNS 
UR Hardy Ferns fill a place in our North American flora that is worthy of our 
careful study. Nature is very generous in her planting, and we find every 
wooded dell decked with these graceful, flowerless gems. They are so easily 
handled, require so little care, and give such general satisfaction, that we cannot 
well do without them. There is such a great variety from which to select that we 
are sure to find some of the number just fitted for the flowerless nook or shaded 
bank, that could not readily be brightened with other plants, or they can be made 
to add a charm to the bed or bank of flowers; and many dreary places shut out 
from the sunlight can be made brighter by a clump of ferns. Most of the follow¬ 
ing are of very easy culture and hardy in New’ England. As a rule they delight in 
a shady situation, yet a few are adapted for open sunlight. 
ADIANTUM pedatum (Maiden Hair)—One of the prettiest. It grows 
about a foot high, in rich 
shades, bearing at the sum¬ 
mit a forked frond composed 
of slender spreading divisions. 
Clumps 20 cents each, $1.25 
per dozen clumps. 
ASPIDIUM acrostichoides— 
An evergreen species, about a 
foot high, with deep green 
fronds, simply divided. Al¬ 
though it is one of our com¬ 
mon species, it is a pretty 
one, and easily grown. Har¬ 
dy. 15 cents each, $1 per 
dozen. 
aculeatum var. Braunii — A 
rarer, more local species, 
growing along the margins of 
mountain brooks. The fronds 
are often 2 feet in length by G 
inches in width, chaffy and 
hairy throughout. 20 cents 
each, $1.50 per dozen, 
cristatum —This species grows 
from 1 to 2 feet, in moist 
shades, with fronds about 3 
inches wide. 10 cents each, 
$1 per dozen. 
cristatum var. Clintonianum 
— In ever) 7 w r ay larger than 
the preceding, sometimes at- 
adiantum pedatum. taining a height of four feet, 
with fronds nearly a foot wide. This is a showy fern, and not difficult to grow. 
15 cents each, $1.25 per dozen. 
Boottii —An intermediate fern between cristatum and spinulosum, found sparingly 
in swamps. 25 cents each, $2 per dozen. 
Felix=mas (Male Fern) — A very beautiful and hardy fern, green all the year. Rare. 
30 cents each. 
Goldianum — This species often grows 4 feet high, w 7 ith fronds a foot or more 
w r ide. Broadly ovate in outline, deep green in color. One of the most interest¬ 
ing species. 25 cents each, $1.50 per dozen, 
marginale —One of our prettiest evergreen species. Fronds 1 to 2 feet in length, 
