


146 THE BRITISH FERNS. 
kept separate, those native forms in which the cordate or auriculate 
base is entirely wanting, seem equally deserving of separation. 
Sir J. E. Smith mentions that the whole plant when bruised has a 
nauseous scent, and that it is mucilaginous and acrid to the taste. 
Medicinal virtues were formerly attributed to it, but these are now 
disregarded. Thus it is said to have been formerly used boiled 
in red wine as an astringent in cases of diarrhœa, dysentery, &c., not 
only in this country but also on the continent. It was also employed, 
especially by country herbalists, and in the domestic pharmacopœia, 
in the preparation of an ointment for healing wounds and ulcers, or 
according to Lightfoot, as a vulnerary for scalds and burns. Mr. 
Newman mentions* that the late Lady Greenly, of Titley Court, 
Herefordshire, took great pains to introduce and cultivate an ever- 
green fern called Dail llosg y Tán, as a remedy for burns, and that 
accredited specimens of this fern received from Lady Hall of Llan- 
over, by Mr. Beynon, proved to be the common Hart's- Tongue. 
Few native ferns are more desirable than this for the garden ; and 
no fern rockery should be without a large proportion of its varied 
forms. Its boldness of character even in the normal state, its deep 
verdure when in health, and its almost endless variety, especially 
recommend it to the notice of eultivators, at whose hands, more- 
over, it seeks no special care; for it is rather a free-growing plant 
than otherwise, preferring humid shady places, with a well drained 
soil, a sandy loam mixed with a small proportion of peat and sand, 
according to the circumstances of individual cases, being the prefer. 
able earth for its roots. In pots the same kind of compost answers 
very well indeed, provided drainage is properly attended to. It does 
not succeed so well in a town atmosphere as where the air is pure, 
but wherever this desideratum can be secured few ferns grow more 
satisfactorily. It is also a very good fern for a cool house or pit, in 
which it will generally thrive. We find it however exceedingly 
liable to be attacked by the grub of a kind of weevil, which feeds on 
the caudex, and if not timely discovered destroys the plant. Several 
* Newman, History of British Ferns, 8 ed. 275. 

