THE COMMON MOONWORT. 331 
siderable masses of the same kind of soil as that from which they 
were taken, whether it be sandy loam or an unctuous peat, in both 
of which they occur. Care must be also taken to keep the soil cool, 
and moderately as well as equably moistened. The plan of trans- 
planting at the dormant period is certainly most in accordance with 
theoretical notions of success. Itis not improbable that the shade 
afforded by other herbage such as grass, to the surface of the soil, 
may be beneficial to the plants, by conducing to preserve an equable 
condition of the earth, both as regards warmth and moisture. 
Mr. Newman takes a different view. “This is,” he writes,* “the 
most easy of all ferns to cultivate, never refusing to grow freely if 
properly treated. First, dig up a large sod, where a few mature 
fronds are conspicuous amongst the grass; take care to have it broad 
enough and deep enough, so that not one of the roots of the Botrychium 
is exposed, much less injured: fit this sod in a large pot, a feeder, 
or even a box ; place it in the open air, and be sure to add no com- 
post, or rich vegetable soil. Keep the grass cut short with a pair of 
scissors, and water in dry weather, for the purpose of keeping the 
grass green and vigorous. Acting on the belief that Botrychium is a 
root-parasite, the only requisite is to keep the nurse-plant in vigorous 
health.” We have already stated that we do not take this view of 
the habit of the plant, and we find our own opinion confirmed by 
that of a very keen observer, Dr. Kinahan, of Dublin, who writest:— 
*'The point of whether this plant is truly a plant-parasite or not 
has engaged my attention, and the only conclusion I can come to is, 
that there is no actual connection or contact between it and the 
plants among which it is found ; which is the more strange, as it is 
evident from the nature of the localities in which it grows, and from 
the testimony of all the most successful cultivators of the plant, that it 
would not subsist unless amongst grass. Mr. Wollaston, than whom 
I know of none more competent to offer an opinion on any subject 
connected with the growth of ferns, has told me, that he finds that 
to keep the plant over the second year, it is absolutely necessary to 
grow it in a tuft of grass, and yet that he has never, even after the 
most searching examination, by washing out the soil from the roots of 
* Newman, History of British Ferns, 3 ed. 318. 
+ Kinahan, in Proceedings of Dublin Natural History Society (session 1855-56), 28. 

