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54 BRITISH FERNS. 
& bell-glass in a mixture of light friable loam and sand: ~ 
mosses must be allowed to grow in company. It seeds 
very freely, and though some of the seeds may lay 
dormant for years there will be @ pretty constant 
succession of plants, 
8. HARD FERN. Spicanr. 
Blechnum spicant, Withering. B. F.17, 
The caudex of this common fern is tufted and its 
crown hairy. The fronds are of two kinds, fertile and 
barren. The fertile frond is erect, linear, simply pin- 
Natifid and pointed at the tip; the lower half of the 
frond is dark purple, Smooth, shining and naked, but 
apex, convolute at the 
sides, and densely and completely covered with seed on 
the under side. 
