native wilds, and to have taken up its residence near the habitations of men. It may almost be called the Churchyard Fern, being so commonly found on old churches and churchyard walls. In a charming little book on the ferns of Devonshire it is mentioned especially as growing inside the tower of Morwinstowe Church, and round about the sad memorials of the drowned and shipwrecked sailors who lie buried there in close proximity to the devouring element which engulfed them. It is not a melancholy fern, and its bright tiny fronds, springing from their resting-places, serve to remind one of the new life which is to come, and of the "haven of rest, where no storms shall blow." We need walk no further from London than Greenwich Park to see it flourishing abundantly on the brick walls surrounding a part of the park; and those who are wishing to meet with it may find it most likely on the first garden-wall they pass by. Those who desire to domesticate this fern will find it difficult to remove from its native haunts, as its wiry roots seem to intersect the bricks or pieces of rock on which it grows. It should only be removed with a portion of the wall on which it has fixed itself, and then surrounded with brick rubbish, mortar, and sandy peat. In this way it will often thrive well if sheltered from the sun and cold winds. Mr. Newman says:"It seems to disapprove of the attentions of the gardener, to loathe his waterings and his syringings, to despise his composts, and utterly to eschew the confinement of a bell-glass." FORKED SPLEENWORT. ASPLENIUM SEPTENTRIONALE. SYNONYMS. ACROSTICHUM SEPTENTRIONALE.-Linnæus. THIS species, again is, like the Wall Rue, and has similar tufted fronds, but the whole frond is a grasslike spike, forked towards the top, and divided into two or three thickish sharp-pointed segments, about half an inch long, containing on the back two or more separate lines of sori, which eventually occupy the whole space. The fronds make their appearance in March or April, gain maturity in August, and remain green throughout the winter. There is scarcely any danger of confusing this fern with any other, although its similarity to the Buckshorn Plantain might mislead a very casual observer. It is decidedly a rare British fern. It grows only in the interstices and fissures of rocks and stone walls. It is found at Llanroost, near Conway, in Wales; in Cumberland, Yorkshire, and some other northern counties of England; and in only two localities in Scotland. Mr. Ward found it plentifully in Somersetshire, and Mr. Newman says Poten, a well-known collector of ferns, brought hundreds of roots from the parish of Culbone, in that county. When cultivated, it requires the shelter of a close frame or bell-glass. The same treatment may be pursued as with Asplenium Ruta muraria, bearing in mind that no superfluous moisture must be allowed. Mr. Wollaston says that it not only requires very careful potting, but great care and attention afterwards. The best soil is sandy peat, with some old mortar mixed with it. COMMON WALL SPLEENWORT, OR MAIDEN HAIR SPLEENWORT. ASPLENIUM TRICHOMANES. [Linnæus, Smith, Newman, Moore, and Babington.] (Fig. 32.) No SYNONYMS-being recognized by all Botanists under this name. IT is a pretty little tufted fern, generally from two to six inches high. It has a slender hair-like black stalk, and regularly disposed-of ovate pinna forming the fronds. They are of a deep green colour, slightly crenated at the margin. The pinnæ are attached to the rachis by a very short stalk, forming the attenuation of a wedge-shaped base. When old, the pinnæ fall off, leaving the black glossy hair-like stalks naked, mingling with the green fronds. Both this pretty little fern and its variety Asple nium viride are abundant on shaded rocks, in old walls and buildings throughout Great Britain, Europe, Central and Russian Asia (except the extreme north), in North and South America, and in Australia. In the west of England, and especially in Wales, it is a common fern. In the valley of the Wye it grows in profusion, covering whole masses of ground, and presenting a lovely appearance. In Germany there is a legend attached to a well near which this fern grows most luxuriantly. A lady keeping tryst with her lover, he was suddenly, by some evil spell, changed into a wolf. In her terror, she fled before him, and in her haste fell over a precipice, her beautiful hair becoming entangled in the bushes. Immediately, on the spot, a clear spring welled up, and her hair took root and grew into the lovely fern now called "Maiden's Hair Spleenwort." The well is called Wolf's Spring; and after hearing the legend the traveller is expected to take with him as a relic a bunch of "Maiden's Hair." A tea or syrup made of the fronds has long been recommended as a remedy in pulmonary affections. The Common Spleenwort is easily cultivated, and is one of the prettiest of our smaller ferns. It is well adapted for rock-work or for insertion in the crevices of walls or buildings, where the mortar and brickwork insures perfect drainage, while it absorbs mois ture. In Ward's cases, where its size is suitable, it should have the upper and dry portions of rock-work. From the experiments of M. Wollaston it was found that a soil of sandy loam is best adapted for its sucrequires less moisture than most other ferns; in fact, the crown or centre of growth should never be wetted. cess, as it A variety of this fern, believed by many botanists to be a distinct species, Asplenium Trichomanes viride (the Green Spleenwort), is known by its stem being instead of black or dark-brown at the base only. green HARD FERN. BLECHNUM SPICANT. [Bentham, Roth, Whithering, and Moore.] (Fig. 26.) SYNONYMS. BLECHNUM BOREALE.-Swartz, Smith, Babington, and Hooker. LOMARIA SPICANT.-Desveux. OSMUNDA SPICANT -Linnæus. THIS hardy fern has simply pinnate fronds, tufted, of two kinds-fertile and barren. The fertile fronds are in the centre of the tuft, erect, from a foot to a foot and a half high, with narrow acute segments. |