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The trunk of our specimen by no means represents a 

 full-sized one, as we have seen very old plants with trunks 

 fully two feet high, but at this stage, unless grown in a 

 damp atmosphere and the trunk is frequently sprinkled, 

 the size of the fronds is apt to dwindle. This is due to the 

 fact that, like all trunk-forming or tree ferns, each year's 

 growth sends down its independent bundles of root fibres 

 from the bases of the new fronds, and these, naturally, if 

 they have to travel far down a dry trunk, are apt to suffer 

 on their way to the soil. The trunk is consequently 

 strengthened year by year, and is gradually built up by 

 these interlacing roots and the old bases of the decayed 

 fronds. Apart from its beauty, hardiness, evergreen 

 character and permanence as a pot plant, it is extremely 

 interesting from the scientific side, since investigation 

 has shown that its spores are peculiar in yielding fresh 

 plants without any fertilization process, simple buds being 

 produced on the prothallus, or little green scale, formed by 

 the spore. It is probably due to this simplification that no 

 fern is more easily raised from spores, and, indeed, it comes 

 up freely as strays among sowings of other kinds and in the 

 fernery generally. This faculty, however, does not prevent 

 variation, and several very different varieties have certainly 

 sprung from the " King." L. p. m. cvistata angustata is a 

 very narrow form of it, less robust, but very good, and Mr. 

 'Cropper has been fortunate enough to raise two lovely 

 refined forms of it, of such a delicate character as no 

 cultivator could have hoped for from such a stock. One 

 of these, L. p. m. fimhviata cvistata, has thin semi-translucent 

 fronds, prettily tasselled, and with a fine-toothed fringe on 

 all edges. This is a gem, and comes perfectly true from 

 its spores. The second one raised by Mr. Cropper is 

 presumably a secondary sport from this, though we can 

 only guess so. It is quite distinct, but much more 

 b)eautiful in its fringing, which latter feature, moreover, 

 is endowed with the remarkable faculty of growing out 

 into prothalli, upon which buds appear and produce 



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