8i 



without handles or any similar receptacle, in which a small 

 hole must be made for drainage and to allow of watering 

 from beneath; some of my most successful sowings have 

 been made in discarded bell-shaped glass gas shades. The 

 pot, after being crocked, I till with soil to within an inch of 

 the top, and after sowing the spores place it in a saucer of 

 water, and put a piece of glass on the top of it in the 

 usual way. 



I have tried sowings of montanas both in a warm green- 

 house and in a cold one, and I find them to grow well in 

 both ; if anything, I think they come quicker in heat, but 

 a cold greenhouse, or frame, or even a cool room is quite 

 sufficient. The prothalli seem to dislike excessive heat 

 unless they are kept sufficiently damp ; on the other hand, 

 I have seen them damp off in a curious manner, showing 

 that too much moisture is also injurious. As the prothalli 

 are much smaller than those of most other species, care 

 must be taken at this stage to remove any larger-sized 

 prothalli which may appear, as these probably come from 

 chance spores of Lastvea dilatata or Athyrium f. f. or other 

 stronger growing varieties, which, if they are present in 

 •quantity, would choke out the montana owing to their 

 more rapid growth. In the case of some pots in which I 

 have not taken this precaution I have had no montanas at 

 all, but a plentiful crop of numerous other varieties which I 

 did not sow intentionally. 



As soon as the seedlings are about an inch in height I 

 prick them out into pans or small wooden boxes filled with 

 a mixture of loam, peat, leaf-mould and sand in about 

 equal proportions which has been passed through a \-m. 

 mesh riddle and is then well pressed down and watered. 

 These seedlings should be kept in a fairly close atmosphere, 

 otherwise they must be covered with sheets of glass until 

 the seedlings have taken root, and they must always be 

 watered with a fine rose with rain water or water free from 

 lime. I find they grow very quickly in a warm green- 

 house, and it is most interesting to watch their development, 



