•85 



as does a seed proper. The main difference then is, that 

 whereas a seed proper is provided with a store of nourish- 

 ment to give the young plant a start in Hfe, the fern equiva- 

 lent of a seed derives its primary nourishment from the 

 scale or pYothallns, and hence does not become detached, the 

 prothallus acting as fostering nurse until the young fern by 

 means of its root system is fairly established, when the 

 scale decays and dies. 



It is for these reasons that in my several works on 

 British Ferns, and in many descriptive articles, I have 

 always regarded the two kinds of organs under the Fern 

 prothallus as the " homologues " or counterparts of pollen 

 grains and ovaries in the flowering plants. They perform 

 the same functions entirely, though in somewhat different 

 fashions, and I cannot but regard it as " hair-splitting " to 

 raise objections to the parallel, or, under such circum- 

 stances, to find fault with the use of the word "seedlings," 

 instead of " sporelings," in connection with young Ferns so 

 raised. The abnormally produced Ferns mentioned above, 

 and which may be regarded as true " sporelings" and not 

 " seedlings," are those in which " apogamy " occurs. In 

 these the prothallus is produced in the usual way, but 

 instead of the young Fern being sexually produced, as 

 above described, a bud appears, usually on the site of Lhe 

 suppressed " archegonium," and thus develops directly into 

 a Fern. Here of course there is no " seed " or its equivalent, 

 and hence to such plants as are thus produced the term 

 " seedling " is inapplicable, as is also that of " sporeling" 

 in all cases of proliferous Ferns, which are propagated by 

 buds formed on the fronds or elsewhere. 



Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S. 



THE LADY FERN. 



Athyrium Filix Fcemina. 



The Lady Fern, like the male fern, was christened without 



any regard for sex, and simply on account of the relative 



delicacy or coarseness of make; but though modern 



