July 24. 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



67 



RAISING FERNS FROM SPORES 



Here and there one finds a grower 

 who is an adept at raising terns from 

 spores and the following article from 

 Gardening Illustrated, an English pa- 

 per explains methods which are al- 

 most exactly those of the most suc- 

 cessful grower In New England. 



The most natural, as also the quick- 

 est, way of ppopiiKating ferns is by 

 spores or seeds. These should be 

 gathered when the capsules contain- 

 ing them begin to take on a brownish 

 appearance. The fronds should then 

 be cut, put into paper bags, and al- 

 lowed to dry for two or three days, 

 after which the spores should be sown 

 as soon as possible, althouRb most of 

 the spores retain their vitality for a 

 considerable time. 



Although ferns may be sowu at any 

 season of the year, the early spring Is 

 the best, as. if properly treated, seed- 

 lings, or the generality of them, raised 

 then, have sufficient time to produce 

 crowns strong enough to stand the fol- 

 lowing winter. Many ingenious ways 

 of sowing fern-sports have been rec- 

 ommended, but. provided tlie mate- 

 rials used be of pure quality, either a 

 piece of turfy loam, a piece of fibrous 

 peat, or sometimes a mixture of both, 

 roughly broken, and perfectly free 

 from decomposition of organic matter, 

 is all that is required. 



An excellent way of getting rid of 

 vegetable or animal life in the mate- 

 rial used for sowing consists in gently 

 pouring the contents of a kettle of boil- 

 ing water over it. When the soil thus 

 treated has been allowed to cool and 

 drain, it is ready for use. as eggs or 

 larvae of insects, spores of fungi, etc.. 

 are. or should be. all destroyed. 



The fern spores, which are exceed- 

 ingly minute, must be scattered on the 

 surface of the prepared soil and cov- 

 ered with either a bell-glass or a .sheet 

 of glass and kept in a close, shady 

 place, under a handlight. if jxissible, 

 but this is not absolutely necessary. 

 There they should remain until the 



surface of the pots or pans which con- 

 tain them becomes covered with a 

 growth of lichen or liverwort appear- 

 ance. From this singular growth the 

 young ferns ultimately develop, ac- 

 cording to the different species, in a 

 space of time usually varying from 

 three to six months from the time of 

 sowing. 



During that time the pots or pans 

 in which the .spores are sown should 

 be kept in a uniform state of moisture, 

 the watering should be done by par- 

 tial immersion by standing the pots 

 or pans in water for a few inches, so 

 that the moisture rises to the surface. 



When tern-spores germinate freely 

 it is necessary that they should be 

 several times divided, for, if allowed 

 to crowd and overgrow each other in 

 the seed-pan or pot, they are very lia- 

 ble to damp off. They should still be 

 watered by partial immersion, and no 

 water should be applied overhead un- 

 til they have produced fronds. They 

 should be gradually inured to the air 

 by tilting on one side the glass cover, 

 which may in a short time be removed 

 altogether. Until then it is best to 

 keep the pots or pans at all times well 

 shaded during sunshine, but not in 

 dull weather. 



When fronds have made their ap- 

 pearance the seedlings do not require 

 any other shading than that to which 

 the house is usually subjected. When 

 the seedlings have formed a little 

 crown, and are provided with two or 

 three fronds, they should be potted 

 singly or placed in pans or boxes and 

 kept for a time in a somewhat close 

 atmosphere, well shaded, and care- 

 fully watered until established. 



GENERAL NEWS NOTES 



Messrs. Osman and Rosenberg. |)ro- 

 prietors of the New Brunswick 

 Nurseries. N. .!.. recently invited tlie 

 public to view the 20.000 rose bushe?; 

 in bloom there. .\ large nunil)or of 



BOX-B.\RBERRY BOKDBBBD 

 GARDEN 



MAKE A LEADER OF 



BOX-BARBERRY 



iMYouR 1921 Cat. 



Many of th« leadtxt^ flmu ml t tm ij 

 have booked with a« for their •toefc. 



Write (or Terms 



The Elm City Nursery Co. 



WOODMONT NCB8EBLB8, INC. 



NEW HAVEN, CONN. 



people took advantage of the oppor- 

 tunity. 



L. V. Walkely of Hartford, Ct., pro- 

 prietor of Bell View Farm, has a row 

 of rambler roses extending 200 yards 

 which has excited a great amount of 

 interest this season. 



Geo. E. Lindeman. a well known 

 florist of Flint Village, near Fall River, 

 Mass., was recently found dead in l)ed. 



The Hartford. Ct. Florists' Club re- 

 cently held its annual outing near 

 New London, and all the florist stores 

 in the city closed all day. 



" F-RAIMK M. DLJIML-OP" 



We are now catching up with our orders, and now offer for inunediate delivery: 



5000 F. H. Dunlop, 2 J in. own root, per 1000 $300.00 



3000 F. H. Dunlop, 2^ in. grafted, per 1000 375.00 



5000 Columbia, 2^ in. own root, per 1000 150.00 



1000 American Beauty, 4 in, own root, per 1000 200.00 



1100 Hoosier Beauty, 3 in., per 100 15.00 



300 Maryland, 3 in., per 100 15.00 



CHARLES He TOTTY COMPANY 



MADISON . . - - NEW JERSEY 



