296 OBSERVATIONS UPON, AND CULTURE OF, FERNS. 



Many of the beautiful ferns and mosses are now grown in dwell- 

 ing-rooms in the Wardian glass cases. 



They are generally easy of increase ; this is done by offsets, cut- 

 ting out a frond, or seed. The two former being taken off carefully 

 by a knife, or otherwise, and properly treated in potting, &c, seldom 

 fail to succeed. 



Where my plants have matured seed, it has been scattered beneath, 

 and multitudes of seedlings have sprung up. 



Seeds of the ferns have often been obtained from dried specimens, 

 which have been collected many y^ars previous to sowing, some even 

 fifty years old. 



I have pursued the following mode of procedure : — Having pro- 

 vided a common garden-pot four inches and a half deep, and three 

 and a half wide; I filled up an inch with broken pot, and an inch 

 more with broken pieces of peat soil, for drainage, then the next 

 remaining two inches with leaf-mould and sandy peat ; over this I 

 spread about a quarter of an inch of fine hair-sieve sifted soil, 

 smoothed the surface, and upon it I scattered the seed, and very 

 lightly pressed them to the soil. I then covered them with a bell 

 glass. I placed the pot in a saucer, which, being half filled with 

 water, reached about a quarter way up the pot side. I kept the saucer 

 about half full afterwards, and had the pot removed to a shady part of 

 my plant-house. In a month the young plants appear ; I then com- 

 mence to give a litle air, and gradually increase it as they gain size, 

 till I find they are strong enough to do without it. As the seed do 

 not require to be covered by any soil, they often vegetate and spring 

 up, even on a damp stone, or piece of wood, where such are con- 

 stantly kept moist. A celebrated cultivator of Ferns very successfully 

 raises the seedling on the following plan : — Having procured some 

 pieces of very porous stone, with a flat surface, he sprinkled about 

 one-eighth of an inch of fine sifted soil over the surface, pressing it 

 close so as to fill up the pores even; the surface being then made 

 smooth the seeds are sown upon it, the stone immersed in a saucer 

 three parts up the side of the stone, and having been so saturated he 

 removes the stone to a shady situation in the stove or frame, covering 

 with a bell glass, and as occasion requires so as to keep it moist; he 

 immerses the stone as before ; and lie states that in a fortnight the 



