FERNANDEZ 



3122 



FERNDALE 



generations 1 and 3, though agree- 

 ing each with the other, will differ 

 widely from generations 2 and 4, 

 though they are all in the direct 

 line of descent one from another.". 



The furry, red-brown patcheL 

 on the back of the fern-leaves con- 

 sist of thousands of minute cap- 

 sules (sporangia), each containing 

 about 64 microscopic spores. Each 

 spore under suitable conditions 

 develops, not into a fern like that 

 by which it was produced, but 

 into a tiny heart-shaped green 

 scale (prothallium), which bears 

 on its under surface two kinds of 

 sexual organs the counterpart 

 of the anthers and ovaries of 

 flowering plants. The male organs 

 (antherids) contain motile bodies 

 termed antherozoids, which find 

 their way to the female organs 

 (archegones) and fertilise them. 

 The result is the production of an 

 embryo from which in due course 

 arises a leafy fern-plant like that 

 which produced the spore. This 

 leaf-bearing form is known as 

 the sporophyte generation, and 

 did prothallium as the oophyte 

 generation. 



From the gardener's point of 

 view hardy ferns are valuable to 

 fill moist, shady places for which 

 the choice of flowering plants is 

 limited, but the use of exotic ferns 

 except as specimens, or in elabo- 

 rate winter gardens, has fallen into 

 disuse, since some consider that 

 the space they occupy can be em- 

 ployed to greater advantage by 

 flowering plants. This, however, 

 is purely a matter of taste ; the 

 beauty of the fern is lasting, that 

 of the flower ephemeral. 



Hardy ferns are not particular as 

 to soil, though to obtain the best 

 results a mixture which contains 

 a considerable percentage of well- 

 decayed leaf-mould or peat is de- 

 sirable, or, failing this, some old 

 stable manure should be mixed with 

 the loam when making up the bed. 

 The situation is more important ; 

 the north side of a wall or hedge, 

 where less hardy things are difficult 

 to grow, will suit ferns admirably. 

 It is well not to plant them too 

 near ivy, however, as this climber 

 is so greedy a feeder that it 

 speedily takes all the nourish- 

 ment away from the ferns, espe- 

 cially if they are of choice kinds. 

 The ordinary brake fern, or 

 bracken, will grow anywhere, but 

 except for very smoky and shady 

 town gardens, its employment in 

 any quantity is not recommended 

 as it is a greedy feeder. 



Exotic ferns should be taken in 

 hand in early spring, when the new 

 growth starts. They will thrive in 

 any ordinary potting mixture, one 

 which contains a liberal admixture 



of silver sand for 

 preference, and 

 they may be shifted 

 into larger pots 

 when necessary, at 

 any time of the 

 year except the 

 winter. Ferns are 

 most easily in- 

 creased from 

 spores, which are 

 found upon the 

 undersides of the 

 leaves. When these 

 are ripe the most 

 fruitful leaf or 

 leaves should be 

 severed from the 

 parent fern, and stored away in a 

 box or piece of paper for a few days, 

 and kept dry until the spore cases 

 burst. The spores should then be 

 lightly sown upon the surface of a 

 box of finely sifted potting soil, 

 and kept moist. Tiny ferns will ap- 

 pear in the course of a few weeks, 

 and these should be very care- 

 fully potted into thumb-pots when 

 large enough to handle, and after- 

 wards repotted as desired. When 

 ferns such as the maidenhair, 

 ribbon-fern, or any of the native 

 species have been grown in the 

 greenhouse, it will be found that 

 the top-soil of the pots is already 

 sown with their spores. If this is 

 removed to a shallow pan and 

 covered with glass, it will soon be 

 covered with prothallia. Observa- 

 tion of the evolution of the adult 

 fern from this beginning is a valu- 

 able lesson in botany. 



Gold and silver ferns are popu- 

 lar names given to several species 

 to denote their appearance. It 

 is due to the under surface of 

 the leaves being coated with fine 

 particles of white or yellow wax, 

 which looks silvery or golden. Chei- 

 lanthes argentea, an Asiatic species, 

 is an example of a silver fern. 

 Others of the same genus are C. 

 clevelandi (N. America), C. eatoni 

 (W. United States), and G. fari- 

 nosa (Tropics). The genus Gymno- 

 gramma also affords examples of 

 silver ferns hi G. chrysophylla (Tro- 

 pics), 0. decomposita (S. America), 

 and G. sulphur ea (W. Indies). 



Bibliography. Structure and De- 

 velopment of Mosses and Ferns, 

 D. H. Campbell, 1895; Book of 

 British Ferns (with special reference 

 to the raising of fancy varieties), 

 C. T. Druery ; Wayside and Wood- 

 land Ferns, with Figures of all the 

 British Species, E. Step, 1908. 



Fernandez, JUAN (c. 1536- 

 1602). Spanish navigator. A native 

 of Cartagena, Fernandez spent his 

 life as a pilot on the Pacific coast. 

 In 1571 he discovered the island 

 now called by his name, on which 

 he vainly tried to settle some 

 Indians. His skill as a sailor won 



Ferney. The chateau built by Voltaire in 175 

 his home for twenty years 



him the nickname of the wizard, 

 and also brought him under the 

 notice of the Inquisition. 



Fernando de Noronha. Island 

 in the Atlantic, belonging to 

 Brazil. It is about 200 m. E.N.E. 

 of Cape St. Roque, 8 m. long by 

 1 m. wide, is of volcanic origin, 

 reaching an elevation of 1,100 ft., 

 and has several good harbours 

 protected by forts. The surface 

 is rugged, but fertile, producing 

 cereals, cotton, and fruit. AtReme- 

 dios (pop. 2,100) is a convict set- 

 tlement, with a cable and wireless 

 telegraph station. The island was 

 discovered by a Portuguese navi- 

 gator, whose name it bears. 



Fernando Po. Island in the 

 Bight of Biaf ra, belonging to Spam. 

 The key to this portion of the 

 African coast, it is mountainous, 

 fertile, and beautiful. Of volcanic 

 origin, it is 35 m. long and 22 m. 

 broad. Densely forested in the N. 

 and covered in most parts with 

 luxuriant vegetation, it yields 

 sugar-cane, bananas, and yams, 

 while cotton, coffee, rice, tobacco, 

 and cinchona are cultivated. The 

 highest mt., Clarence Peak, 10,190 

 ft., is called by the Spaniards Pico 

 Santa Isabel. The island is in- 

 habited by a Bantu tribe, the 

 Bubis, and a few negroes. 



Santa Isabel, the chief town, is 

 the administrative capital of the 

 Spanish possessions in the Bight of 

 Biafra. Rubber and palm oil are 

 exported. The climate is con- 

 sidered unhealthy. The island is 

 named after its Portuguese dis- 

 coverer, Fernao do Po, who 

 sighted the island in 1471, and 

 it was ceded to Spain in 1778. 

 Area, 1,185 sq. m. Pop. about 

 19,000, of whom some 500 are Euro- 

 peans. See From the Congo to the 

 Niger and the Nile, Adolphus, duke 

 of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1913. . > 



Ferndale. Eccles. district and 

 village of Glamorganshire, Wales, 

 It is 6 m. N.W. of Pontypridd, on 

 the Taff Vale Rly. There are ex- 

 tensive collieries in the neighbour- 

 hood. Pop. 18,144. 



