Ferns 2I9 



snipped off close and the bases then well washed. Not the slightest sign 

 of a bud will be visible, nor normally would one appear, but if these be 

 merely laid upon clean moist silver sand in a glass jar or other transparent 

 receptacle, and kept quite close in a well-lighted place out of bright sun- 

 shine, every one will in the course of a few weeks in the growing season, 

 produce first a crop of tiny white pimples or buds, and then a number of 

 rooting plants. One inch-long base taken from a robust specimen bore, in 

 our own experience, no less than thirty-six plants. Other species, such as 

 the Polystichums, are also prone to produce bulbils if the old caudex be 

 damaged, provided all the dead portions be shaved clean off and the remains 

 be treated on the jar system or potted up in very small pots and kept close. 

 One rare variety thus drastically treated broke out into a rash of bulbils 

 which yielded no less than eighty specimens. Experiments in this direction 

 have been mainly effected on British Ferns, and it is very probable that the 

 grower of exotics would find it profitable to continue them in connection 

 with some of the rarer forms which are difficult to propagate on the usual 

 lines - [c. T. D.] 



2. CULTIVATION 



Amongst plants grown for their decorative foliage and character Ferns 

 hold a leading place. They are not "flowering" plants in the usual accep- 

 tance of the term, but they are intensely interesting from a structural 

 point of view. Leaving out the Selaginellas and Club Mosses (Lyco- 

 podium), there are eighty or more distinct genera in the Fern family, and 

 several thousand species. They are to be found in all parts of the world 

 in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions north and south of the 

 Equator; and there is great variation in height, appearance, division or 

 non-division of the fronds, the method of veining, and the way in which 

 the spores are borne. All these are matters, however, which interest the 

 botanist more than the general grower. At the same time the latter must 

 have a practical acquaintance with these matters, as he is in the great 

 majority of cases compelled to raise his plants from the spores, or " seeds " 

 as they are popularly called. How these spores produce new fern plants 

 has been already dealt with at p. 213, and every Fern-grower should make 

 himself acquainted with these facts. 



During the past thirty years certain kinds of Ferns have increased 

 immensely in popularity amongst market growers. Owing to their deco- 

 rative character they are in demand all the year round, and there are now 

 many growers who devote their best energies to supplying the most sale- 

 able varieties. There are others who also grow many of the rarer kinds 

 for private establishments where an interest is taken in keeping up a good 

 collection of Filices as Ferns are scientifically called. 



For market work Ferns are usually cultivated in span-roofed houses 

 varying from 100 to 200 ft. in length and 12 to 20 ft. in width. Such 

 houses are well provided with hot-water piping and water tanks, as heat 



