COLLECTING AND PRESERVING 123 



specimens there can be no harm in taking one 

 for cultivation. The same applies to common 

 Ferns, or varieties of these; and if by propa- 

 gation the stock is increased the number of 

 beautiful plants in the country is made the 

 larger. So that there is a form of collecting 

 which is perfectly legitimate, and, indeed, to be 

 commended. 



For those who start out on a Fern collecting 

 expedition, one of the long narrow trowels 

 will be found to be extremely useful. A 

 proper vasculum is, of course, of service, but 

 this is sometimes apt to get in the way, and 

 it will not accommodate very large Ferns. 

 Mr. C. T. Druery, who has done an enormous 

 amount of Fern collecting at home and abroad, 

 declares that he contents himself with some 

 old newspapers and a ball of string. In this 

 way bundles of the plants are easily made, 

 and in most cases these can be readily carried 

 about. Great care is necessary when removing 

 the Ferns to do as little damage as possible to 

 the roots. If it is desired that the plant should 

 settle into its new home as quickly as possible, 

 it is an excellent plan to take away with it a 

 certain amount of soil. Of course, considera- 

 tions of weight have to be taken into account, 

 but the more mould round the roots the 

 better. Never grasp a Fern plant from above 

 and try to pull it away, as this will be almost 

 sure to result in damage. Rock Ferns are 

 often exceedingly difficult to remove, owing 

 to the manner in which the roots of these 

 plants spread to great distances in the crevices. 

 Yet without a large amount of their roots 

 these Ferns can never be satisfactorily 

 established. In such cases a chisel and a 

 mallet will often come in highly useful, as in 



