FERTILIZATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND FRUCTIFICATION 



In view of the fact that many ferns bear their 

 spores or " fern-seed " somewhat conspicuously on 

 the lower surfaces of their fronds, it seems proba- 

 ble that the "fern" of early writers was our com- 

 mon Brake, the fructification of which is more than 

 usually obscure, its sporangia or " fern-seed " being 

 concealed till full maturity by the reflexed margin 

 of its frond. This plant is, perhaps, the most abun- 

 dant and conspicuous of English ferns. Miss Pratt 

 believes it to be the " fearn " of the Anglo-Saxons, 

 and says that to 

 its profusion in 

 their neighbor- 

 hood many towns 

 and hamlets, such 

 as Fearnborough 

 or Farnborough 

 Farningham, 

 Far n how, and 

 others owe their 

 titles. The plant 

 is a noticeable and 

 common one also 

 on the Continent. 



In 1848 the de- 

 velopment of the fern was first satisfactorily ex- 

 plained. It was then shown that these plants pass 

 through what has been called, not altogether hap- 

 pily the modern botanist thinks, an " alternation of 

 generations." One " generation," the " sexual," con- 

 sists of a tiny, green, plate-like object, termed the 



33 



.-.-An 



FIG. 8 



