INTEODTJCTION. XY11 



became necessary to pull them away, and whitewash the 

 wall, to prevent the Ferns from growing so much. And in 

 Messrs. Loddige's Orchid-house there were growing on the 

 walls quantities of the Adiantum capillus-Veneris, chiefly 

 seedling plants. These facts point out forcibly how we 

 ought to propagate Ferns from spores. 



We have raised great numbers of choice species by 

 placing a slightly moss-covered brick under a hand-light, 

 in a moist heat, or shady part of an Orchid-house, or even 

 common stove. On these bricks we scattered the spores, 

 and soon had the pleasure to observe them growing; the only 

 care bestowed was surrounding the bricks with common 

 green moss, and keeping it moist by frequent sprinklings 

 of tepid water. We were careful, of course, to sow spores, 

 and not dust; for the capsules or spore-cases soon burst, 

 the spores fly off, and leave nothing but their cases behind. 

 The best way to be certain of real spores is to frequently 

 brush off on the brick the real spores before they fly off from 

 the fronds. The spores themselves have much the appear- 

 ance of dust, and require a strong magnifier to distinguish 

 them. If the desired species sown upon these bricks do not 

 vegetate, the operator may be sure that no spores have been 

 sown. Some kinds will not vegetate by this method, but may 

 be raised under a bell-glass. To effect this, fill a pot with the 

 compost described for potting Ferns in, sift a portion through 

 a very fine sieve, and place it about half-an-inch thick upon 

 the compost ; then give it a good watering, so as thoroughly 

 to wet the whole of the soil. Fit a bell-glass to the pot, 

 lift it off again, and sow the spores upon the moist soil. The 

 best way to sow the spores is first to cut off two or three 

 fronds, and brush off the spores on to a white sheet of paper, 

 then, with the finger and thumb, sow the spores evenly all 



