TO COLLECT FERNS FOR CULTIVATION. 53 



Other species which cling to the rocks, and send 

 their roots deep into the crevices. Great care 

 must be taken not to break the young fronds, which 

 are very tender : so here our boxes come into play, 

 as these may be filled, and safely piled one on 

 another. Many of the ferns for which we are 

 searching are " evergreen " species ; i.e., the fronds 

 of one season do not wither till the new ones 

 are well developed. Of course, all these are 

 easily identified. There are in New England a 

 good many of this habit, including the larger As- 

 pidiums, Asplenium ebeneum, and Trichomanes, &c. 

 After filling our wagon, we return without delay 

 to plant our ferns. This would be best done at 

 evening ; but we have selected a dull day without 

 sunshine for our trip, and may, with care, proceed 

 at once to the work. The spot on which we have 

 decided to establish our fernery should have been 

 previously prepared, and the plants judiciously dis- 

 tributed in their proper places. The hints for this 

 are elsewhere given. 



The collector will soon learn to vary his methods 

 of gathering and preserving ferns to suit the cir- 

 cumstances and the time. The tin botanical case is 

 always useful ; and, for a short trip with uncertain 

 prospects, a large newspaper will answer all require- 

 ments. Later in the season the ferns may be 

 treated with less delicacy, and may even be thrown 

 promiscuously into a bag or sack. 



