FERNS AND LYCOPODS, 109 



Preparing Soil for Fern Spores— The greatest hindrances to raising 

 Ferns from spores are the lower forms of plant life ever present in the 

 soil, and very often in the water. These consist of Mosses, Liverworts 

 and the various confervoid growths. Many of them, owing to the 

 favorable conditions presented, vegetate as quickly as the spores of the 

 Ferns and grow into a mass, choking the prothallus in the first stages 

 of growth. The only means of getting around this difficulty lies in ster- 

 ilizing the soil, or, at least, that part of it on which the spores are to be 

 sown; and this can only be done safely by subjecting it to a temperature 

 sufficiently high to kill all plant organisms, by baking, steaming or boil- 

 ing. The last method will be the most available in the majority of 

 cases. The soil may be boiled for 15 or 20 minutes, and afterward 

 poured into wide flat boxes to dry. Shallow pans are the most conve- 

 nient in which to vegetate the spores; they should be well drained with 

 potsherds and these covered with a layer of sphagnum. The kind of 

 soil to be used is of little importance, provided it be porous and free of 

 vegetable organisms. Loam, leaf mould and finely broken brick, in 

 equal parts, make an ideal mixture. Press it firmly and give water 

 always by sinking the pan up to the rim in a vessel containing water. 



Gatliering and Sowing Spores— Many failures in germinating some of 

 the rarer kinds of Ferns may be set down to harvesting the spores at 

 the wrong time. They should always be gathered with the aid of a 

 hand-magnifying glass, which will show when the cases are about to 

 burst. Cut off the entire frond, or as much as may be wanted, and put 

 between sheets of white paper to dry. In a day or two the spores will 

 have fallen from the frond; if not, a gentle rubbing between the fingers 

 will release them. They should then be scattered on the surface of the 

 soil in the pan, taking care to sow very thinly, as they are very liable to 

 dampen off when the prothalli are too close together. Cover with a 

 pane of glass and put the pan in a shaded frame, or in a heavily shaded 

 part of the greenhouse. When the prothallus develops, and just as the 

 first tiny leaves appear, the glass covers may be removed, to harden the 

 seedlings a little. A day or two after they may be pricked off into other 

 pans of soil, taking one small patch at a time on the end of a knife blade 

 and merely pressing them into a previously made cavity on the surface 

 of the soil. They may then be watered through a fine rose. 



Viviparous Ferns are those which develop bulbils along the midribs 

 or on the lateral branchlets of the fronds, thus providing a ready means 

 of propagation. Polystichum angulare, Asplenium bulbiferum and 

 Woodwardia radicans are good examples. There are also several other 

 well-known Ferns which possess this peculiarity. To increase Ferns by 

 this means sink the pots up to their rims in a suitable mixture of soil 

 to enable the fronds which are provided with bulbils to be easily pegged 

 down, so that plantlets may be encouraged to develop roots quickly. 

 When they have made a sufficient quantity to enable them to become 

 self-supporting they may be separated from the frond and potted sepa- 

 rately into 21/2-inch pots, or, if too small for pots, they may be pricked 

 off into boxes or pans. 



