THE FERN FAMILY. 309 



Now, if one or more of the male eel-like antherozoids in their 

 movements come in contact with the cavity in the female 

 cells, the result is a kind of fertilisation similar to that which 

 takes place when pollen is wafted on 'to the stigma of flowering- 

 plants ; and as soon as this takes place, the young or embryo 

 Fern begins its growth. Gardeners often look on the first 

 growth or prothallus as analogous to the seed-leaves in flower- 

 ing-plants ; but this in reality is not the case, the prothallus 

 representing, in fact, an intermediate generation in the life-his- 

 tory of the Fern. Another singular fact is, that the male 

 organs only have as yet been detected in Osmunda, while 

 other Ferns produce male and female organs at different 

 periods, as if to facilitate intercrossing. As a practical deduc- 

 tion from the above facts, it has been suggested that a clever 

 and careful manipulator might be able to produce hybrid Ferns 

 by removing the antherozoids by means of a drop of water on 

 the hair-like point of a sable brush, and applying them to the , 

 archegonia or female ovary-like cells of another species. In some 

 cases this result is believed to have been effected accidentally 

 in nature, especially amongst Gymnogrammas ; and a supposed 

 natural hybrid between Pteris serrulata and Pteris tremula 

 made its appearance in a batch of young Ferns raised at Chis- 

 wick a year or two ago. (See * Jour. Royal Hort. Society ' (new 

 series), vol.,i. p. 137, for a very interesting account of a sup- 

 posed hybrid Fern, and remarks on artificial fertilisation. In 

 the ' Trans. Linn. Soc.,' vol. ii. p. 93, is an interesting account of 

 the germination of Fern-spores, &c. See also vol. xxi. p. 117.) 

 Many practical propagators have been surprised at the 

 results which have attended their attempts to propagate 

 particular kinds of Ferns from spores, owing to the appearance 

 of other species in the pots or pans in which spores of any 

 particular variety had been sown. M. Mayer of Carlsruhe has 

 made many experiments on the germination of Ferns, and 

 points out that boiling or baking the soil for some time in 

 order to kill the germs of Ferns, Liverworts, &c., is essential, 

 using the soil directly afterwards, and covering it from the 

 atmosphere with an inverted shade or bell-glass, so as to 

 exclude the spores of such genera as Pteris, Gymnogramma, 

 Liverworts, or Confervse, which, being exceedingly fertile, choke- 

 up any of the more delicate kinds. Spores should always be 

 sown in a house or pit from which all spore-bearing Ferns are 

 excluded ; for unless this is done, it is next to impossible to 

 prevent free-growing intruders, or " rogues," taking possession 

 of the pots. Care should be taken to gather spores before the 

 cases burst for it is no unusual thing for the empty spore- 



