204 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



we can only bend in silent reverence for that Supreme Being Avha 

 has surrounded us with so many things to make life Avorth the 

 living, and endowed us with capabilities for their appreciation and 

 enjoyment. 



Discussion. 



Thomas Harrison inquired about methods of multiplying fern 

 plants. 



Mr. Davenport replied that he had never attempted propagation 

 of ferns ; he had not even tried spores. He recommended divi- 

 sion of the roots and separation of crowns. 



Mr. Harrison asked whether in propagating ferns they always 

 produce the same variety, or sometimes sport. 



Mr. Davenport doubted the possibility of cross-fertilization ; as 

 to sports, it is a common trait of many ferns to vary in the course 

 of development. 



Mrs. P. D. Richards said she had young fern plants coming up 

 in the pots. AYliile she saw no opportunity for the cross-fertiliza- 

 tion of ferns, she was aware that spores were readily taken up by 

 air-currents and carried to distant points where their germination 

 and growth were effected, perhaps to the surprise of the person 

 who thus obtained these beautiful ferns. She had found unex- 

 pected treasures growing among her collection of choice ferns, 

 which proved identical in kind with specimens in her herbarium. 

 She said an idea prevails widely that ferns cannot be grown in our 

 dwellings, and she wished to state that it was erroneous. She had 

 an Ostrich fern at a west window, where it grew in vase form very 

 successfully ; she had hoped to keep it growing longer by 

 having it in the house, but she gained only two or three weeks of 

 extra' time. She recommended AsplenivTn eheneum for house 

 culture. 



Mrs. C. N. S. Horner was glad to emphasize the lecturer's 

 suggestion that ferns should be more generally cultivated b}' the 

 people. She knew they were more easily cultivated than the 

 flowering plants. 



Another lady stated that she had successfully cultivated the 

 Maiden-hair fern and also the Ostrich fern. Her own experience 

 prompted her to say with the essayist, that if any present wished 

 for pure enjoyment at home they should cultivate ferns. « 



Mrs. Horner desired to say she had cultivated ferns for many 

 years, and had enjoyed them in-doors in winter but had usually 



