HANDBOOK OF BRITISH FERNS. 67 
altogether independent of their natural beauty; but nature and ferns are, 
as it were, inseparable. 
To those who have the means of studying ferns from their in- 
fancy, as we may say, the following is warmly recommended :— 
Half fill some shallow wide-mouthed pots with broken crocks, and on 
this put a layer of about two inches of turfy peat soil and mellow loam, 
mixed with soft sandstone broken in small lumps of the size of peas ; this 
compost should not be much consolidated. Next, shake or brush very 
gently over a sheet of white paper, a frond of the species to be propagated ; 
the fine brown dust thus liberated consists of the spores in greater or less 
quantity, intermixed more or less with the spore-cases. This dust is to 
be regularly and thinly scattered over the rough surface of the soil, which 
is immediately to be covered with a bell-glass large enough to fit down 
close within the pot. The pots are at once to be set in feeders, and these 
are to be filled up with water. They may either be placed under a hand- 
glass in a cold frame, or in a greenhouse, or stove, as may be most proper. 
The first indications of germination will consist in the appearance of little 
green scales. . . . When two or three fronds are developed, the glasses 
should be tilted on one side for a short time every day, and ultimately en- 
tirely removed; the pots being still retained under a hand-glass. After a 
week or two, they may be taken up, carefully separated, and potted singly 
in small pots. The young plants should still be kept under a hand-glass 
until established, and then gradually inured to the degree of exposure 
proper for the mature plants.—Handbook, p. 15. 
To cultivate ferns successfully, the following directions in re- 
ference to soil, potting, watering, etc., are given :— 
Soil.—Nearly all ferns like the soil more or less sandy. A mixture 
suitable for all the purposes of pot culture may be thus compounded :— 
Take of fibry yellow loam, light spongy peat, and well decayed pure leaf- 
mould, equal parts, and mix them well with sand. For all the stronger- 
growing species use the soil in the rough state, to which it will be reduced 
merely by chopping it fine with the spade, and add to it an eighth part of 
elean but coarse sharp sand. For all the smaller and more delicate spe- 
cies rub the soil through a sieve with half-inch square meshes, and be 
careful to rub through as much of the fibry portion as possible; add to 
it a sixth part of clean-silver sand. In both cases mix up with this com- 
post a fourth part of crushed sandstone, broken to the size of walnuts 
and smaller for the vigorous growers, and of the size of hazel-nuts and 
smaller for the more delicate sorts.—P. 25. 
Potting.—Pot ferns must always have thorough drainage. One-fourth 
of the depth of the pot should be occupied with drainage material, which 
