EXPERIENCES WITH A FERN GARDEN 69 
colored. Parily fertile fronds are occasionally found 
among the sterile fronds appearing in July and August. 
Two spinulose shield ferns of the regular type and 
three of the variety intermedium were set in the fern 
bed in July, 1911, and one apparently of the variety 
dilatatum was planted in August, 1914. While all of 
them grew nicely, they seem to require a richer soil 
than the marginals to reach the same degree of develop- 
ment. They began growing during the last week in 
April with the exception of one vigorous plant, which 
siarted to grow on April 19, and one old one, which did 
not show any activity until May 4. The first fronds 
are mosily fertile. Occasional fertile or partly fertile 
fronds appear with the sterile fronds in June and July. 
By June 7, some of the spores were ripe, and by the 20th 
of June, light brown fruit patches were all that remained 
to mark the places that had been filled to overflowing 
With the beautiful black or black-purple spore cases. 
The true spinulose shield fern is found in this locality 
only occasionally, the variety intermedium is fairly 
common, but the variety dilatatum, or ai least a form 
that resembles it, is decidedly rare. 
From a muddy spot near the foot of the mountain I 
broughi a crested fern and planted it in my fern garden 
ii July, 1912. Although I could not provide it with a 
Swampy home, it grew and thrived in its new situation 
for a few years uniil some vigorous lady ferns encroached 
upon the space allotted to it and gradually crowded it 
out. In October, 1914, I transferred another crested 
fern, from a rather wet meadow border, to my fern bed; 
and this one is multiplying and flourishing in a very 
Satisfactory manner, its erect fertile fronds, with their 
horizontal pinnae, marking it with characteristic dis- 
tmetness. The crested fern began to grow from April 
25 to May 2, although some of the fronds on the oldest 
Part of the largest fern did not appear until May 10. 
