116 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 
spring of 1914 the central portion was dead, but the 
new growth formed a circle of fronds around it. In 
1915 only a few weak fronds appeared. By trans- 
planting some of the young growth of 1914, I soon had 
a new clump of thrifty woodsias. In the case of several 
species of ferns, this method of transplanting appears 
to be the best plan for keeping the fern garden stocked 
with typical specimens. In 1914 I noticed a tiny fern 
outside the fern bed, in a slightly moss-grown place. 
This proved later to be a seedling woodsia, the first 
fern to grow from the spores of my garden, and in 1916 
I gave it a place in the bed where it promptly sent up 
typical woodsia fronds. 
I have had difficulty in growing rattlesnake ferns. ! 
planted one in 1911 and two in 1912, but all failed to 
appear the second year after they were planted. In 
1914 I again planted two of these ferns and they were 
still growing in 1916. The new growth appeared m 
spring from April 26 to May 5; but when they fruited 
at all they fruited so poorly that no reliable record 
could be kept of the ripening of their yellow sporang|a. 
If their rights are properly respected, the grape ferns 
are easily cultivated. During 1911 and 1912 1 planted 
five grape ferns; but when I dug up the fern bed in 1918 
I evidently disturbed their roots unduly, an unfortunate 
occurrence which all except one resented by dyins- 
The one exception lay dormant during 1914 and agai? 
appeared in 1915. In September, 1914, I planted tw 
grape ferns of the obliquum type, two of the dissectum 
type, and one intermediate between them. I now havé 
five growing grape ferns, mostly thrifty plants in 
1916, four of them fruited and one, the dissectum of 
1912, produced two sterile fronds in addition to 4 
fertile frond. The bronzed sterile fronds of 1915 7% 
mained as late as the first or second week in August, 
1916, and at the beginning of August they were still 
