EXPERIENCES WITH A FERN GARDEN—II_ 117 
living but withering and becoming blotched with black. 
The young fronds appeared, both sterile and fertile at 
the same time, on dates varying from June 20 to July. 
10 and rather regularly distributed between them, 
except one very late one which appeared on July 22; 
and the yellow sporangia ripen from September 15 to 
September 25. 
No ferns respond more readily to cultivation than 
the Christmas ferns. In August, 1912, I planted two 
of these ferns of the common type, one of the crispum 
form, and one of the inciswm form, and all grow satis- 
factorily. The new fronds commonly appear in spring 
from April 12 to April 24. Most of the first fronds are 
fertile and the orange-brown spore cases ripen com- 
_monly during the first week.in June although on some 
fronds they do not ripen till the middle of June. The 
Spores of the variety crispum seem to come to maturity 
a few days earlier, my record for three successive years 
giving the date as May 30. After the spores are shed 
the persistent indusium frequently has the shape of an 
inverted square pyramid. Sterile fronds appear from 
the middle of June to the beginning of August. 
Two dwarf spleenworts were transferred to my fern 
garden in July, 1911. One, planted in ordinary soil 
away from stones, was dead in the spring of 1914; the 
Other, set in a crevice of the rock pile, has developed 
into a fine specimen and sends up an increasing number 
of fronds each year. In 1913 a few fronds began grow- 
ing on April 12, but the usual time for them to appeet 
1s the first week in May. The rich brown sporangia 
Tipen about the third week in June. The first fronds 
are practically all fertile and fruiting fronds continue to 
appear as late as July, the sterile fronds, usually not 
numerous, appearing late in June and in July. 
The ebony spleenwort has so far disappointed me. 
From 1911 to 1914 I planted seven of these pretty 
