EXPERIENCES WITH A FERN GAarRDEN—II 119 
In May, 1911, I planted two silvery spleenworts, one 
along a fence in open sunlight, the other on the fern bed, 
in partial shade. Both are growing fairly well, but it is 
a peculiar fact that the fern along the fence, which by 
this time has formed an elevated circular mass of strong 
rootstocks, thrives better and produces larger fronds and 
a greater number of fertile fronds than the one on the 
fern bed. Neither of them, however, equals the fern 
in its wild state. The difference in texture of the fronds 
and in color, yellow-green in the sunlight, green or blue- 
green in the shade, is quite noticeable in my two plants. 
The young fronds appear from April 24 to May 6. The 
first fronds are sterile, the fertile fronds appearing about 
the middle of June and in July. The young fruit dots 
are prominent and give the under side of the frond a 
silvery appearance. The sporangia begin to ripen dur- 
ing the latter part of July and continue to mature on 
Successive fronds till September; but long before the 
Sori open the dark brown sporangia are visible through 
the pale green or whitish, thick and fleshy, transparent 
imdusium. 
For some time the polypody refused to appreciate 
the care I bestowed upon it; but I now have three 
clumps of these ferns growing, two between stones of 
the rock pile and one in the ordinary soil of the fern bed 
Partially shaded by the overhanging fronds of the inter- 
Tupted fern. The first fronds are mostly fertile and 
begin growing from April 19 to April 26, the sterile 
fronds appearing during June. The lemon to dark 
orange sori, thick, cushiony buttons, ripen their orange 
to orange-brown sporangia during the latter part of 
July and the beginning of August. 
The beech fern, like the bracken, is addicted more or 
less to roving habits. In July, 1911, I planted a root- 
Stock containing a few fronds of the broad beech fern. 
It took kindly to its new home in the fern bed, wandering 
ther and thither among the other ferns, and, when 
