36 FERN GROWING 



from Mr. Druery's was from sowing plumosum elegans (of 

 the Lady Fern). It did not result in any 'cresting,' but in 

 the development of the cutting of the pinnules." 



Extracts from a Paper read at the British Association Meeting 

 at Cardiff in 1891, by the Author* 



Facts regarding Prothalli and the Propagation 

 OF Ferns. 



"Occasionally in a batch of seedling Ferns there will 

 occur several plants of some strangely marked variety identical 

 in their characters, and growing so closely together that it is 

 difficult to separate them. The author has long suspected these 

 were produced on the same prothallus ; indeed this seemed 

 evident in four instances of remarkable seedling Athyriums, yet 

 the development was too far advanced for absolute certainty. 

 ~ To examine this carefully, a number of Scolopendriums were 

 planted in the prothallus state, and on the young fronds 

 appearing, two were noticed identical in character and unusual 

 in form, which when examined were found to have their 

 origin in one well-developed prothallus. With a penknife it 

 was possible to divide the prothallus so as to secure the two 

 plants, which were planted in a pan and have not since been 

 disturbed. 



" Prothalli were then planted from a pan of mixed muricate 

 and undulate Scolopendriums, and these were divided before 

 the formation of fronds into two equal parts ; in some examples 

 the two plants resulting were alike, in others they differed, 

 but showed their muricate and undulate origin. 



"The next experiment was dividing the prothallus into 

 four equal parts. This was done in January 1888. Every divi- 

 sion grew and spread in a more bush-like manner than is the 



* See " Report of British Association, 1891." 



