84 FERN GROWING 



EXPERIMENT NO. VI. 



In 1885 the spores of eight varieties were mixed together, 



and were sown in a number of seed pans. These were — 



multifidum (crested), Victories (cruciate), uncum (lax), Frizellcs 



(lunulate), truncafum (truncate), proteoides (a cruciate with 



projecting pinnae), crucipinnulum (cruciate in the pinnules), 



and ramosum (branched). The seedlings became fully grown 



in 1887, and proved a very interesting collection. They were 



planted separately ; immediately the first frondlets began to 



appear. Amongst them there was one showing three frondlets, 



which when magnified were found to be spring- 



-| ing up on one and the same prothallus (Fig. 



O^^AB^^ 15). This was specially labelled and placed 



^B^H^ under a bell glass. In a few weeks there 



^^^^ was strength enough for division, and by the 



,, ., aid of a penknife they were, divided into three 



Fig. 15.— Magnified. ^ J * 



plants. All grew, and when they had attained 

 maturity they proved a very extraordinary variety, and were 

 all exactly alike, perfectly dissimilar to any other previously 

 raised. 



There were two kinds of fronds — one with an attenuated 

 apex, and the other truncate. These fronds between them 

 contained the characters of six out of the eight varieties sown 

 together, with an occasional branched frond that increased 

 this number to seven. The characters were not all combined, 

 the variations taking place in different parts of the fronds. 



The remarkable characters of this variety, and the addi- 

 tional fact that all the three plants were alike, showed that 

 all must have been developed on one prothallus, that is, 

 three cells must have been impregnated, and also that more 

 than one sperm had entered these cells. 



Here we have three plants exactly alike (Figs. 16 and 

 17), each having the characters of Seven out of the eight 



