FERN GROWING 179 



manner ; " It could, however, be seen by overwhelming evidence, 

 this was accomplished ; and although specialists might hesitate, 

 it was nevertheless a truth that would have to be acknow- 

 ledged." 



Mr. E. F. Fox, writing soon afterwards, remarks : " I am altogether 

 with you as regards the use of English names for varieties, in fact I have 

 adopted it in Evelyna and Nellie, two of my newest seedlings, and with 

 others, since Colonel Jones and yourself had such a long interesting dis- 

 cussion in my house. Your last experiments on multiple germs and sperms 

 have only again proved what you had previously asserted. Colonel Jones 

 and myself have repeated most of your work, and have proved that you 

 had accomplished this when you exhibited a gradation of varieties, the 

 result of mixed spores from any two varieties ; for had impregnation taken 

 place in the manner specialists describe {i.e., one germ and one sperm), 

 you could not have produced a gradation of forms ; and as to the notion 

 that the results were from former crosses, if this were true you could raise 

 seedlings with characters totally unlike what was sown. Occasionally 

 rogues will appear that have nothing to do with the spores sown. Your 

 plan of brushing loose spores from the fronds, after having been pressed 

 for a day, gets rid of stray spores without destroying many of those 

 belonging to the frond. Hankey, Moly, Cowburn, and Fred Stansfield 

 support your views ; but our friend Wollaston (?) — well, he begs to differ. 

 Your new Handbook is admirable. -I am delighted to see that you have 

 stated Abbottm to be an Aculeatum ; it certainly is one, though poor Jones 

 called it an Angulare." 



Although well on in years, he worked with keen interest 

 to the last, leaving others to finish what he had so well 

 begun. 



