LIFE HISTORY OF A FEEN 



23 



16. Fertilization. — Neither the eggs nor the sperms are 

 able, independently, to reproduce their kind. In order 

 to accomplish this they must unite, and the fusion of the 

 sperm and egg is fertiHzation. One of the most significant 

 facts about fertilization in ferns is that free water is re- 

 quired, in order that the sperms may reach the egg by their 

 own locomotion. When the antheridia and archegonia 



Fig. 23. — Fern prothallus; cross-sections showing antheridia {an), 

 sperms {sp), and rhizoids {rh). Below at the right is a sperm {sp) 

 greatly enlarged. 



are mature, a suitable amount of water (such as would 

 result from a rain or a copious dew), soaking through the 

 archegonial walls, will cause the mucilaginous matter in 

 the neck-canal to swell. This in turn will rupture the 

 archegonia at their distal ends, and a portion of the con- 

 tents of the neck-canal will become extruded, while the 

 egg will remain in the venter. The same conditions of 



