CHAPTER III 



FERN PROPAGATION AND CULTURE 



In the previous chapter we have described the normal and abnormal 

 modes of Fern reproduction which have been discovered in con- 

 nection with the spore ; but inasmuch as propagation by the 

 spores of varietal forms cannot be relied upon to produce precisely 

 identical types, to secure such other methods of propagation are 

 preferable, and fortunately Nature has endowed most Ferns with 

 sufficiently superabundant vitality to permit of such being adopted. 

 To prevent misconception it is necessary to state that the spores 

 of thoroughbred constant " sports " as a rule produce offspring 

 fairly true to the parental type, but apt sometimes to vary in the 

 extent to which that type is displayed. This capacity, as we shall 

 see elsewhere, is very valuable to the selective cultivator, since, 

 by virtue of it, more and more enhanced types may be acquired 

 accompanied by increased beauty. Many Ferns, and particularly 

 varietal ones, are gifted with the faculty of producing buds in 

 various ways, and it is by these buds that we are fairly certain of 

 acquiring fresh specimens absolutely^identical with the parental 

 form, since they are, in point of fact /actually parts of it, and not 

 therefore subject to those subtle varying influences which accom- 

 pany sexual reproduction by the spore. As with probably all 

 plants, however, bud-variation may and does occur, but so rarely 

 that it may be practically ignored. In those Ferns which form a 

 crown, around which arise a circlet of fronds, shuttlecock fashion, 

 such as the Shield Ferns (Polysticfmm), Buckler Ferns (Lastrea), 

 and others, there is a tendency to produce lateral buds at the base 

 of the fronds, close to the soil, and these in time develop indepen- 

 dent roots and become full-sized associated plants, thus forming 

 a sort of bush. In such cases these offsets can be prised away 

 from the main caudex or crown with a blunt trowel or similar 

 instrument, and will then come away with their own fascicle of 

 roots, and only need planting to become independent specimens. 

 In this connection we may remark that this operation is highly 

 advisable if the full development of a fine variety is aimed at, 

 since the unchecked development of such lateral growths tends 



