32 BRITISH FERNS 



and about a hundred plants resulted. As these developed it was 

 noticed that in about a score of them, the fronds appeared to be 

 much slenderer than in the rest, and particular care being paid 

 to these as they grew on, they assumed more and more remarkable 

 forms, until eventually they became extremely handsome specimens, 

 on somewhat varied lines, of an entirely different type, the 

 parental half-inch pinnules being in some cases nearly three inches 

 long, and the fronds being thus of almost hair-like tenuity, while 

 several plants displayed expanded tips to these subdivisions 

 somewhat akin to tassels. A glance at Figs, n, 12, and 13 will 

 give a far better idea than any words of the marvellous difference 

 between parent and progeny originating at one bound. It is 

 interesting to note that the rest of the batch consisted of fairly true 

 replicas of the parental form, and two or three plants which ap- 

 proached the normal P. angulare rather than P. aculeatum. There 

 is only one of the batch which is fairly intermediate between the 

 parental type and the " gracillimum " type, while another in Mr. 

 Green's possession has varied in a different direction, viz. in that 

 of the beautiful P. angular es of Jones and Fox, above described. 

 The mere possibility of obtaining such results as these by sowing 

 from thoroughbreds should be sufficient to discourage unsystematic 

 sowing from inferior forms. Apart from these exceptional cases 

 there are a great many in which great enhancement of the original 

 type of the wild " sport " has been attained by careful selection, 

 as may be judged by the " raised " varieties which figure in our list 

 appended to each species. There is, however, one warning in 

 connection with this subject which should be borne in mind, and 

 that is that if a seedling displays faults, it should be destroyed, 

 as should all inferior types when they declare their character. 

 We have seen collections embracing valuable plants absolutely 

 ruined because the tender-hearted raiser would give inferior seedlings 

 a chance, and as such are often more robust growers than their 

 superiors, as a consequence a jungle of mongrels has resulted, in 

 which the true forms were practically smothered out of existence. 

 The successful Fern-raiser must, in short, be a flinty-hearted Herod 

 as regards ineligible innocents, or he will rue his clemency later. 



As further details may be welcome regarding the question of 

 Hybridization and Crossing, we refer to the next chapter in this 

 connection. 



