HABDY FEBNS 



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delicate rootlets from its under side.' This is known as the ' prothallus ' or 

 ' prothalKmn.' On it are produced minute bodies which practically correspond to the 

 stamens and pistils in flowering plants, and are known as ' antheridia ' and ' arche- 

 gonia ' respectively. The antheridia, or male organs, when ripe hxiist, and set free a 

 number of spirally twisted moving bodies called ' spermatozoids ' or ' antherozoids,' 

 the function of which corresponds to that of an ordinary pollen grain. The ' arche- 

 gonia,' or female organs, are bottle-shaped and correspond to the ovary of flowering 

 plants. Each one contains a minute cell, called the ' oosphere,' at the base. When 

 one of the spirally twisted ' antherozoids ' passes down the open neck of the arohe- 

 gonium and mingles with the oosphere, fertilisation has taken place, and the result, 

 called an ' oospore,' now practically corresponds to an ordinary seed, as from it the 

 young Pern plant springs. 



Propauation of Perns 



Nearly all Perns are easily increased 

 from spores, but a goodly number may 

 also be multiplied by division of the 

 crowns, and by means of small plantlets 

 or bulbils which are developed on the 

 fronds. The spores are sown exactly as if 

 they were ordinary seeds, but being very 

 minute great care must be exercised to 

 sow them over the surface of the soil as 

 thinly and evenly as possible. As most 

 soils contain the seeds of weeds which are 

 apt to germinate more quickly than the 

 Fern spores and thus choke the latter, it 

 is usual to sterilise the soil in some way. 

 Baking the soil is often practised, but this 

 always has the disadvantage of taking 

 time, is often inconvenient, and the 

 organic substances or gases in it are 

 driven oflf into the atmosphere, leaving it 

 poorer in plant food. A simple method of 

 killing the seeds of weeds, fungi &c. in 

 the soil is to pour boiling water over it 

 after it has been prepared for the reception 

 of the spores. When cold the spores may 

 be sown as recommended, but should not 

 be covered with soil. A sheet of glass 

 placed over the pot or pan in which they 

 are sown will afford protection and pre- 

 vent quick evaporation from the soil. 

 Watering the spore-pots overhead is not 

 to be recommended, as they are apt to 

 be either washed out altogether with the 

 water or into a heap at one side. A good 

 plan is to stand the pots in saucers of 

 water so that the soil will absorb moisttire 

 in this way by capillary attraction. The 

 pots or pans in which Fern spores are 

 sown should be exceptionally well drained. 

 Pots are on the whole preferable to pans. 

 A small pot may be inverted inside the 

 one used — usually a 5 in. pot — and around 

 and over it are placed broken ' crocks ' or 

 pieces of pot, to within 2-3 in. of the rim. 



A layer of moss or fibrous matter is placed 

 over the crocks to prevent the finer soil 

 being washed in among them, and in this 

 way perfect drainage is secured. The 

 finer soil, consisting of sharp sand, loam, 

 and peat, is then placed over this to within 

 about J in. of the rim, perhaps a Utile 

 more. The surface on which the spores 

 are to be sown should be quite level and 

 very fine, although many prefer a rough 

 surface with little pieces of burned brick 

 strewn over it. 



The spores of some Ferns germinate 

 quickly, others more slowly, as with the 

 seeds of different .flowering plants. If 

 always kept damp as recommended and in 

 a suitable temperature, the surface of the 

 soil after a short time becomes covered 

 with masses of deep green translucent 

 scales which look like mosses or lichens. 

 These scales are really the 'prothallia' 

 referred to above. On the under surface 

 among the delicate rootlets (or rhizoids) 

 the antheridia and archegonia are being 

 developed, and in due course fertilisation 

 of the oospheres by the antherozoids takes 

 place. The oospore thus formed then 

 germinates and from it is produced the 

 first delicate Fern-leaf or frond which 

 pushes its way up between the prothallia. 

 When the whole surface is covered with 

 small fronds the young Ferns may then be 

 pricked out about 1 in. apart into other 

 pots or pans prepared with similar soil 

 and good but not so elaborate drainage 

 as before. Until the young plants get 

 established they must be kept rather close, 

 and alway moist. After a time, as they 

 begin to grow and fill up, more air may be 

 given, and in a few months, according 

 to size and vigour, each plant or two or 

 three together may be placed in separate 

 pots, and grown on in the same way as an 

 ordinary flowering plant, except that most 

 Ferns prefer shade to bright sunshine. 



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