HABDY FEBNS 



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skips that part of the business, and 

 produces clusters of sporangia instead. 

 As the spores, sexual organs, and plant 

 have been in turn suppressed, it now only 

 remains to discover an instance where a 

 plant is produced direct from the spore — 

 omitting the development of the prothal- 

 lium and sexual organs — to make the 

 cycle of Pern freaks complete. 



It must be understood that these 

 deviations from the ordinary routine in 

 the development of a Fern plant are by 

 no means common, and they require the 

 practised eye of an enthusiastic Pern 

 grower to discover them. Why they 

 should take place is a matter scarcely 

 explainable, but they are probably due to 

 some special or unusual treatment to 

 which the plants are subjected. 



Plumose, Tasselled, oe Crested 

 Perns 



The Ferns to which these terms apply 

 are so beautiful and varied that they 

 require special mention. They are mostly 

 ' monstrous ' or abnormal forms, and 

 many of our native species have produced 

 exquisite forms, which by cultivation and 

 selection have been vastly improved upon. 

 The plumation, tasselling, or cresting 

 consists in the ordinary fronds being 

 developed into broad, leafy, or feathery 

 expansions, usually accompanied by par- 

 tial or total sterility, that is, the absence 

 of spores to a greater or less degree on 

 the parts which have become feathery or 

 crested 



This ' feathering ' corresponds roughly 

 to the doubling of flowers, and increases 

 or decreases under good or bad treatment, 

 much in the same way. For instance, a 

 very feathery or crested Pern, grown in a 

 good soil and a suitable situation, will 

 very likely ' revert ' to the original form 

 from which it developed if placed in poor 

 soil and an unfavourable situation. The 

 Pern-grower must therefore never be 

 astonished either to see seedlings from a 

 normal form develop crested or feathered 

 fronds, or any of the latter lose their 

 plumation, according to circumstances 

 and treatment. 



With a little intelligent care the forms 

 of crested or abnormal Perns can be 

 produced ad i/nflnitv/m from spores, 

 especially when the spores of two or three 

 nearly related varieties are sown together. 

 Some years ago I saw a form of Hart's 

 Tongue exhibited by Mr. E. J. Lowe, in 



which were blended the characteristics of 

 three or four varieties on a single frond — 

 the result, as Mr. Lowe affirmed, of three 

 or four antherozoids from as many different 

 varieties having fused with the single 

 oosphere of the arohegonium. This how- 

 ever is in flat contradiction to what is 

 generally known, and it seems to be 

 perfectly impossible for an oosphere to be 

 fertilised with more than one antherozoid 

 at one and the same time. With a 

 succession of ' crossings,' however, extend- 

 ing over several years, there is nothing 

 improbable in one plant having the 

 characters of several parents — as is well 

 known with Orchids and other flowers. 



Cultivation of Perns 

 Although hardy Perns have nothing 

 showy in the way of bright and beautifully 

 coloured flowers to attract the gardener, 

 they are nevertheless so beautiful, so rich 

 in outline, so varied in size, and may be 

 used in so many ways, that they deserve 

 every attention from the real lover of 

 gardening. One often sees bare patches 

 in gardens, where no ordinary flower, 

 plant, or shrub will grow well, which would 

 be an ideal home for certain hardy Ferns. 

 But the fmiotion of Ferns is not altogether 

 to fill up spaces where nothing else will 

 grow. They have their use in the rockery, 

 the flower border, the shrubbery, the dell, 

 and are probably better and more hand- 

 some mixed with flowers than grown by 

 themselves in a formal Fernery. They 

 have their likes and dislikes regarding 

 soil and situation, shade and sunshine, 

 and it is necessary to study the peculiarities 

 of each group to obtain the most satis- 

 factory results. A grouping according to 

 their botanical affinities or according to 

 their heights, as is often done, is not to be 

 recommended. This results in monotony 

 and sameness of outline — the very things 

 to be avoided. Probably the most artistic 

 and at the same time most conveniAit 

 method in planting a varied selection of 

 Perns is to place all those requiring 

 the same cultural treatment together. 

 Different genera, species, and varieties, of 

 varying heights and forms, will thus be 

 brought in contact with each other, and 

 the contrast between one and the other 

 will add an interest and attractiveness to 

 the whole. 



Speaking generally, hardy Perns love 

 shade from the hot sun, which scorches 

 them, plenty of moisture at the root, and 



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