The Art of Multiplying Ferns. 71 



might make one for yourself by taking a shallow box, 

 and covering it with sheets of stout glass. Make a bed 

 inside the box of a few inches depth of cocoa-nut fibre, 

 or silver sand, or clean small pebbles, and on this bed 

 place the little pots and put the glass over. You have 

 complete command over them by this plan to kill them 

 by excess of shade and moisture, or by exposing them 

 to sunshine ; or to make them grow by giving moisture 

 and shade enough to keep them in the first instance, 

 and to admit more light and air, to strengthen them as 

 they advance and become strong enough to be shifted 

 into larger pots. Small fern cases with moveable tops 

 make admirable nurseries for seedlings when they are 

 grown in sitting-rooms. 



We have spoken of ferns that run about and multiply 

 by means of their rhizomas. A parallel case is seen in 

 ferns that shed their spores, and sprout up into life with- 

 out aid from any one, and almost anywhere. It will be 

 amongst your earliest surprises and delights in fern grow- 

 ing to find seedlings in your fern cases, on the banks, 

 and walls, and stones, and even pavements of your 

 fern-houses, and in crevices of the rockery out of doors. 

 Some ferns increase spontaneously with such freedom 

 as to become weeds, but the wise man will not despise 

 them on that account. He will be quickened in love 

 and thankfulness to God for making beauty so cheap on 

 the face of the earth. He will rejoice that the humblest 

 and least enlightened cannot fail to see that in the 

 mystery of life is afforded us deep and blessed impres- 

 sions of the direct relationship of the Divine nature 

 to the manifestations of the Divine will in visible things. 



