170 



stiff fronded progenitor. The fringing of this section 

 differs from that of Drummondiae in being shorter, and 

 although it is believed that Mr. H. Bolton, of Carnforth, 

 raised a batch of youngsters by layering the edges (i.e. 

 aposporously), both Dr. Stansfield and the writer have so 

 far failed to evoke a prothalloid growth from the tips, 

 while with Drummondiae it is most easily done. Despite 

 the great beauty of the Stansfieldii section, as developed 

 by the Stansfields and by Mr. Cropper, it is in the Drum- 

 mondiae progeny that we have the finest types, and in the 

 plant in the writers possession, obtained, he believes, as 

 a seedling from Mr. T. Bolton, of Carnforth, the tendency 

 to produce two kinds of fronds is completely eliminated, 

 every frond is extremely deeply fringed, and under 

 Wardian case culture every tip is surmounted by a trans- 

 lucent prothallus. The fronds are curved in their plane, 

 deeply frilled and tipped by a spreading fringed crest, the 

 11 ensemble " being one of the most lovely ferns con- 

 ceivable, and appropriately named S. v. Dnirmnondice 

 supevbum. Under ordinary greenhouse culture, robust 

 plants become beautifully fringed, but lack the final touch 

 of adherent prothalli, and much of the delicacy induced by 

 case culture, which seems to agree with it perfectly. In 

 Mr. Bolton's hands we have seen other plants of this 

 section bearing extremely heavy crests, and apparently 

 presenting even greater possibilities than our plants, but 

 in this connection a very curious thing has happened. 

 With his permission we cut off a frond base from his best 

 plant, with a view to obtaining a specimen through the 

 buds such bases produce under proper culture. In due 

 time two buds appeared, one on each side. The original 

 plant whence the base was taken has no tr*ace of the plain 

 edged fronds thereon, as we have described by the original 

 find, but of these two basal plants one has all the fronds 

 perfectly smooth edged, the other is all fimbriation and 



