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the frond sufficient good leaf mould to form a medium 

 which the little roots, when they develop, will be able to 

 penetrate easily. Any light compost would I believe serve 

 the purpose, but I think that leaf mould is the best. 



The cushion of leaf mould so formed should be deep 

 enough to allow the stem of the frond to become half 

 embedded. When the cushion is ready I press the frond 

 gently downwards and peg it firmly to the ground. At 

 first I used wooden pegs, but these are not always easy to 

 get, they are seldom quite easy to insert, and they very 

 easily rot or break. For these reasons I now always use 

 hairpins, sometimes one and sometimes two, as may be 

 necessary to ensure the frond being pegged so that it cannot 

 move. Wherever it is possible, which is nearly always 

 the case, I insert the hairpins further from the base than 

 the bulbil or bulbils, for there are sometimes more than one. 

 The pressure of the pins, placed otherwise, might interfere 

 with the free flow of nourishment, and rust, which comes 

 before long, might be injurious. 



Once the pin or pins are inserted the main part of the 

 operation is complete. I generally end by cutting off the 

 outer half of the frond ; this diminishes the risk of disturb- 

 ance and allows a fuller supply of nutriment for the swelling 

 bulbils. When the operation has been thus completed the 

 plant may be left to itself, and little doubt need be enter- 

 tained that the bulbils so secured will in time develop into 

 little ferns. The only additional precaution which I have 

 found necessary is to make sure from time to time that the 

 pegs hold firm. If from any cause they fail to maintain 

 their grip in the ground, the pegging must be done over 

 again, using either larger pins or more pins. For success 

 the essentials are that the fronds should be fixed firmly in 

 compost properly adapted for the formation of roots. 



