34 TJie Germination of Fern Spores. 



as the temperature or season of the year may vary) each 

 piece of stone will be seen to be covered with a delicate green 

 efflorescence, like the fine pile of a velvet, or plush. These 

 are the germinating spores — called in this stage, and for some 

 months afterwards, prothallia, or first-leaves ; though, indeed, 

 the stones should occasionally be submitted for a brief while 

 (so as not to suffer them to *get too dry) to the microscope 

 before any such green efflorescence becomes visible to the 

 unaided sight, inasmuch as the very first stage of growth 

 (which it is of importance to note, it being a moot point as to 

 whether germination takes place indifferently, or not, from 

 any point on the surface of the spores) is quite imperceptible 

 without the microscope. 



Instead of, however, taking the pieces of stone from off 

 their moist bed of sand, it is a better plan to scrape off a few 

 of the spores from time to time with the point of a scalpel, 

 and submit them to a moderate microscopic power, say 

 -roth object-glass, to see how they are getting on. It may 

 be observed, in passing, that the spores would germinate 

 readily if the stones were simply placed in a trough pf water 

 — but then the slightest disturbance of the vessel containing 

 the miniature plantation would infallibly cause the spores to 

 be washed about, and to be commingled; unless, indeed, the 

 stones were of a cumbrously large size. 



But, supposing the spores to have duly germinated, now 

 comes the wonderful part of the story — so wonderful, indeed, 

 that it is not surprising that it has been doubted by Mr. Daw- 

 son, and perhaps others, who have not been fortunate enough 

 to witness it ; though the writer of this paper, during the sis 

 years that have elapsed since he first turned his attention 

 practically to the subject, has verified the phenomena scores 

 and scores of times, and has had the pleasure of show- 

 ing them to numerous friends, amongst whom he has the 

 honour of including one of the profoundest philosophers of 

 our or, indeed, any other time, the gifted Sir J. W. Herschel, 

 and who expressed himself as much struck with what he had 

 witnessed. 



When the prothallia are sufficiently advanced in their 

 growth, and which circumstance will vary, as we have said 

 before, according to the different amount of temperature they 

 may have enjoyed, and to the different periods of the year 

 (the phenomena about to be described being rarely or never 

 seen, so far as the writer has observed, between October and 

 March), small circular vesicles, each about the size of the whole 

 original spore, will be seen to stud either the edge or the 

 under surface of the little prothallia ; which last will be ob- 

 served to assume very different forms, being regulated in this 



