ON FERNS. 



549 



Points of great importance are the gathering of the spores in 

 good condition, at the proper time, and the way and time of 

 sowing them. They should be gathered when the spore-cases 

 change colour and turn brown ; these, with a few exceptions, are 

 disposed at the back of the fronds, sometimes along the edge 

 of their leaflets, or pinnules, but sometimes also arranged in 

 clusters or lines at the back of their leafy portions ; or, again, 

 either disposed in large patches or irregularly dotted all over 

 their under - surface, this according to the species which they 

 represent or to which they belong. 



Time of Gathering. — There can be no fixed time named 

 for the gathering, as the ripening of the spores takes place at 

 all times of the year. To ascertain the proper time for collecting 

 the spores it is necessary to watch the development of the spore- 

 cases, which at the outset are colourless, becoming pale green, 

 and with age either dark green or brown. When it is noticed 

 that the spore-cases begin to lift, it is time to gather them ; the 

 spore-bearing fronds, or the portions on which the spore-cases 

 are disposed, should then be cut off, put in paper, and 

 placed in a warm, dry place, where they should be allowed to 

 remain for two or three days, when it will be found that the 

 paper is covered with the spores. These resemble very fine 

 dust, and according to the species to which they belong, 

 are either pale or bright yellow, pale or dark green, or 

 black. 



Time of Sowing. — Although Fern spores may be sown at any 

 time of the year, March-April is considered the best time for 

 sowing, as in that case, if properly treated, the greatest part 

 of the seedlings raised have sufficient time to form crowns 

 strong enough to stand the following winter. It may be safely 

 stated that the sooner the spores are sown after their ripening, 

 the more readily they germinate, although those which generally 

 ripen during the autumn and winter may be kept in a 

 dry place and preserved until the spring, when it is found 

 more advantageous to sow them than during the winter, for 

 in this latter instance there is a risk of the young plants being 

 destroyed, especially if there should be very heavy fogs, which 

 invariably have a most disastrous effect upon them. When, 

 for some reason or other. Fern spores must be kept a long 

 time without being sown, it is best to put them in 

 bottles tightly corked or in boxes hermetically sealed ; under 

 these conditions many of them will retain their germinating 

 powers for several years. As an illustration of the vitality with 

 which certain Fern spores are endowed, it may be stated 

 here that some spores of the beatifully-coloured Pteris tricolor., 

 which for seven years had been preserved in the way indicated 

 above, were sown in the spring of 1876, and that, from that 

 sowing, a splendid crop of young plants were raised, and 



