GENERAL HINTS ON FERN CULTURE. 
Special hints on the cultivation of each species will be 
given when we come to describe them. In this place, 
however, some general rules will be laid down, in order to 
avoid subsequent repetition. 
PROPAGATION. Ferns are propagated either by sowing 
the spores as seeds, or by dividing the plants. When the 
latter mode is adopted it is generally best to remove the 
plant from the soil, and shake away all, or as much as 
possible, of the soil from the roots, in order that the parts 
may be clearly seen. Those ferns which have the caudex 
creeping, are generally increased without difficulty by di- 
viding it so that each portion intended for a plant has one 
or more fronds, and a portion of the roots retained with it, 
in an uninjured condition. Such divided portions should 
be potted in the light soil recommended for the more deli- 
cate sorts, and should be kept close in a cool moist frame 
until established. They must be potted with the caudex 
buried, or fixed on the surface, according to the habit of 
the kind under treatment. Tbose having a tufted or 
erect caudex require a different process. If there is more 
than one heart or crown as the tuft of fronds which sur - 
round each distinct axis is termed, the point of a knife is 
to be inserted carefully at the base, separating them so 
that each crown retains a portion of the roots ; these are 
then potted in the soil proper to the species, and kept in 
a frame until established, as in the other case. Some- 
times those which have the erect caudex, form but a 
single crown, and to attempt to divide this would be to 
destroy the plant. In such cases the only course, if pro- 
