GENERAL HINTS ON FERN CULTURE. 
9 
soil, such as Trichomanes and others, should have the portions of their rhizome firmly fixed against the 
stone or wood, and then must be kept close and moist until they get established. The tufted-growing 
species, where they readily produce lateral crowns, are increased by detaching these with their roots 
and jiotting them separately ; but others of this habit so seldom produce any other than their central 
crown, and this indivisable, that it scarcely ever becomes possible to increase them by this moans. 
Many species are viviparous, and these arc readily increased by fixing a frond in contact with the 
surface of the soil, and detaching the young plants after they have become rooted. A few others pro- 
duce young plants at the apex of their fronds, thus affording a means of increase. But the most general 
mode of increase is by means of the spores, which are the analogues of the seeds of flowering plants, and 
which are in most cases produced very abundantly. We quote the following account of their germination 
from Mr. Henfrcy’s paper on this subject in the Gardeners’ 3Iagazine of Botany (vol. iii., ji. 22) : — 
“ It has long been known that when the spores of the Ferns germinate, they first produce little disks of green 
cellular tissue, lying like collections of little green membranous scales upon the 
surface on which they are growing. A few years ago. Professor Nageli of Zurich 
observed a peculiar structure upon these little germinal fronds, consisting of cellular 
bodies, from which were discharged spiral filaments, moving rapidly and 
apparently voluntarily through the water in which the object lay beneath 
the microscope. The discovery of these organs was not much noticed at 
the time, but subsequently Count Leszczye-Suminski of Berlin made a 
complete series of observations on the germination of the Ferns, and 
published an elaborate and fully-illustrated account of them, in 
which he not only confirmed the statement of the existence of 
these so-called antheridia of the Ferns, hut showed 
that there existed two kinds of cellular organs upon 
the young germ frond, which organs he considered 
to represent the two sexes, and to correspond to the 
antheridia and pistiUidia of the mosses. 
“ I have examined these structures, and can 
confirm completely, in most respects, the account 
Suminski has given of their general structure ; but my observations have not yet been sufficiently extended to 
enable me to give an opinion on the physiological questions relating to them, which I shall presently speak of. 
In the first place, therefore, I will describe these bodies as I have seen them, and in a manner which will enable 
any one possessing a microscope to repeat them for himself. 
1, 2 " 3, 4, 5. Successive stages of development from the spore 
shown at Fig. 1 . In Fig. 5 are seen tw'o of the antheridia. 
6. A germinal frond (it is a simple cellular plate like 
the leaf of a Moss) : a are two “ovules;” 6 a number of 
“ antheridia c root fibrils. 
7. A more highly magnified view of a piece of the frond 
with two “ antheridia,” one containing the vesicles (6), the 
other burst (d). 
8. Side view of S in the last figure. 
9. The same bursting to discharge the vesicles, which again 
discharge the spiral filaments e. 
10. One of the spiral filaments or “ animalcules” more mag- 
nified. 
“ The germinal frond must be taken very young, while yet not more than one-eighth of an inch in diameter, 
and before any sign of the first leaf appears rising from its upper surface. The little frond will then be found 
in the shape of a rounded or heart-shaped disk, formed of delicate green cells (Fig. 6) ; a single layer, except in 
C 
