6o 
THE FERN WORLD 
about half the depth of the drainage, consisting of two 
parts of peat, two parts of silver sand, and one part of good 
loam — each part representing a fifth of the whole. With 
this may be mixed some sandstone, or soft red brick crushed 
into very small pieces ; or it is, perhaps, better that the 
crushed brick or sandstone should be thinly scattered over 
the entire surface of the compost of peat, sand, and loam. 
After this the compost should be watered with a fine rose 
until the mass is moistened through. Upon the surface 
should be scattered the spores from a ripe frond, and a glass 
placed over the whole. If the pot be a red clay one it may 
be covered by a piece of fiat glass, which will fit exactly to 
the rim ; or a bell-glass, shade, or other glass covering may 
be used, according to the size or shape of the pot or stand. 
When all is finished, the spores sown, and the glass covering 
put on, the pot must be kept in a dark place. Care should 
be taken that the compost is not allowed to get too wet or 
soddened — though it must be kept perpetually moist ; not 
by watering on the surface, for that would disturb the 
spores, but by standing the pot in a pan of water, two or 
three inches in depth, for a short time. Ventilation should 
be given occasionally, by taking off the glass covering for 
a few minutes. The glass should then be wiped free from 
moisture ; but this should be very carefully done, so as 
not to expose the germinating spores to any hot, dry currents 
of air. 
After a time, germination having commenced, little thin, 
filmy, leaf-like patches will be observed spreading over the 
surface of the soil in the pot. These are the ‘ germ scales,’ 
or, as they are strictly named, the prothaUia — plural of pro- 
thallus — produced by the spores. If they are found to have 
been sown too thickly, and the prothallia are crowding each 
other, they must be thinned, and those taken out — on little 
knolls of earth — can be moved to another pot, where on a 
