PROPAGATION 
63 
frond on which they are fastened. If they are, when 
separated, carefully placed in earth — which should cover the 
detached hit of stem, and just touch the base of the bud, 
or bulbil — and then kept moist by a covering of glass, they 
will soon become developed, and ultimately grow up in the 
likeness of the parent plant. It is, indeed, most interesting 
to watch the development of these tiny buds when detached 
from the frond on which they grew. In some Ferns such 
little bulbils will grow at the base of the fronds, or on the 
caudex, and in such cases also when severed by a sharp knife 
they retain their vitality, and may be cultivated as separate 
plants. 
In the case of other Ferns, if the fronds are fastened down 
on moist earth, they will take root at the joints of the fronds 
or where the primary rachis is connected with the secondary 
rachides ; and when the rooting has been properly accom- 
plished, the bud which will appear on the opposite side of the 
stem may be detached in the manner already indicated, and 
grown as a separate plant. 
It is a curious circumstance, worthy of being noted here, 
that if the frond of a Hartstongue — severed so as to include 
the whole of the base, and a tiny bit of the caudex — he 
planted and kept moist under a covering of glass, it will 
become rooted and grow into a separate Fern. 
