12 
THE FERN WORLD 
of such minute germs. But in their very abundance, Nature 
makes provision for the risks to which they are exposed. 
The tiniest Fern is provided with the means of producing a 
vast and uncountable number of germs for the perpetuation 
and multiplication of its kind ; and when the proper moment 
arrives — that at which the fructification has reached its most 
perfect stage, and the atomic life germs are separated from 
the parent plant — the light and aerial messengers are sent 
forth to seek in every corner of their immediate world, for 
the resting places which can supply the peculiar conditions of 
growth that are essential to them. 
From what has been said, it will be inferred that Ferns, 
though hardy in their own particular way, cannot survive an 
amount of drought that many other plants can bear without 
material injury. Hence it is only in those positions in which 
conditions of moisture can be perpetually maintained that 
spores can live. Indeed, after germination has commenced 
they hang upon the threads of an existence which is far more 
fragile than that of seeds, for the temporary withdrawal of 
shade and moisture would be fatal to their delicate life. 
Spores oftentimes fall upon surfaces which, though suffi- 
cient lv moist to allow of the commencement and continuation 
J 
of germination, are not — either from the nature of the soil, or 
the position — suitable for the proper growth and development 
of the particular Ferns represented by the spores. Those 
whose natural habitat is on the spongy soil which lies under 
the deep shelter of a forest would not find the sides of rock 
or wall congenial to their growth. The Sea Fern could not 
live on the expanse of an open forest glade, where the Brake 
often grows in wild luxuriance. Nor could the latter thrive 
on the damp sides of a dark sea-cave. The Fern of the plain 
is not the Fern of the dripping hollow, nor are the roek-and- 
wall-loving species adapted to the soft soil of the spongy 
hedgetop. It sometimes happens that Ferns which delight 
