BRITISH FERNS. 
7 
pinch of the spores evenly and as thinly as possible 
over the soil, recollecting that even this tiny pinch must 
inevitably mean far more Ferns than are wanted. Cover 
with a piece of glass, after putting in a numbered label agreeing 
with the register which you ought to keep, place the pot in 
a Wardian case or somewhere where it will not dry out or 
get worms into it, and leave it severely alone. We usually 
do several such pots at a time and bed them in fresh cocoanut 
fibre in a box or larger pan, covering the whole with one 
sheet of glass. This much simplifies matters and obviates risk 
of drought, as the fibre can be moistened from time to time 
in case of need without meddling with the pots. In a few weeks 
in the growing season a faint tinge of green will pervade 
the surface, and this will eventually grow into a mass of little 
green scales, which are what are called the “ prothalli ” or first 
stages of Fern life. If not too thickly sown these will grow to a 
quarter of an inch across, and by that time probably little 
fronds will be pushing up here and there amongst them, by 
which time the sowing may be chronicled as successful, if 
they are crowded, or previously if the sowing has been too 
thick and the scales are cramped, a larger pan should be pre- 
pared as before and sterilised with boiling water, and into this 
little patches may be pricked an inch apart. After the plants 
have appeared it is simply a question of more and more room, 
i e., pricking out again and again until they become individual 
established plants. Meanwhile the beginner will very likely 
have been puzzled by the appearance of wrong Ferns, i.e., 
Ferns other than his register justifies the existence of, which 
is explained by the fact that Fern spores are carried some 
distance and settle on other Ferns, so that in sowing, however 
carefully, these alien spores get sown too. Meanwhile, the 
time for discoveries has arrived, as the distinctive characters 
show themselves, and these should be pricked out and kept 
separate, while — and this is important — inferior or defective 
ones should be ruthlessly thrown away. No selective cultivator 
is worth his salt whose heart is too tender in this respect ; he 
must be a perfect Herod, and massacre the innocents remorse- 
lessly if he aims at a good collection. Some time since we 
saw a once choice collection in the Lake District, whose owner 
had died, after leaving a number of such innocents in his 
garden to see what they might turn out. Result: A wilderness 
of mongrels, which had completely choked out the good ones. 
Moral : If a Fern is defective in its first four or five fronds. 
Verdict : Dustheap. 
