142 
THE CULTIVATION OF FEENS. 
There are five methods whereby various Ferns may be 
obtained. 1. Sowing the spores. 2. Dividing the plants. 
8. Taking off bulbs and putting them into the ground. 4. 
Laying the tips of the fronds. 5. Transplanting. With 
respect to transplanting, many observations have been 
already made. To the other methods the attention of our 
readers shall be more especially directed. 
1. Sowing. In order that the care requisite in sowing 
may be better understood, the way in which germination 
takes place needs to be explained. A Fern is said to be 
a not-fiowering plant, a plant in which the seed is not 
produced by impregnation. Every fiower-bearing herb, 
shrub, or tree, has in its fiowers a stamen and a pistil. On 
the highest part of the stamen is the anther, which contains 
a powder or dust, called by Botanists, pollen. In like 
manner on the top of the pistil is the stigma, on which lies 
a glutinous substance. A perfect seed is produced by the 
dust of the anther falling on the gummy substance of the 
stigma. This is called impregnation. In some plants one 
fiower has the stamen, and another the pistil. In this case 
the dust from the anther of the stamen must be brought 
some little distance to the stigma of the pistil or no fruit 
will be produced. This is done by the operation of the air, 
or through insects. In most of the sedges the stamen 
fiowers are seated above the pistil fiowers, so that the 
powder naturally falls down on the stigma, which is ready 
to receive it. In the cucumber, the wind helps nature, and 
carries what is necessary to its destination. When the 
plant is under a frame, the skilful gardener remedies the 
