218 
APOSPORY IN FERNS. 
seen by the figure to be a very curious one indeed. The first 
two fronds developed no less than 14 buds in the autumn of 
1882, some of which, as in Fig. 1, threw out aerial roots which 
in one case, as figured, reached the soil. Strange to say, these 
two fronds persisted through the winter in my cool fernery, and 
in the following January resumed growth, forking dichotomously 
over and over again at the tips of the pinnules, and producing 
many more bulbils in the process. In point of fact, the two first 
fronds yielded a pot full of young plants. 
One extraordinary feature of this proliferousness is the 
extreme precocity of the plants, bulbils usuallj being produced 
only on the ripe fronds of mature ferns, while these had only 
just emerged from the prothallus. 
These two plants were exhibited at the Linnean Society in 
November, 1882, and six others from the same batch and of the 
same type developed eventually bulbils in their crests, but not 
to such a degree as in the first find, nor at so early a stage. 
Stimulated by this discovery I pursued my researclies, and 
in 1883 I was able to record the discovery of the proliferous 
character of the Athyria in another and most unexpected direc- 
tion, viz., the plumose varieties. On September 18th I was 
examining a large specimen of A. F.-f. 2Aumosum divaricatum, 
* Figs. 3 and 4 copied, by permission, from the Gardeners' 
Chronicle (December, 1882 and 1883). 
