APOSPORY IN FERNS. 
225 
From this it will ho soon that no less than three distinct forms 
of proliferation have now been observed on the Athyvid. 
“ 1. Bulbils of the ordinary character developed in the axils and 
on the superior surface of the pinnae, and agreeing in character with 
the ordinary bulbils of the Asylenia.^^ 
“2. Bulbils formed apparently by transmuted spore-producing 
energy and occupying the place of sori, i. e. on the under side of tl^e 
pinnae — a position so far, I believe, quite unrecorded in connection 
with any of the Filices.” 
“3. A new form of proliferation altogether, viz., proliferous 
prothalli arising from pseudobulbils produced by a different trans- 
mutation of the reproductive force, and evolving plants only after 
the prothalli have produced the usual sexual organs common to 
prothalli resulting from spores.” 
The reading of this paper aroused some little interest, but 
was received decidedly cum grano salis, especially as it was then 
not in my power to do more than lay my report before the 
Linnean Society, the resulting plants being too small to display 
their parentage, while the pseudobulbils and preliminary 
phenomena had of course successively passed away. I promised, 
however, that in the following autumn I would lay plants before 
them, and also, if possible, the curious pseudobulbils themselves. 
Accordingly, on Nov. 20, I did so, so far as plants were con- 
cerned; but unfortunately, as I then thought, though it turned 
out to be immaterial, I could only exhibit pinnae of Clarissima 
bearing very immature excrescences, owing to the plant having 
been more in the open air than in 1883, and the year having 
been a very dry one, the result being that the indusia were not 
even lifted, and nothing approaching the pear-shaped bodies 
was visible. When the indusia were raised, however, an 
experienced eye could detect that the bodies they covered were 
of a very abnormal character ; and though altogether unlike the 
pear-shaped bodies of the previous year {Plate VI., Fig. 1) were 
