5 
Fern Collecting . 
but as these are for the most part pretty well known I 
shall not enumerate them, but proceed at once to make 
some remarks on collecting ferns for cultivation. It is 
only during the height of summer that the deciduous 
kinds can be readily found by inexperienced collectors, 
and it is at that season that fern hunting proves a 
particularly agreeable pastime. It would be better 
always if the ferns could be removed from their native 
sites when first about to commence their new growth 
in the spring, and this can be done sometimes by 
searching in woods and hedgerows for old fronds, and 
tracing them to their source. The roots should then 
be taken up without injury to the crowns, and be at 
once planted or potted as required, and assisted with 
shade and shelter until established in the places 
assigned them in the garden. Experienced collectors 
may hunt for ferns during the winter to great advan- 
tage in districts where they are known to abound, as 
in the event of a mild season many of the deciduous 
kinds will be still green; and evergreen kinds, such as 
hartstongue and common polypody, may be better lifted 
in winter than at any other season. But as a rule fern 
hunting is a recreation for summer time, and any fern 
may be taken up in the height of summer and be kept 
with the utmost certainty for cultivation; the worst 
that is likely to happen is the loss of all the fronds they 
carry at the time of taking up ; but a new crop will 
soon succeed them if proper care be taken. The fern 
collector should be provided with aids and implements 
adapted to the county in which he is about to make 
explorations. Where only terrestrial and hedgerow 
