THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ APRtr, 
which we saw blooming in their nursery in 
great beauty in the winter of 1877, and being 
comparatively little known and a most de¬ 
sirable shrub for ornamental planting, we have 
no doubt many of our readers will be glad to 
make acquaintance with it. In the Woking 
Nursei’y there were growing two or three huge 
masses of the plant from 12 ft. to 15 ft. high, 
almost every spray of the ample head producing 
its panicle of flowers, which, though not highly 
coloured, are of a pale greenish-white waxy 
hue, which contrasts well with the dark full 
green of the foliage. Woking Common, it is 
well known, is a very keen and exposed locality, 
and the .specimen plants of this Arbutus to 
which we refer were growing in an elevated 
open position, without shelter of any kind, so 
that there can be little doubt of its hardiness. 
Its beauty at once arrested attention; indeed, 
we were led to conclude it was one of the best 
winter-blooming evergreens in cultivation.— 
T. Moore. 
CROSS-BRED FERNS. 
X NTIL a comparatively recent period, 
the production of hybrid or mule 
ferns was rather a question of doubt 
and speculation, than a demonstrated fact. It 
is true that amongst Gi/mnogramvuis, Pterises, 
and Lomarias different forms had appeared of 
intermediate character, and such as gave coun¬ 
tenance to the notion that hybridization was 
possible ; and when the mode of fertilization 
came to be pointed out, it seemed to present 
no serious obstacle in the way of the crossing 
being effected. Nevertheless the fact remained, 
that while ferns sprung up by tens of thou¬ 
sands in our fern-houses, where there must 
have been every possible admixture amongst 
the falling spores, the supposed hybrids could 
after all be counted up by units. 
Latterly, however, the subject has received 
greater attention and better illustration, for 
the extensive cultivation of varieties of British 
ferns has led to the artificial raising of a very 
large number of plants from spores, and also 
prompted the attempt to gain new forms by 
crossing. A very interesting paper on this 
subject was read about a year ago by E. J. 
Lowe, Esq., before the Biological section of 
the Birmingham Natural History and Micro¬ 
scopical Society ; and as we have seen results 
produced by Mr. Lowe which appear to con¬ 
firm the views on this subject to which he then 
gave expression, our readers will no doubt 
be interested in the following abstract of 
the paper in question, which rvas printed in 
full in the Midland Naturalist^ an excellent 
but cheap monthly periodical devoted to 
natural history subjects ;— 
“ Tho reproduction of ferns from spores is a study 
of much interest, and one worthy of more general 
attention. The modus operandi is fraught with 
difficulties. The minute size of the infant ferns in 
thoir first growth is in itself dangerous, as any 
neglect will at once destroy the whole crop. The 
spores germinate as mere green points, impercep¬ 
tible at first to the unassisted eye, and only ren¬ 
dered visible by the look of greenness from a num¬ 
ber springing into life together. Spores of ferns 
differ from seeds of plants, inasmuch as they have 
no special organs, consisting merely of a homo¬ 
geneous cellular mass. In seeds the young roots and 
the young shoots are present in the embryo, being 
developed from determinate points ; whilst spores, 
on the contrary, consist merely of single vegetable 
cells, growing indifferently from any part of the 
surface. These points of life ('(jerniincd fronds), as 
they continue to grow, have a strong resemblance 
to liverwoi’t (hence the term of marchantia-like). 
They gradually increase in size, and if they do not 
become impregnated, will occasionally exceed half 
an inch in diameter. 
“The impregnation of the germinal frond does 
not seem to be capable of being accomplished with¬ 
out the action of strong light; indeed, grown in a 
somewhat dark corner, the growth seems to be 
arrested before arriving at that particular stage of 
life. The following experiment will illustrate what 
is meant:—Three years ago a large Wardian case 
was jirepared, and the siu'faco of tho soil scattered 
over with spores from a number of varieties of 
Scolopendrium vuhjare, Lastrea Filix-mas, Athyrinm 
FiJix-fwmina, Pohjstichum angulare, and Lastrea 
dilatata, each species being in a separate partition. 
This case was placed in a somewhat dark corner, 
under a plant stage. When the spores had been 
sown about six months tho whole surface soil was 
covered over (and had been for several weeks pre¬ 
viously) with the vivid green of the young ferns. 
At this time a second case was prepared, not for 
spore sowing, but for transplanting, in patches, the 
germinal fronds from tho first case. Small portions 
of this green mass wore lifted on the point of a 
knife and planted in thick lines. The second case 
was tlien placed in a light part of the greenhouse, 
having a north aspect. Under these circumstances, 
the transplanted patches very soon grew rapidly 
(whilst those in the case from 'which they were 
taken had made little or no progress), and in six 
months the second case was filled with a mass of 
fronds, yet no fronds appeared in the original case. 
A third case was then prepared, and for the second 
time small portions ■were removed from the first 
case into tho now one, and this also was placed in 
a well-lighted situation having a north aspect. After 
being in this third case less than six months a largo 
number of fronds appeared, -n-hilst still no fronds 
appeared in the original case. A fourth case is now 
about to be planted from the same original stock, 
which, although still looking green and healthy, has 
no fronds developed, and, indeed, the germinal fronds 
it contains are still little more than mere points. 
Thus for three years the growing spores in a darkened 
