CHAPTER DH 
FERN PROPAGATION AND CULTURE 
IN the previous chapter we have described the normal and abnormal 
modes of Fern reproduction which have been discovered in con- 
nection with the spore; but inasmuch as propagation by the 
spores of varietal forms cannot be relied upon to produce precisely 
identical types, to secure such other methods of propagation are 
preferable, and fortunately Nature has endowed most Ferns with 
sufficiently superabundant vitality to permit of such being adopted. 
To prevent misconception it is necessary to state that the spores 
of thoroughbred constant “sports” as a rule produce offspring 
fairly true to the parental type, but apt sometimes to vary in the 
extent to which that type is displayed. This capacity, as we shall 
see elsewhere, is very valuable to the selective cultivator, since, 
by virtue of it, more and more enhanced types may be acquired 
accompanied by increased beauty. Many Ferns, and particularly 
varietal ones, are gifted with the faculty of producing buds in 
various ways, and it is by these buds that we are fairly certain of 
acquiring fresh specimens absolutely, identical with the parental 
form, since they are, in point of fact, actually parts of it, and not 
therefore subject to those subtle varying influences which accom- 
pany sexual reproduction by the spore. Аз with probably all 
plants, however, bud-variation may and does occur, but so rarely 
that it may be practically ignored. In those Ferns which form a 
crown, around which arise a circlet of fronds, shuttlecock fashion, 
such as the Shield Ferns (Polystichwm), Buckler Ferns (Lastrea), 
and others, there is a tendency to produce lateral buds at the base 
of the fronds, close to the soil, and these in time develop indepen- 
dent roots and become full-sized associated plants, thus forming 
a sort of bush. In such cases these offsets can be prised away 
from the main caudex or crown with a blunt trowel or similar 
instrument, and will then come away with their own fascicle of 
roots, and only need planting to become independent specimens. 
In this connection we may remark that this operation is highly 
advisable if the full development of a fine variety is aimed at, 
since the unchecked development of such lateral growths tends 
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