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Mat tet add betel Vimar’ s, by wee ik ume Tt Y. sv os wo — » wy? ered Ll paid gy 4 v e y ore » . w % 4 4 rile Pi Ta | he | Re es POPOL” | | orwir Tew i eh Doe PUBLISH: ~ QUARTERLY. mais ae en + —— Septen 1915. Gane Inti vier {> e@e ag 1915 4 ” 4 . Se ae ee . — = = 7 . ~ tae, — - = : 2 LS Pas « - ee ' an bP EDITED BY Se CHARLES © -DRUERY, Y. Mat, FiLS. ~ 4 seer - © “= b ais OPE FOL Sell ei ee OE -_ ee or PE ee is ch z, ve , F * a ae 7 + > - a ae P és ae : 4 PUBLISHED BY fs Bnd PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY » en 1S bei Secretary, C. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.) : KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. 7 ~~ i’ al . Fd eed . oy aa 2 bed Li . ‘ . ] a Fa =? 5? 4 < 4 Rng’ ® $ ; : .> P= 5 e., J ween! Perry ~< , \ , © s ‘ 4 g » a he Ly . ~~ « ae) i Mi . i“ =» 4 me v ee “% POLYPODIUM DRYOPTERIS PLU IOSUM. THE BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. moi 3. ‘SEPTEMBER, ge: No. Aye CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL NOTES .. oH oe te I OuR FRONTISPIECE (P. vopteris ‘ahisngsnsn| ec , ‘a 3 THE AuGusT MEETING, REPORT AND BALANCE Salt as 5 P. vVULG. VAR. CORNUBIENSE a es a oe “f 6 Mr. W. B. CRANFIELD’S COLLECTION... ie di at IO FRAGRANCE OF POLYPODIUM CALCAREUM me ny a 15 A SurGIcaL BIRTH AND ITS SEQUEL ih ae en ie 16 VARIATION : ITS STARTING-POINT i nee on a 18 LASTREA FILIX MAS, THREE SPECIES OF (G. B. Wollaston’s Paper and Chart) .. ai i és c oe oh 20 EDITORIAL NOTES. As our members will have been apprised by special notice, it has been considered by the Committee that it would be advisable to defer the proposed visit to South Wales until next year; the war, as in many other cases, reducing the chances of asuccessful meeting to a minimum. The health of the Hon. Secretary has also been such as ‘o preclude the suggested previous journey to fix the ‘ocality and determine the arrangements. Under these circumstances the Committee framed the necessary resolu- tions for the transaction of the formal business of the Society, which are set forth in connection with the Report and Balance Sheet which are given elsewhere. It will be seen therefrom that, despite the drawbacks which the present terrible war presents to the normal course of peaceful pursuits, our little Society still maintains its position, which is extremely gratifying to the Editor, though he feels compelled to make his customary appeal 4 for more assistance in the way of practical contributions to our cult by the members as well as the enlistment of further members with a view to the improvement of the ‘‘Gazette”’ by the aid of increased funds. The Editor would remind those members who have joined after Volume 1 was completed, that a small number of Volume 2 (Nos. 13 to 24, 313 pages) have been bound, together with a portrait of Dr. F. W. Stansfield as frontispiece, and that these volumes can be had by members for 3s. gd., post free. As the issue is inevitably limited, and the books in the future are certain to be of value, this opportunity of acquiring a copy should not be lost. _ The subscriptions for 1915.-16 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. at an early date to ll, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. IMPORTANT. In our June issue we referred to a previous publication issued many years ago on ‘‘ Gazette”’ lines, which, however, was unfortunately but very short lived. We are now, how- ever, happy to state that a copy of that publication being ~ possessed by the Editor, Mr. W. B. Cranfield has very kindly and generously volunteered to provide therefrom a reproduction of Mr. G. B. Wollaston’s very important paper on, and specification of, the differences between the three sub-species of the Male Fern (Lastvea filix mas), to the definition of which he devoted some twenty years of study. The detailed specification, dated October 2gth, 1874, in the form of an illustrated chart, has been litho- graphically reproduced, and is of such great botanical interest as to render it a matter of congratulation that it has been, so to speak, resurrected and thus brought well within the cognizance of our present-day fern students. Mr. Wollaston’s paper, referring thereto and elucidating it, i. ) a) is also reproduced as it appeared in ‘‘ The occasional paper of the British Pteridological Society,’’ No. 1, 1875. We are sure that all our Members will feel, with the Editor, a deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Cranfield for his kindness. THE EDITOR. OUR FRONTISPIECE. POLYPODIUM DRYOPTERIS PLUMOSUM. Mr. T. G. H. Eley kindly sends the photo reproduced as our frontispiece, together with the following note. We give here also a photo of the normal form to shew the great difference and increased beauty (p. 4). Mr. Herbert Stansfield recently favoured me with a letter in which he referred to his astonishment and delight when he first saw the Polypodium dryopteris plumosum in my place at Furness Abbey, and how, after I had taken the plant to his Sale Nurseries, ‘“‘ he made it his first duty each morning to feast his eyes on the rare charms of that new and beautiful variety of P. dryopteris.”” I have, at his suggestion, had it photographed, and am sending you a copy with these notes, and | should be glad if you could find a place in the ‘‘Fern Gazette’’ for them. Mr. Stansfield, together with our much appreciated Editor, Mr. Cranfield, and myself (also possibly Dr. Stansfield and Mr. T. E. Henwood) have raised a number of sporelings from the original plant, and I hope, seeing that it is a good breeder, still further varieties will result. If our Editor has his usual luck he should come out with something startling. As stated by me in the “British Fern Gazette,’ Vol. 2, No. 22, December, 1914, I dis- covered this fern in the garden of the late Mr. T. Christo- pherson, at Row, Westmoreland. There were but two very small fronds, and the plant was growing in a salmon A tin, well under cover of more rampant ferns. Mr. Christo- pherson died shortly afterwards, but I was fortunate in | getting his previous promise that as soon as it was possible to divide the plant I should have a portion, and under these circumstances I was able to secure the plant from | his sister, : When the British Pteridological Society held its annual meeting at Arnside in 1912, the principal outing was to Whitbarrow Scar, and | was able to indicate to the members of the Society—including Messrs. Druery, Cranfield, Henwood, Boyd, Edwards, Bell, Smithies and others—the dell in which P. dvyopteris plumosum was found, and also in close proximity where the record was broken by Messrs. Christopherson and Sargeant finding Polystichum lonchitis at an altitude of under 400 feet. One of these plants was shewn. by me at the Arnside meeting, and was declared to be a true Lonchitis.” THE AUGUST MEETING. For the reasons given in the Editorial Notes, the meeting this year was held purely fro forma at the residence of the Hon. Secretary, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, W., at 12 noon on Monday, August 2nd, 1915. The balance sheet being produced as audited by Mr. J. J. Smithies, the following resolutions were passed (by means of proxies sent to the Hon. Secretary), to which we append the list of officers as re-elected, and also the balance sheet, shewing a balance to the credit of the Society of £76 2s. tod., which may be regarded as extremely satisfactory under the adverse conditions of the war :— RESOLUTIONS. 1. That the accounts and balance sheet as audited be approved. 2. That the Officers and Committee of the Society be re-elected for the ensuing year. 3. That the annual excursion (to South Wales) proposed for 1915 be held—subject to the war—in 1916. 4. That the Hon. Secretary be requested to continue the B 6 Editorship of the ‘ British Fern Gazette,’’ and that an honorarium of ten guineas be voted to him for his services in that connection for the past year. President : Mr. A. Cowan, Penicuik, Vice-Presidents : Dr. F. W. Stansfield, Reading. Mr. J. J. Smithies, Kendal. Mr. C. T. Druery, Acton, London. Mr, W. H. Phillips, Belfast. Mr. W. B. Boyd, Melrose. Hon. Secretary ; Mr. Chas, T. Druery, v.M.H., F.L.S. Treasuvey: Mr. W. B. Cranfield, Enfield Chase. Auditor: Mr. J. J. Smithies. Committee : Mr. T. Bolton, Warton. Mr. T. G. H. Eley, Burgess Hill, Sussex, »» J. J. Smithies, Kendal, »» W. Bell, Furness Abbey. ,», KR. Whiteside, Lancaster. ,, G. Whitwell, Kendal. ,, W.E. Farrer, Lancaster. ,, W. Wilson, Kendal. Together with the President and Vice-Presidents as members e7-officio. P. VULGARE VAR. CORNUBIENSE. From the point of view of the biologist, any deviation from the normal structural specific form of a plant, which deviation is not due to accidental damage or defective cultivation and, therefore, affects its offspring by inheri- tance, is quite as interesting as those particularly marked types which claim our attention as being more beautiful and worthy of culture than the normal ones. In the one ~ case, as in the other, something has happened to upset that regular succession of operations which characterises adherence to specific types and has for result the continu- ance of that type, generation after generation, without any appreciable variation. To such fern lovers as form our little Society, the wealth of varieties which we have cited as the more beautiful has, in course of time, become so great and the range of selection so extended that it has ‘Mavjosvas AavaouoH ‘KUYANUAG ‘L ‘'SVHO - OI cer F : Q oe: 5 “98S ‘uoH] jo spury ul “s ac - ee 68 ha on es g tr € ‘dag ‘uoFy JO Sspuey ul - oh ae g zt CE oe zg eh ** yepuoy ‘yueg 3 souRfeg “ ‘cz ‘sny eae. as zeaf 3oj soseysog ‘' “* * b or zéxF# g Z - "> Zurjeey joseonon “ “ & e ate SS ed ie *s.. 9oueyereen yao.“ SY 9 Cr . ee ee AIQUOT}EIS “ es as ¢ 6S , ** gro Masya pue AID wor ‘09 ‘syooq uo aseuIeg * ff 9 ZI S1078D) -A05 sojoyd pur syxoo[q tgs 279g : ae “970 ‘Z a ee ** ‘WOd ssa ‘que ye ysozojuy “SSS _ "IOA surpure pure ‘}Ie1}10g o°-1 Tt — 3ADy Stes es eR Se eh ze aun{ ‘z Atn{ ue: ee aA soumnjoA punog Oe a 5 “ = “IRVIN “CZ “IVIN pee SHesED Je sloquinn yoeg “§ “ ‘Cr6r o SI ¢z °° ae "te Saget “ “ rt ‘207 ‘61 ‘99CT ‘gouvape ur ‘suomdmosqng mm“ “ *¢ Oo 11S ** syo0[gT puv a}Jezey *}daS ‘cz *ydas Otek a gi -/S ye ‘pazqrwo —:'05 x ‘uos ‘3911 pue sieaire ut ‘suoydiosqng 9g * * S 9 rs ee ‘O39 ‘sapDTyaA Jo sosuod xy] $F a OS SE 6. ‘oO *tz -/S ye ‘Cr-b161 ‘suordr1osqns gil eo ‘Sny O OI OI ‘“ ‘Aroniq] ‘Tr * “ éh-~ 46 ~ at ‘Cror Oo 0 OF paj}oAseTanpyAA '9 or anboyD Aq ‘b ‘sny ME ee i a “* yurg je souryed oy “b “sny ae ¥ ‘hIO1 : ee eae ‘hr61 ‘SAVILNGO ‘SIdIM ay ‘S161 ‘t [SNOAV ‘LAHHS AONVWIVA ALAIOOS TVOIOOTOCINALd Hsia 8 become necessary to ignore all, or nearly all, such varieties as present defects in make or inconstancy of type in the form of partial reversion, giving practically almost exclusive preference to those which persistently maintain that symmetry of form and make which constitutes their charm from the fancier’s point of view. The constantly irregular forms indeed, in which no two fronds are alike, may biologically be even more interesting than the regular ones, suggesting as they do a continuous changing of mind, as it were, on the part of the formative cells which normally proceed on regular lines, repeating one and the same plan over and over again. To take one of our commonest examples of a fern of inconstant character but which is yet so good and so marked as to be indispensable to every collection :— Polypodium vulgare var. covnubiense (elegantissimum) is one of the most marked examples of this eccentric type. Found as a wild plant in Cornwall, it was seen that it bore fronds of three distinct types, viz. the normal once divided or pinnate one, a somewhat slenderly divided bi- pinnate one, and a much more slenderly dissected or even tripinnate one, of which last selected specimens have been named “ trichomanoides,” owing to a marked resemblance to Lvichomanes vadicans, the beautiful native Filmy fern. For many decades this fern has been propagated, not only by division but also by spores, but this peculiarity of partial reversion has never failed to appear, and even asserts itself when a successful cross has been effected with exotic ferns of the same genus, or different varieties of native origin, ¢.g. P. Schneidevianum, P. glaucum + P, vulg. corn. and P. vulg. corn. + bifido-cvistatum. Not content, however, with producing fronds of the three types named, it carries its eccentricity still further by change of plan even within the limits of one frond or part of a frond, one and the same example shewing. normal, coarse and fine 9 sub-divisions side by side, or intermingled in the most wayward fashions conceivable. Curiously enough this eccentricity appears to be correlated with the type, since two other recorded wild finds in quite distant localities have presented the same peculiarities when brought under cultivation, so that, despite all efforts, there is no thoroughly constant form so far recorded. The latest find of this type was made by our member, Mr. W. R. Roberts, as a quite tiny plant on a dry hedge- bank at Barnstaple. This was kindly sent to the writer, who grew it, and was for some time led to the belief that at last we had a constant form, as some twenty fronds arose all true to the intermediate type. A normal frond then presented itself and eventually precisely the same mixed character appeared. With regard to this variety, it bears three names—“ cornubiense,”’ indicating its Cornish origin and therefore appropriate ; ‘‘ elegantissimum,”’ rather too superlative as it turns out, and ‘‘ Whiteii.”” This last is derived from the name of one of its discoverers, three of which were apparently necessary for such an unique discovery. This name, however, was only temporarily applied or is rarely used nowadays. JBesides the peculiari- ties already described, the fern is additionally interesting as a producer of dorsal bulbils on the more dissected fronds under favourable cultural conditions, but our own attempts to raise from these have so far failed. These bulbils appear in conjunction with the spore heaps, a rare but not unique phenomenon. The inclusion of such a variety among the élite is, therefore, seen to be fully justified despite its eccentricity. Gass. Ty Davery, V.N., F.L.S. IO MR. W. B. CRANFIELD’S COLLECTION, Having been invited to Enfield by Mr. Cranfield and commissioned by him to take stock of his collection of British Fern varieties, with a view to their systematic classification and proper naming, we have enjoyed a peculiarly favourable opportunity of judging at once the merits and the extent of a collection which we imagine to be practically the most representative, the choicest, and the most up-to-date of those existent at the present time. The Kew collection, undoubtedly, far exceeds it in numbers, but, on thé other hand, fails to include many of the latest acquisitions, both in the way of new wild finds and forms obtained by selective culture of the older types. The national collection is also handicapped by a considerable admixture of inferior varieties, which have established themselves as robust specimens among the innumerable seedling ferns which were planted, as it were on trial, when Mr. Carbunell’s and other collections were bequeathed or donated to the nation in the last century. The Kew authorities, however, have been so liberal in the allotment of space to our British Ferns that there is room for all, and their warmest admirers can only be grateful for the opportunity thus afforded to the public of forming a fair idea of their beauty and diversity. It is, however, with Enfield Chase rather than Kew Gardens that we are dealing, and here we have the additional factor that the owner is an ardent fern student, who devotes himself persistently and personally to the acquisition of the best types, their culture under the most favourable conditions, and, above all, to their propagation on selective lines of the most discriminating kind. Happily his estate is large enough to enable him to devote a very considerable space, or rather spaces, to his pets under varied conditions. Bold [1 growing trees provide the needful shade and shelter, and even permit of such ideal fern habitats as winding wood- land walks and umbrageous dells, where all that is left to desire is the Devonian rainfall in lieu of that of Middlesex, where drought is too often a serious handicap. Apart from the ferns themselves, much ingenuity is shewn in their specific arrangement. There are, for instance, a series of bays in a row under the shelter of lofty trees bordering the woodland in question. These bays consist of a short, broad path, surrounded horse- shoe fashion with wide, sloping beds, furnished here and there with stepping stones to facilitate access to the ferns installed in them. These bays are each about 21 feet wide by 27 feet deep, and over them, by means of wires, there are spread thin adjustable sheets of scrim, or thin canvas, while each bay is enclosed by a privet hedge. To each bay is allotted but one species, whose varieties are arranged according to size and type, so that here we may see some dozens of dwarf ones, and there a group of extra robust ones. All through, however, the different types or varietal sections are set out in separate groups, each specimen being given sufficient space to show its full character. The greater number of these bays is devoted to the Shield Ferns, or Polystichums, mainly P. angulare, of which alone in this collection there are several hundred distinct varieties. Another bay is devoted to Lady Ferns, Athyrium filix feemina, in the same systematic way, and in another we see nothing but the Hartstongue, Scolopendrium vulgare, in a hundred and more distinct and different forms, from minute bunches of moss-like frondage to yard-long fronds, reminding one by their size of those in Cornish woods, but of very different forms, in the shape of broad frills and fringes, or heavy tassels on endlessly varied lines. Leaving these bays and turning into the wood, we pass 2 by, on the way through, masses of Oak Fern and many specimens of Male and other ferns growing under more or less wild conditions, until we come to a circular path enclosing huge masses of Osmunda regalis, the Royak Fern, normal and crested, with a fringe or border of Cystopteris fvagilis. Around this centre, on each side of a circular path, there are ranged scores of huge pots and pans, in which are grand specimen plants of several species, but mainly of the wonderful ‘‘ superbum ” section of plumose Lady Ferns, particularly A. f. f. plumosum Druery, the Queen of the tribe, and its regal sisters, the percristatums. The sloping beds surrounding this centre are filled with a great number of varied species, largely of the Lastrea or Buckler Fern family in variety, with beautifully rural effect. Returning to the garden proper, we pass a long, sloping — bed, the home of a hundred or more of magnificently frilled Hartstongues in rows, all, we are informed, raised from one of Mr. Moly’s best finds, by means of bulbils formed on detached frond bases, a good proof that pro- pagation on a liberal scale is not at all prevented by the absolute absence of spores on the frilled section of this species, at any rate on the thoroughbreds. Elsewhere we see other examples of this in the shape of large numbers of other “finds” treated in the same way. How this propagation is effected has already been described in the ‘‘ Gazette,” and we have seen as many as thirty young plants attached to a single frond base when treated properly, that is, to the persistent basal end of the frond which is attached to, and forms by accumulation, the caudex, or crown, of Scolopendrium vulgare. Proceeding on our way we come to an enclosure within which, under a similar canvas shelter to that of the bays, is the major part of the Buckler Fern collection, in which we find practically all the varieties worthy of note of the Bi 13 Lastrea family—L. filix mas, L. pseudo mas, L. propingua; and L. dilatata and its sub-forms. Of L. montana there are but few, this species so far declining to thrive, though we are sure that, seeing the many varieties in existence, it will ere long be persuaded by Mr. Cranfield to be fairly repre- sented. One or two of the finest, among them Dr. Stansfield’s beautiful Welsh find of L. montana plumosa, are to be found in one of the greenhouses in conjunction with a few other gems which claim such protection. We next come to an open field sparsely planted as an orchard, and here we find the few frames devoted to that class of culture. Two very long and wide ones are devoted, one to that unique and beautiful class of Poly- stichum known as the Pulcherrimums and Gracillimums, the other to Polypodium vulgare. ‘This latter contains about forty varieties of that beautiful species, planted in very free leafy soil and actually rivalling in robust development the noted collections of this species of Dr. Stansfield and Mr. Henwood, which is saying a great deal. The former class was raised in the first place by Mr. Druery and Mr. Green, and subsequently by Mr. Cranfield himself, and is known as the “gracilliimum”’ and “plumosum’”’ sections of that species, to which he has added a promising cristate form of Pulcherrimumitself. A special shelter close by accommodates practically the entire known section of Scol. v. crispum, or the frilled Harts- tongue, in its manifold forms, and here, as elsewhere, the robust healthy state of all the plants testifies to the growers peculiar skill in meeting their requirements as to soil, shade and other conditions. A fairly good collection of Blechnum spicant occupies a small frame, and in another close by we see a most charming collection of dwarf forns of several species, on which Mr. Cranfield has promised a special article. There is, furthermore, a close frame devoted to the new 14 “pellucidum” section of Polystichum angulare, a very beautiful one of somewhat doubtful origin. It is very finely dissected with semi-translucent sub-divisions, whence the name, and is so delicate as to require almost filmy-fern treatment, at any rate in the young stage, which none of them so far has surpassed. They are, however, of so extremely promising a character that Mr. Cranfield’s special care is fairly certain to be handsomely rewarded in course of time by worthy additions to the élite. This section originated in Mr. H. Stansfield’s collection, but a young plant also quite unaccountably made its appearance in Mr. Druery’s asa stray sporeling. On our way to these several collections we find innumerable specimens, large and small, of good varieties dotted about or grouped wherever the conditions are favourable, but these are practically all duplicates or multiples of varieties more formally represented in the collections proper. It is clear from what we have stated that space does not permit of more than a general reference to and indication of the scope of the collection, and a long article would require to be devoted to each bay or frame, and a much longer one to the ‘‘spinney walk,” as we will christen the woodland one. We must, however, allude to one of the most interesting features of this collection, though it has already been touched upon in the ‘‘ Gazette.’”’ This is the fact that a very large number of the ferns we see are practically ‘‘resurrections’”’ of the once noted Moly collection which Mr. Cranfield fortunately purchased just before Mr. Moly’s death. This collection was so old and had been for years so neglected that the great majority of the plants were moribund and practically dead. They were, however, transported in sacks and other receptacles to Enfield, and in the light of the writer’s experience were surgically treated by drastic removal of all the dead matter, so as to give every particle of remaining central te life a chance by enabling it to meet with fresh soil and so develop bulbils and roots and start existence afresh. Happily, thanks to Mr. Cranfield’s skill and assiduity, the vast majority of the old stumps responded to this treat- ment by forming buds and bulbils, with the result that at present there are hundreds of Mr. Moly’s finds figuring as well-established typical plants of great beauty which other- wise had been lost to the world entirely. From some of these, too, offspring have been raised from the spores, and these in many cases not only promise to be, but actually are, the most beautiful forms we possess of the particular section to which they belong far surpassing their beautiful parents. Strolling through such a gathering of the choicest of the choice as we find under these fostering conditions one can but wish that we could be accompanied by the spirits of the old pioneers such as Moly, Col. Jones, Dr. Fox, Dr. Wills, Wollaston and others, and see their amazement and joy at beholding, not only their partic- ular pets and acquaintances in good and appreciative hands, but also the new developments which have been derived from their discoveries such as the ‘‘ superbum ” Athyria, the gracillimum and plumosum ‘ pulcherrimums ”’ and some of Mr. Cranfield’s own derivatives from the Moly finds. Cuas. T:: Daugaw-V¥.M.H., F.EXS. FRAGRANCE OF POLYPODIUM CALCAREUM (Smith). [P. RospertTianum (Horrmany).] Our Editor has pointed out to me that Hoffmann, in his original description of this species, as quoted by Newman in his ‘British Ferns,” says ‘‘odor debilis Gevanu Robertiani’’ (t.e.a weak odour of Geranium Robertianum), and it is presumably upon this characteristic that 16 Hoffmann’s specific name is founded. We must, therefore, give to Hoffmann the credit of having first noticed and recorded the fact that this fern is scented. I cannot, however, commend his power of discriminating odours, for, after cultivating the two plants for a season and carefully comparing their scents, the impression made upon me is ~ that the odour of the fern is entirely pleasant, while that of the Geranium is decidedly disagreeable. The difference is not merely a matter of degree (as Hoffmann’s description would imply) but one of kind, for though the two may have something in common, there is in the scent of the fern a sweetness which is not to be found in that of the Geranium, while there is in the latter a rank heavy quality which is always unpleasant however much it may be attenuated. L should, in short, describe the Polypody as swaveolens and the Geranium as gvaveolens. F. W. STANSFIELD, M.D. Reading, July 27th, 1915. A SURGICAL BIRTH AND ITS SEQUEL. ‘*______ let that angel whom thou servest Tell thee MacDuff was, from his mother’s womb, Untimely ripped.” (Macbeth.) I have previously recorded (‘‘ Gazette,” December, 1914) the finding of a small offset upon our Editor’s plant of the original A.f.f. Clavissima and its presentation to myself. It has occurred to me that a more detailed account of the operation of removal and the subsequent history of the plant may be of interest to readers of the ‘‘ Gazette.” The time of year (end of October) was the one least favourable to dividing operations in deciduous fronds, 7.¢. when growth had completely ceased and was not due to re- commence for a period of several months. Moreover, the offset was a small one from a large plant. It was dug out = 7 with the help of a pair of nail scissors and was found to have been connected by a slender stolon with the parent plant, the offset having practically no roots of its own and its crown consisting of two rather loosely rolled fronds only. Onreaching home three days later the little plant was potted in fibrous, springy soil, and placed in a cold house in the shade, the idea being to keep it at rest until the proper time for growth in the spring. Judge, then, of my surprise and dismay when, after a week or so, the two fronds which formed the crown began to unroll! As the plant had nothing else upon which to fall back it was necessary to preserve these fronds, so it was plunged in a pan of cocoa-nut refuse, covered with a bell glass and watered sparingly. The two fronds continued to develop very slowly until about Christmas, when they came to a stop although still not completely unfolded. During the next three months the plant was given as full light as possible, was carefully protected against frost, but was not subjected to any artificial heat. The bell-glass was removed every morning and replaced at night. Whenever there was any sign of sharp frost the whole concern was moved into the dwelling-house for the night and taken back in the morning. Things remained in statu quo until the end of March, when the two fronds became fully expanded. At the present time (June 3cth) they are still living and green, though somewhat the worse for wear. Three or four larger new fronds have developed and the plant may be considered quite safe. | Its up-bringing recalls the way in which prematurely born babies are nursed into life in incubators in Paris. F. W. STANSFIELD, M.D. 18 VARIATION: ITS STARTING-POINT.* | Since variation in the form of a plant can only be observed when there has been sufficient growth to evidence its existence, the question of its starting-point, that is, where the first abnormal mother-cell, from which the subsequent abnormal growth is derived, — originates, appears to be, and probably is, an insoluble one. Despite this rather disheartening probability, it is, however, of great interest to record the various ways in which such sports have been known to declare them- selves, and in this way provide at least some material upon which theories, if not certainties, may be based by extended investigation. In connection with Ferns, and particularly British ones, which have afforded such abundant material, both in the wild state and under culture, by selection from the offspring of such, the finder of these can throw no light upon our problem. All he can say is that among possibly many thousands of the normal type he has found one, or it may be several, of a distinctly different one, though of the same species undoubtedly as the others associated therewith. If there are more than one at or near the same spot, he will probably be justified in his conclusion that these are either the direct offspring of some normal plant in the vicinity, which had yielded such offspring through spores endowed with the capacity of variation, or that equally probably, all but one of them are the offspring of one plant from whose spores they have sprung, as what we may term secondary Sports, Naturally, however, he cannot trace how that first one originated. It may have, as we have said, commenced as a spore on an otherwise normal plant, but, on the other hand, it may have started independently of the spore as an offset produced by a bulbil, but we have ** By permission of the Gardeners’ Chronicle. * powers 19 no record of a Fern sport being found that was so indubitably associated and structurally connected with a normal specimen as to admit of proof of this. Further- more, if we assume that the sportive character originated in a spore, that spore, when it was detached and found a suitable nidus, produced a prothallus; this in its turn produced a large number of antherozoids or male fertilising germs, equivalent to pollen grains, and a cluster of archegonia, each of which had an incipient seed at its base, which, being fertilised by an antherozoid, produced subsequently the sport under consideration. Who, however, can determine whether or not the aberrant capacity may not have originated in an abnormal antherozoid or an abnormal archegonial seed ? All we can know is that by a conjunction a Fern was engendered, which threw off the ancestral structural plan, and adopted another on possibly very different lines, while this new plan may be so pervasive in the new plant as to be inherited to the full by its offspring tor an indefinite period on quite specific lines. It is therefore seen that the starting-point of a variety or sport may occur in several ways, viz. by a merely vegetative bud, by an affected spore on an otherwise normal plant, or by affected antherozoids or archegonial ‘‘seeds’’ on an otherwise normal prothallus; these last two being, it is true, only assumptions, but reasonable ones, when we know how it had been proved by extended. experiments that Nature knows no limit to her inventive capacity, the prothallus and the Fern itself having exhausted every conceivable variation in the life-cycle, as proved by Professors Bower and Farmer, Dr. Lang, and Miss Digby. We may now cite a few instances which have come under our notice in connection with our theme, First, with regard to bulbil sports, we may mention the recognised case when a large plant of the Jones and Fox section, P. angulare plumosum 20 densum, was maliciously chopped up into over a dozen fragments in Mr. Barnes’ collection by some miscreant. These fragments were collected by Mr. Whitwell, of Kendal, and under his fostering care each one formed a new axis of growth and a root system, so that subse- quently a row of splendid specimens appeared in Mr. Whitwell’s garden. Our attention being called to these, we noticed at once that one, though indubitably of that particular section, and equally indubitably derived from a division of the original specimen, was distinctly different from the rest, both in habit and cutting. This, of course, proved that the mother-cell by which the plant. had originated as a bud on one of the fragments aforesaid had of itself adopted a special and new plan of growth— 7.€. had sported. It is, indeed, now well known that bulbil propagation, though fairly reliable as regards true reproduction of the type, is by no means absolutely so. That sportive spores may arise on an otherwise normal or nearly normal plant has been shown in two interesting instances in our personal experience. (To be continued.) The following paper was vead by Mr. G. B. Wollaston at the monthly meeting in November (1875), held at his residence, Bishop’s Well, Chiselhurst :— LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, You have kindly asked me to read a paper to you, at this our first meeting after the recess, and I do so witk great pleasure, but at the same time with much diffidence in my powers, and I trust you will make allowance for all my shortcomings. It is now many years since I first rode a hobby, viz. a1 that of the proposed division of Lastvea filix mas into three distinct species. I still ride over the same ground rough- shod, and shall continue to do so, until some such learned and benevolent Society as your own convinces me that I am wrong. I now lay before you a diagram* of what I believe to be three distinct species of Lastrea, with the names I propose for the two new ones, Lastvea propinqua and Lastrea pseudo mas, showing many diagnostics peculiar to each in juxta- position, so that you may the more readily judge of their difference of structure, shape, durability and localities in which they are found, etc., etc. I am fully aware that these diagnostics are not wholly scientific and botanical, but I trust you will think them of sufficient importance to enable me to unravel a knot which has at present defied all Pteridologists. Whether or not I shall be the happy man to do so I leave entirely in the hands of the Society to decide. We will now, if you please, take each item of the diagram seriatim, and you will observe that in 1st Column the order of development (that is the first appearance of the new fronds) Lastvea profingua is first, Lastvea filix mas second, and Lastrea pseudo mas third; and this, under similar conditions, has been the same almost without variation for nearly twenty years. In the 2nd Column the vernation or unfolding of the fronds is very striking. In the first, Lastvea propingua, it is circinate; and in the two last, Lastrea filix mas and and Lastvea pseudo mas, pediiform, or like a shepherd’s crook, sufficiently different for the eye to detect, but hardly to be described in language. The 3rd Column you will find contains by far the best and most constant diagnostics of the three forms, and ** See appended Chart, PM ied when taken young is unfailing; but in the more advanced growth, when the spores are nearly matured, ferns forming no exception in Nature’s laws, protect their own offspring against the burning rays of the midday sun, and the baneful effects of too much wet in the perfecting and ripening of the spores by reflecting or folding back the. margins of their pinnules, which would be destroyed were they to remain concave. In the 4th Column we come to the form of the pinnula or pinnule; in Lastvea propingua it is obtusely biserrate and biauriculate, occasionally developing the anterior auricle to such an extent as to become a small attached twin- pinnula. It is also succulent, soft and pulpy, very like a diminutive leaf of Sedum Telepbhium, with its margin slightly thickened. In Lastvea filix mas the pinnula is scarcely auricled, indeed one may say never, except when it runs into the variety of deorso-lobata of Moore. In Lastvea pseudo mas the pinnula is not auricled at all, and generally has a squared oblique apex, which never obtains in the _ other two forms. In the 5th Column.—Difference of colour is difficult to judge of at all times; but if you will refer to the diagram, you will find that attached to the different forms is again — rather an eye difference than one which can be expressed by words. 6th Column.—The next diagnostic I consider a very good one, and which may be thoroughly relied upon, viz. the state of the old fronds when a winter has passed over them. Those of Lastvea propinqua are of a beautiful rufus brown, and perlectly fragile and perished. Those of Lastvea filix mas are of a dirty brown, with remains of the green, prostrate and fragile. And those of Lastvea pseudo mas are so tough that you cannot separate them from the plant ; and they remain, unless beaten down by a heavy fall of snow, upright through the winter. They are 23 perfectly green, even far advanced into the next season, and under glass are green for three years. I have now in my possession pinne of three years’ growth, picked from the same plant at the same time. 7th Column.—The differences here are as much the same as in Column 3; but, as treating of the fronds them- selves, and not of the parts, are of marked importance, and may be taken under ordinary circumstances as a good diagnostic. 8th Column.—The three forms are here taken when they have felt the effects of a severe frost, and you will observe that Lastvea propinqua, which is sub-Alpine (and if it were only a variety of Lastrea filix mas, would on that account be more hardy), is perfectly deciduous and perished. This surely is very strong confirmation in favour of its being a true species. Lastvea filix mas is prostrate in winter, but not deciduous, and Lastvea pseudo mas is evergreen or sub-evergreen, and preserves its erect position throughout, unless, as before stated, beaten down by snow. gth Column.—We have here a good characteristic for one out of the three forms. In Lastvea propinqua and Lastvea pseudo mas the indusia embrace the spore cases, and are persistent and entire, and in Lastvea filix mas the indusium (taken when quite young) in section, exactly resembles an inverted soup plate, and is eventually evanescent. 1oth Column.—This, the most knotty point, viz. the possibility of distinguishing each by the markings of its spores, is a most difficult question to decide, there being - such an infinite variety of causes, which militate against accuracy of manipulation, etc. I will enumerate a few. The difficulty of procuring the spores of each form of the same age and of the proper maturity, their extreme minuteness (viz. about the 1,40oth of an inch in length), and their comparative thickness and opacity, which when 24 under a high power of the microscope requires a different focus for every minutia of distance. This obliges the operator to use a lower power in order to see the relative distribution of the verruce, or warts, with which most of the British fern spores are furnished, and which in this case I believe to be a certain diagnostic of each form. In Lastvea propinqua the spores are olive-green, not keeled, and covered with minute verruce equally distributed, so much so that it gives to each the appearance of being simply covered with minute punctures, which fepresent the interspaces of the verruce. In Lastrea filix mas, the spores, which are olive-brown, are keeled, and the verrucz collected into serpentiform markings (or, to give a better illustration, like the spots on the ounce or leopard, arranged in the curved stripes of the tiger), They are also coarser than those on the spores of Lastvea pyropingua. In Lastrea pseudo mas the spores are olive-brown and obsoletely keeled, and as one would expect to find, very similar to those of Lastvea filix mas, but the eye detects a difference, which consists in the aggregation of the verrucz, being in what (for want of a better name) I have called Hebrew character, or zig-zag marking, as shown on the diagram. 11th Column.—The localities of each are soon disposed of, Lastrea propingua being solely sub-Alpine, and where found, not a plant of Lastvea filix mas is to be seen, and yet there is abundance of Lastvea pseudo mas. Lastvea flix mas is universally distributed through the botanical provinces, and Lastrvea pseudo mas very commonly so. 12th Column.—Lastvea pvopinqua (not determined), Lastvea filix mas is infected with a disease which disigures it throughout its growth, but whether the disease is a fungus or the effects of an insect, is as yet not known. Lastvea pseudo mas is so very rarely affected that one may say never. This is again another strong proof of a specific difference. —= wweey ee n= ee ee “— _— aa ae has < “ be é _ 7 ' s ’ . t at} < SORCOR AE epee OS ee on? pees a ee i SOI Diagram” Giving twelve diagnostics or characteristics of the pron sed divistar of Lastrea liliv-mas (Lest) wito three Species, by Ceorge 2. Wallaston = = = = Onter Form of . al i, Parnes 7 a St ‘the Ud 1 5 7. Mndasivtie rors L ay Nasnes ane Vera during early | Fe oP Braue or Pnraites, Claw: as CELIA TES Fronds Lirsistence or duratddly, Lee LID CUD CIM Cit, CLUES Spores. Where found, Diseases. ment developement Ge (pring. Whew Young ———! ——== SSS ’ 2 3 4 5 | 6 [ 7 8 9 10 u 12 4astrea prprigua ( Wollasterr) \ First liranale Grave or | Irngudarly danyated luncedtale soft | Dudl pate STA Terishad, pubeus brown Gate lanceolate bynnate Pivtictty deadurus heautdal rittius Eradracuig (he spore cases persistent Solely studadpine (Net diterminet | apres | steculint (Uke a spadl leat of coped eradpressed, sole brown, whew decaying Wie ee Uraiee Sedum Iiephiwr / bluntly or Musiy trierrace with the margin sights thickened and} aeprasnd Maurtcudate some tines Showing Unterin writ hastrea prepengua (Willastor) Spore Ste) us « small pinnula Ckve yreen net hectecl manutely verrucese kL. . Blia-mac (Fret) “4 Filix mas ( Presi) Stoond. Feduatorm or Grover or Shiny pale green \ Hragle prostate dirty brown Lancrdtate bynnate sighlty | Vey partially denduas prostrate ua \ Subpetate (oriike an Cneced sip) % 3 Criversally distributed id wilh <* Vupherds creole depressed, slighty aaricled sey aud green undidule and denersed winter dirty bre wid Gre Wher) pg de )not embracing the ipo cuss, Cleve Crown Weeled Verriseest WOrriLcae the Cisirrate, Whe the adler Ppa. a OLED eventual: Wierd Asrupied or wards serpentlorm e generally tr Pe Sparta vee Cat bears the Sores. pe Ww — 7 4 Feudemas (Wollaston) Zz pede max (Willaston Turd | Blongated pede Plane or | Verrelicbowd rial corsaceaus \ Brightryellow greens | Tough upright yrun Tancudute, bpirnate, plane | bieyrean or sub cvergren corisccus| Embracing the spore cases pasixtent| Spore Cormonly distributed Neve blighted with" A form Hat or leathery winest CMTE or Wad, (oriaceous. GEG ME OPDV EL: Uae Dive brown vbscletely heeled verrucore. slightly nothhed ab the site verrucae xiquty like Hebrew characters, Of the uper 0S the wun tal ie Gears the Siries Net aurced. mt sy = BS (@© name at present unknown) spotted beliweare, Sud necd Mier twenty vears Carhil study and trvestigution of the above ferns we Che yrowing slide and under siplar cercrunstinues (all Cir plants bery takin wn eur hil developement and ofthe normal tym except whae thernise spatial) | have arrad at the anus stated av the thie diag, ad. although Lam willing te adit hat He seme vonditrons Cu Gree planks are so close that no ene car discriminate bitwecn bem, stl link: Guy we all wry of lhe rank A Speas under the ordinary acceptation of Uuat team Wheat they are first comms creer brothers ( unde the Daawauian teny) Lam equally arwined. concaung that Cay the ondy vatisiictory selutiern to be Gin, where ald te clesly allied eynate specs coalesce orn oe tito Cie clher lk me recomrnend wy Slay F teri detogists, neva Co attenpe an wvetyaluin othe abae tom bed yaa Cry, as Chey wild signal A Guselhurct Ot. QO 474 Reprinted WB. Cranfield, on. Treasurer of The British Pteridalogival Society, August TT? LOIS, Pe VOL. 3. No. 26. mae CLG s", *, Pritish Fern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. 1} ie ~ eS ell ee a ae et ee Ee 2 2 on oe JS. ts a , ea = x ame ae | Sey < 7 © ees z 7 | December, 1915. Zo" Sk CaM oo EDITED BY CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., F.LS. PUBLISHED BY | THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY : (Hon. Secretary, C. T. Dryuery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.) | KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. a = ‘a kee a. gp OL nn _, am POLYPODIUM DRYOPTERIS PLUMOSUM, (By kind permission of the ‘‘ Gardeners’ Chronicle.’ ! 3 SND Hee THE BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. WOL, 3. DECEMBER, 1tog15. No. 26. ———L ee CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL NOTES .. ‘ e, #2 25 Our FRONTISPIECE (P. druamets isganaiien) “fs aes te 26 VARIATION ; ITS STARTING-PoINT (conclusion) te a 26 FERNS, HORNED AND THORNED .. a8 te oe 28 FERNS FOR BEGINNERS e's ane ah ae oe 31 NEw Ferns. Kev. Kingsmill Moore we ae E te 32 BRITISH FERNS OF THE FUTURE .. ty re _ ay 35 BRITISH FERNS ABROAD .. oe s ae Ke 38 THE HARTSTONGUE FERN .. : ' at a ve 42 THE ROMANCE OF Lapy ‘“ Clause > a e ~ 45 RECENT ACQUISITIONS as ee oe am 4. as 48 EDITORIAL NOTES. Although naturally we have now entered upon the apparently dead season of the year, when little new material can be expected to turn up for record, we think that our present number will not be found to fall behind its predecessors in matters of interest, although, as usual, there is far too large a proportion of the C.T.D. matter, which properiy, with so many members, should serve rather as padding than as the principal material. Several members have, however, come forward as valuable con- tributors, for which we are very grateful. May we also beg the present members to strain a point and help us by inducing their fern loving friends to join the Society. A specimen copy will willingly be sent free to any likely subscriber on receipt of name and address. The subscription is 5s. per annum (August to August), and entitles to four issues of the GAzETTE and any desired information ve British ferns, 26 Tue British FERN GazeTTE, VoL. 2, Nos. 13 TO 24.—The Editor would remind the members that only about thirty volumes containing portrait of Dr. F. W. Stansfield have been bound in cloth for the benefit of such members as have not preserved all the above numbers, or have too recently joined to possess them. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of. The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure. | The subscriptions for 1915-16 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. at an early date to 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. —_ OUR FRONTISPIECE. POLYPODIUM DRYOPTERIS PLUMOSUM. The Editor of the Gardeners’. Chronicle having very kindly lent us a block of a frond of this charming new Fern, which shows its beauty to far greater advantage than that given in our last issue (which see for particulars), we have profited by the- opportunity to give our members the benefit of it, for which we are sure they will be grateful. VARIATION: ITS STARTING-POINT. (Continued.) Many years ago a very handsome new form of Gymnogvamma Laucheana was raised by Messrs. Dixon of Hackney. This was a _ very heavily crested grandiceps, and, visiting their foreman, he told us_ that 27 on a normal specimen he observed a single fan-shaped pinnule bearing spores, and that on sowing these, a large batch of plants all alike, and of the variety named, resulted. Here it is clear that the sportive principle had extended beyond tke sori affected so as to affect the foliage which bore them, or that it pervaded so much of the local foliar area, and thus affected the sori. In the second case the writer found, at Staverton, in Devon, a strong specimen of the common Hartstongue (Scolopendrium vulgare), with a large number of fronds, all but one of which were per- fectly normal. The exception was of the type known as sagittatum pvojectum, and this bearing a few spores was gathered, and the spores eventually sown. Some half a dozen plants resulted, all of which were alike, and all of a true sagitiatum pyojectum form, plus terminalcrests. Here, then, we see again a local affection of the foliage embracing an entire frond associated with a sportive tendency in the spores. Another question in this connection is, How far is the sportive tendency dependent upon seasonal influence ? Experience has taught the writer that a varietal Fern capabie of yielding exceptionally fine offspring at one time may at another fail more or less entirely todo so. Thus, the now well-known Athyrium filix-femina, known as the *“superbum,” yielded from the first crop of spores which the ‘‘ superbum ”’ parent produced, two unparalleled plumose sections, one crested and the other uncrested, all of the greatest merit. The parent plant still forms one of the chief ornaments of our collection, but repeated sowings since have only yielded mediocre forms or failed entirely, presumably owing to long continued culture under glass having weakened its vitality. Another Athyrium, A. f. 12 -cvistatum Kilyushense, a find of our own, and recognised as the finest cristate wild find of the species, yielded from the first sowing a good crop of the new form, but several sub- Sequent sowings have been hardly crested at all at one 98 time, but fairly true at others, for which the only explana- tion is, we think, seasonal influence of a little understood character. A. f. f. Clarissima on which apospory was first discovered, has never, we believe, reproduced the large local pear-shaped excrescences which led to the discovery. It has been maintained by some authorities that all sports are due to hybridisation or crossing, by which the normal specific type of growth is interfered with, with the result that a sort of compromise is effected involving the change observed. No thoroughgoing student of variation can, however, accept this theory. One fact alone suffices to contradict it, viz. that the new characters are rarely, if ever, specific ones, attributable to neighbouring plants. Cresting or tasselling, to wit, has never been recorded as found as a specific character, and yet so many abnormal Ferns present that peculiarity that the power of sporting in that peculiar direction appears common to all genera. In Great Britain, as in other countries, some genera are only represented by a single species, and yet these single species, Athyrium filix-feemina, Scolopendrium vulgare, and Blechnun spicant, for imstance, have been very generous in spontaneous wild sports. It is curious, indeed, that with such abundant evidence in disproof, such a theory can still be advocated by botanists of repute. Cuas. T. Druery, V:MA Pa FERNS, HORNED AND THORNED. One of the most curious types of variation in Ferns is that which embraces the varieties known under the several names of cornutum (horned), truncatum (cut short), excurrens (running out), peraferens (pocket bearing), spinosum (spiny), and possibly several others which we have not come across, but with which their owners or raisers have seen fit to dignify them. Naturally it is 29 impossible for the critical expert on high-class selective lines to consider any of these as other than ‘‘ curios,” devoid of the charm of symmetry and perfection which the élite must display to qualify them for their high position. As ‘‘curios,’”’ on the other hand, they must be conceded first rank. When we consider the mode of development peculiar to the fern tribe generally, that is, that the frond and all its subdivisions grow by the multiplication of cells at their extreme tips, which normally results in a tapering off to a more or less acute point, and that in that form of variation known as cresting these growing points are multi- plied so that the result is a bunch of terminals instead of a normal single one, it seems, and indeed is, a very curious thing that now and again Nature pursues exactly the oppo- site course by suddenly checking the terminal growth entirely. This she does in such a way that the end of the frond, or it may be of all its subdivisions, terminates squarely and abruptly, the midrib projecting either as a horn or a thorn, and even being entirely suppressed. This peculiar form has been found to occur in a number of British species, viz. Lastvea montana, Lastvea filix mas, Athyrium filix femina, Polystichum angulare, Scolopendrium vulgave, and Osmunda regalis. In L. montana it occurs so frequently (L. m. tvuncata) that in the Lake district among the many fern-hunters there it is known as ‘‘the beginner’s Fern,’ since, as in our own experience, there and elsewhere, where the species is plentiful, it is almost sure to turn up once or twice in the course of a day’s hunting, sometimes as a_ thoroughbred, with all fronds so characterized, and more often as a “rogue’”’ with only a few fronds truncate, and the rest quite normal, in which case the truncate character is almost sure to disappear under cultivation, as it may indeed, however thorough the ‘‘find’’ may appear to be. In L. filix mas truncate variation is rarer, but has been B 30 formed on quite similar lines, that is, with fronds otherwise of the quite common type, but with the pinnae or side divisions squared. off and the midrib projecting as a slender thorn. With the Lady Fern, the variety A. f. f. excurvens Carries the type further, the pinnules or secondary divisions being squared and thorned, and through its spores some forms have been raised with a generally spiny appearance, but it must be admitted that carried so far, the plant approaches dangerously near to the section we have jokingly christened ‘‘ hownotto doitums.” Polystz- chum angulave has had too much respect for itself to err much in this direction, but has furnished an example or two which hardly merit naming. Scolopendvium vulgare, the Hartstongue, has, however, gone perhaps the farthest of all ferns in furnishing variants on truncate lines of diverse characters, as indeed might have been expected of a fern which has certainly eclipsed all other ferns in the world in the diversity of types which it has assumed. The best known variety of the truncate section is ‘ pera- ferens’” or ‘‘ pocket bearing,’’ in which the frond is very much shortened, the tip being abruptly ended and the midrib projecting as a horn. In addition to this, however, the leafy part of the frond has apparently endeavoured to continue growth, the result being the formation of a pouch or pocket from the centre of which the horn protrudes. This pocket, however, in one variety is in the front, in another at the back of the frond, and is also varied in shape in different varieties, though fairly constant in type in any one. These varieties breed fairly true from spores, and as they have been successfully crossed with branched and tasselled forms, largely by the late Mr. E. J. Lowe, an endless number of strange and often weird varieties has been obtained, in all of which the peculiar truncatum or abrupt and thorned mode of termination is evident. Out- side the true ‘‘ peraferens” type there are others in which > Ean aie — 31 tbe frond is abruptly rounded off, the midrib being either abruptly suppressed near the end of the frond, as in S. v. vadiosovum, which we ourselves have found wild more than once, and in which the sori or spore heaps radiate round the semi-circular frond terminal, like the figures on the upper half of a clock face, or the midrib projects from the back or front with or without the rudi- ments of a pouch. S. v. peraferens has been crossed with a fertile form of crispum, the frilled type, and given a crispum ‘‘ peraferens,”’ thus improving the peraferens, but hardly the crispum. Osmunda regalis we have mentioned, since very curiously the majority of the huge specimens in the R. H.S. gardens at Wisley have their subdivisions terminated more or less squarely, indicating ‘truncation’ influence. Among exotics Polypodium hexagonopterum truncatum, a large growing close ally of our Beech Fern, was sent to us many years ago as found by Mr. W. Maxon, of the Smithsonian Institute. It reverted entirely to the normal in a year or two, but of recent years has reassumed the character partially. It is curious that the leaves of the Tulip tree, Liviodendron tulipiferum, display the truncate character as a normal feature, being quite square ended, the midrib being abruptly suppressed. 7 Cuas) 7 awry, VW, FES. FERNS FOR BEGINNERS. One of our members in a friendly criticism of our “ Gazette,’’ which is always welcome to us as possibly providing material for an article, suggests that many members may be only beginners, and that a larger pro- ' portion of information for their particular benefit might well be given in place of the more advanced matter which is perhaps beyond their practical comprehension. It is, however, clear that this admits of some argument. In the 32 first place, we think that a careful perusal and a study of the very varied articles which appear in the ‘* Gazette” will show that the very few simple fundamentals of Fern culture, and particularly the hardy Ferns, of which it is only necessary for us to treat, are sufficiently often clearly indicated as to serve perfectly well for the guidance suggested, while in the second place the primary object of the ‘‘ Gazette’ is to keep the hobbyist, z.¢. the more or less advanced cultivator, up to date as regards the progress of the cult in the way of fresh discoveries and improvements. In point of fact, if he remembers that Ferns are most at home in broken leafy soil under shady and moist con- ditions, and like all other plants, if of extra delicate make, must be sheltered from blustering winds, in order to display their charms to perfection, the intelligent beginner holds the key to the entire position, and must, as with all other cultural hobbies, perfect his knowledge by actual experience. In the vast majority of cases, the varieties are as hardy and lend themselves to precisely the same treatment as the normal species. In short, to devote much space in the ‘‘ Gazette” to cultural suggestions on beginner's lines would, we venture to think, tend to water down as it were the special matter which it is our aim to disseminate, and the best plan for the beginner is to acquire a reliable standard work on our British Ferns, their varieties and culture, such as the writer himself has endeavoured to produce. (Vide Advt. on Cover.) C. Ta NEW FERNS. Four FRESH VARIETIES. In writing to congratulate our Editor on the completion of the second volume of the ‘‘ British Fern Gazette’””—an achievement for which the Society owes him more gratitude ~ 27 JO than any of its members will ever be able to express—I ventured to submit four fronds which seemed to me distinct and of merit. Not the least of Mr. Druery’s many services to the cult of our Native Ferns, and its lovers, is the skill and im- partiality with which he adjudicates upon our ‘“ finds’ and our seedlings. Earlier in the year I had sent up three specimens; our Editor was courteous, as he always is, with reference to their points, but he was quite firm in refusing to acknowledge any of them as novelties. All the greater, therefore, was my gratification when he pro- nounced in favour of the whole four sent later (Not necessarily as ‘‘ novelties.” —ED.). With his permission I now write a short note on each of these four novelties. No.1 Mr. Druery speaks of as ‘‘ certainly a beautiful fern.”” He names it Polystichum angulare falcato-pinnulum, suggesting that ‘‘ pendens”’ should be added if the tendency to curve down at the end, which the pinnae have been showing, should persist. How this fern came to me I am unable toexplain. It is probably three years old, but its special features did not develop clearly till this season. No. 2 is ‘‘ evidently,” according to the Editor, ‘‘a form of Athyrium filix femina Victoria,” and he adds that if it has attained to its full size ‘‘it might well be named A. f/f. Victoria nanum.”’ He speaks of it as “‘ very pretty.”’ The origin of the fern is interesting, and I think encouraging. Throughout 1910 a small box filled with leaf mould stood in one of my greenhouses. Towards the end of the year a number of seedling ferns appeared. There was a good deal of Cystopteris fragilis—1 do not think I possessed a single plant of this species at that time—there were some good Polystichums of the Divisi- lobum type, but the gem of the collection was the 34 Athyrium. I suppose it is a seedling from a fine specimen of A. f.f. Victovig, which was in the house at the time. ‘The parent, however, always makes fronds which average 22 inches in length, while the child has never attained to more than 8—the average is 6. The little plant richly deserves the Editor’s description ‘‘ very pretty;’’ it never fails to attract the attention and admiration of visitors. No. 3 is given the title Polystichum angulare dtvisilobum plumosum acutuwm, and is described as “ very fine.” It is a child of a fine specimen of P. ang. dtvisilobum laxum Fox, The parent plant has yielded many bulbils, but all have been absolutely normal with this one exception. [This is a singular exception to the rule, particularly in this section.—Ep.] The bulbil which has developed into so striking a variety was separated from the old fern on July 3rd, 1907. At first it was so puny and delicate that I did not expect it to live; now, however, it has grown into a sturdy plant, which well deserves the Editor’s praise. A special characteristic of the child is that, unlike the > parent, it is tending towards the Proliferum type, and in this way it promises to be very prolific. No. 4 has been my own favourite of the set. I do not think the Editor shares my preference, but because of it he has attached my name to the variety, which accordingly figures as Polystichum angulave foliosum polydactylum Kings- mill Moore. Mr. Druery points out that the fern has the usual defect of Polydactylums, in that some of the pinnae do not divide, but he consoles me for his criticism by adding ‘‘ handsome nevertheless.” The plant is the result of a visit paid in 1911 to the Clifton Gardens. I have already had occasion to allude in the pages of the “‘ Gazette’ to that visit, and I am in hopes of further allusions. The curator, Mr. Harris, most Hin a5 kindly gave me a fertile frond from an exceptionally fine Polystichum. In due course, which with me generally represents eleven or twelve months, the young ferns began _toappear. They were full of promise from the first, and ae an agreeable amount of marked individuality gradually became apparent. There are at least three well marked types, and something like ten separate varieties. Of these ** Kingsmill Moore” is the most advanced, and therefore the first to make its bow before the Editor. It is already large and of singularly rich appearance. The surface throughout undulates so markedly that the different lights caused by the hills and hollows give what almost amounts to a variegated effect. The ‘fingering,’ where it does occur, which is in all the pinnae of some fronds and in most of the pinnae of all, is profuse, and, to my eye, graceful and ornamental. October, 1915. H. Kincsmitt Moore. BRITISH FERNS OF THE FUTURE. As it is now some years since we wrote an article under this heading, and then dealt mainly with the possibilities which existed of alliances between some of the more beautiful varieties of our native species with normal exotics of kindred ones, such as had been effected between our Polypodium vulgare and P. glaucum in Mr. Schneider's P. Schneiderianum, a short article will, we think, not be out of place in connection with what has since been effected. This subsequent development, however, has not been to any appreciable extent due to the suggestions then made with regard to hybrids, the trade having apparently quite ignored them. On the other hand, how- ever, the selective cultivators, chiefly amateur, have been so successful in the improvement of the best varieties of that time through their spores, that the strictly British 36 cultivator has been fully justified in confining his selective endeavours to our native species alone. Naturally the ‘British Fern Gazette’’ has recorded and illustrated these triumphs as fully as possible, and it needs but a glance through its quarterly frontispieces to see what a number of really new and advanced varieties have been produced by selection, while every now and again it will be seen that more desirable acquisitions have been added by the assiduous hunter among the wild ferns of our country. These sometimes, as in the recent case of the plumose Oak Fern (P. dryoptervis plumosum, see Frontispiece) show that Dame Nature is as fertile as ever in new devices, and capable of entirely eclipsing in beauty a normal type hitherto accepted as ‘‘perfect.’”’ From time to time in the few years covered by the ‘‘ Gazette”’ we have givena vesumé of such discoveries and additions, but it is hardly our intention at present to give another, our object being rather to impress upon our members the fact that nearly all our really valuable and definite improvements outside Nature’s own contributions in the shape of wild ‘‘ sports ” are due to judicious sowing from recognized high class and perfect forms and the subsequent elimination of all inferior types which may present themselves in the offspring. Given such a form, and as a salient illustration of what we mean, we will take that unique fern, P. aculeatum pulcherm- mum Beavis. It has of recent years been demonstrated that undreamt-of possibilities may be nascent in its con- stitution only awaiting the chance of declaring them- selves and thereby adding not merely one, but several more beautiful varietal sections to a species hitherto by no means redundant in types. Not content apparently with the production of the peculiarly charming ‘ gracilli- mum” and ‘‘plumosum” types of Mr. Druery and Mr. Green, it has now presented Mr. Edwards with the remarkable ‘‘ foliosum”’ variety of a diametrically opposite J —_—s 37 character to the rest. These three forms have been derived directly from the parental Beavis, but past. experience would lead to the expectation that sooner or later some of these wonderful offsprings may themselves be fertile, and in that case would probably break into fresh forms of possibly greater beauty as contributions to the Ferns of the future of which wetreat. We have only to look back to the origin of the ‘‘superbum’”’ Athyria to see how a comparatively simple wild sport could in a generation or two yield not merely one, but several sections of such excellence as to stand unrivalled after nearly thirty years. We may now turn to the Harts- tongue, which at the beginning of this century might well have been considered as having run through the entire gamut of varietal possibilities, yet a glance through the ‘‘Gazette’’ will show types which were then undreamt-of.. S. v. plumosum and S. v. Drummondiae superbum gvrandiceps,. to wit, and now in Mr. Amos Perry’s hands the first named (presumably) has donned splendid fimbriate edges and tassels greatly increasing its charm (S. v. plumosum, Perry’s variety, A.M., R.H.S.), while in the ‘‘crispum”’ or frilled section Bolton’s ‘‘nobile’’ well deserves its name. To revert to the latest wild acquisition, the plumose Oak Fern aforesaid, the writer’s specimen has thrown up ramose and crested fronds, indicating a possi- bility which at the time of writing lies in an abundance of healthy prothalli from spores taken from the ramose fronds, so that it may well be hoped that the Ferns of the future will embrace not merely one but several types of variation in this hitherto coy species. The moral of this. article is that our members should not content themselves with mere collections by search or purchase or exchange, but should, like some of them, Dr. Stansfield, Messrs. Cranfield, Eley, Walton, Edwards, Cowan, S. White, Rev. H. K. Moore, and the Editor among others, devote cae themselves to spore sowing from the best types, always with the motto ‘‘ Excelsior” and with the object of im- provement and consequent addition to the British Ferns of the future. 7 3 Cuas. T., Druery, V:Ming eee N.B.—The Editor would here point out the inadvisa- bility of giving distinctive names to any seedlings unless of obviously improved character, since a successful batch of youngsters may all inherit the parental character in varied degree so that the great majority can only be named as ‘‘So-and-so seedlings.” Furthermore, it is unwise to name any until they are adult, well-established ‘plants, since Polystichums in particular only then show their full character. Distinctly inferior ones should be thrown away, and only distinct improvements given indicative names as new. BRITISH FERNS ABROAD. Once a Britisher has acquired a keen interest in the ferns of his native country, he finds himself instinctively on the look-out for them wherever he goes. He is doubt- less interested in all ferns, but he is more excited over one familiar fern than over many that he cannot identify. I have just returned from a six months’ stay in Serbia, during which time I had some opportunity of observing the ferns of that interesting country. A recent article in the ‘‘ British Fern Gazette,” on ‘‘ British Ferns Abroad,”’ ‘suggested to me that a note on the Ferns of Serbia might be of interest. I should not dare to write on this subject were it not for the fact that practically everything I found was undoubtedly ‘‘ British,’ and hence of interest to folk in this country. But, in the first place, I must say that my fern hunts P é me eater cet sins vaalpornaaanae 39 were restricted to that part of Serbia which lies along the valley of the Western Morava, west of Nish. A short time only was spent in the Belgrade district. Serbia is a large country, reaching right up to the Danube in the _ north, and down into Macedonia to the Greek frontier in the south. Doubtless there are many unfamiliar species in the country, especially in the southern half, but of these I cannot speak. It should be noted, too, that typhus and other epidemics occupied so much of one’s time as a Red Cross worker that one must not be unduly blamed if one missed some species that were present in the neighbourhood. The ground explored was mostly mountainous in character, heavily wooded with beech. Numerous streams rushed down their little valleys to join the Morava River— a most excellent hunting ground. Pieris aquilina grows everywhere. In fact, it is so universal that one scarcely takes any notice of it. One almost forgets that it is as much a fern as any of the others. Next to the bracken, Athyrium filix femina is undoubtedly the commonest fern. It grows in just the kind of situation We are accustomed to see it in this country. In places where the trees have been cut down, the fern becomes dwarfed and brown, as one would expect. Otherwise, among some thousands of plants, no variation of any sort was noticed. The male fern occurs frequently, but is by no means as plentiful as the lady fern. No specimens of the “*pseudo-mas”’ type were seen, most being typically “* filix-mas ”’ in character. : Lastrea dilatata is not entered in my diary, but unless -I am much mistaken, I have found the plant. Some half-dozen specimens of L. spinulosa type were found in -different districts, but it is not abundant. The soft prickly Shield Fern could be found in almost AO any locality. No specimens of the Hard Prickly Shield were found. Two separate colonies of another fern were found in a wood on a hillside, which I scarcely hesitate to label Lastvea montana. Still, dogmatism is often associated with ignorance, and I must allow for mistakes. Cystopteris frvagilis grows abundantly about the woods and streams, and requires no special comment. I was specially pleased to find the beautiful Oak Fern growing in considerable numbers. When growing under favour- able conditions—as in my little shady ‘‘ Fern Valley,” as I used to call one of my favourite haunts—it attains the height of one foot or so. I was surprised to find no specimens of our friend Scolopendrium. Indeed, two or three plants on a rockery in our Park were all I ever saw in Serbia, but I have little doubt that it occurs. The genus Asplenium is well represented. Adiantum nigvum is the commonest of the Spleenworts, and occurs everywhere. ‘ pl 7 46 colloquy ensued between the gallant Colonel and the . captor of the lovely dame, ending happily in a transfer and the subsequent restoration to health of the beautiful prize by her gallant rescuer. Delighted with his acquisi- tion, which proved to be unique and far beyond his expectations, Col. Jones named her in memory of his beloved wife Athyrium filix famina Clarissima, and for twenty-one years, until 1889, when, unhappily for the British Fern cult, he died suddenly, she was cherished by him as one of his most valued prizes. So far we have dealt with the discovery on quasi-romantic lines, but it is impracticable to keep up the ‘‘lady ’”’ metaphor throughout, as the subsequent doings of this wonderful fern will not lend themselves easily to the fiction. Naturally, upon the acquisition of an extra beautiful variety, the first effort of its owner is to propagate it, if possible, through its spores. In this respect Clarissima appeared: at first to be peculiarly gracious, since every season the frond backs were profusely covered with apparent spore heaps. Spores, however, could not be individually detected, and repeated attempts at sowing proved entire failures, not even prothalli being produced. Lateral offsets were also, it would seem, rarely noted, and hence the only practical means of propagation were available at the rare periods when the central crown itself divided, and in time, usually after several years’ growth, became safely separable. Clarissima, therefore, as a result perhaps of a determination not to cheapen herself, remained an extremely rare plant, represented only by three or four specimens up to the year 1883, that is fifteen yeats after its discovery. In that year a division in the hands of the late Mr. G. B. Wollaston produced a profusion of growths on the frond back, which were different, it is now believed, from any previously noticed, since none of a similar form have been since produced. 47 A piece of a frond was consequently sent to the writer for his opinion, on the supposition that the growths were bulbils such as had been observed on several other Athyria. From their peculiar structure, however, he conceived the idea that they were something quite new in the reproductive line, and without going here into details which have been repeatedly published, he eventually not only raised some hundreds of plants of the Clarissima type, but through the further material these afforded for deeper scientific research, so far enabled their true character to be studied as transformations of spore producing energy as to establish the existence of a hitherto undreamt-of form of reproduction in the Fern world. Clarissima consequently enlisted the labours of a considerable number of eminent plant biologists, who eventually demonstrated the occurrence of the phenomenon of “‘apospory”’ in this and a number of other species (1.¢. the production of young plants without the intervention of the spore), the writer himself adding no less than four of our native species to the list of aposporous ones, and in some cases in several varieties of each. Lady Clarissima has thus had undoubtedly the honour of first exhibiting this phenomenon in a recognisable form to human eyes, and thus indirectly rewarding her chivalrous rescuer, Col. Jones, for her salvation fifteen years before by proof of great scientific value as well as beauty, while at the same time recompensing both him and the writer, plus Fern lovers generally, by a brood of some hundreds of characteristic youngsters. These, however, though inheriting the maternal charm of slender tenuity of make, lack that of thoroughly even growth, the fronds salmost invariably assuming more or less of a twist, and thus detracting from the natural grace of the species. The original, however, forms perfectly straight and even fronds, and these moreover assume a much larger size 48 than the aposporous offspring, being about four feet high by over two in breadth. Curiously enough, although more than thirty years have elapsed since the writer made the discovery in question, it was only a few years back that, thanks te Miss Jones, Col. Jones’s daughter, he became the happy possessor of a division of the original find, which has inspired this paper, and thus enabled him personally to establish by comparison its superiority in size and form to the many plants existing in collections, all of which we believe originate from the - batch first raised aposporously in 1883-4, and which Col. Jones distributed liberally amongst his friends. In con- clusion, the writer cannot refrain from expressing his vratification that it is his good fortune to have been closely associated so long with the gentle dame of our pseudo romance, and to have been enabled by such association to materially enhance not only her reputation, but in some degree his own, and in so doing thus ending the romance on the most satisfactory lines of mutual benefit possible. Cuas. T. DruEery,; V.M.H., Fins: RECENT ACQUISITIONS. ScoL. V. TRANSVERSO-CRISTATUM ROWLANDS. From our member, Mr. Rowlands, we have received a frond of an extra fine form of this Hartstongue just found by him in Dorset, near Corfe Castle. It has bold sub- sagittate fronds, bearing heavy twin crests, which cross each other transversely, whence the name. The type is not new, but the ‘‘ find” is so extra well developed as to justify the addition of the finder’s name. ScoL. v. PLUMOSUM PERRY’S FORM. A.M. Amos Perry. SCOL. V. CRISPUM SPECIOSUM. F.C.C. W. B. Cranfield. These two are both fine acquisitions, which are more particularly alluded to in our present issue under ‘‘ The Hartstongue Fern.”’ VOL. 3. No. 27. toe ee Se. Hritish JFern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. 4 Ee ewe eT ee ee “ ; : March, 1916. | ——_ 4 EDITED BY Sa ARLES IT: DRUERY, V.M.H., F.LS. : | THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.) KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. nti» m - ot ef aia tn, -— . fume aw. ee eee ee ee ee ee ta: = —— Pe = = mz ee , t.. THE DYP PERS WGRANDICE PS: Ns ped THE VOL. 3. MARCH, tor6. No. 27. CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL NOTEs .. Ss 7 .* “ ‘3 49 Our FRONTISPIECE (L. thelypteris grandiceps).. ve “a 51 THE HARTSTONGUE FERN (conclusion) .. re ne és 53 THE CRANFIELD COLLEcTION. W. B. Cranfiel ie a 55 RESULTS OF FERN SELECTION .. ry ne - a 58 A BEAUTIFUL FERN Group. Rev. H. K. Moore .. as 63 THE CAUSE OF VARIATION ch 2 — age + 63 DwarF Ferns. W. B. Cranfield oe re sti sé 67 Oak AND BEEcH FERNS: ORIGIN OF NAMES .. 54 s 68 CHLOROPHYLL ae a os ep ae ia ay 70 EDITORIAL NOTES. Although we, unhappily, are not yet within definite news of an end to the great struggle between the civilized _ mations and those which were formally classed as such, but by their actions have forfeited all claim to be so regarded, we are happy to say that our little Society, as a body, has not suffered to any appreciable degree by the abnormal conditions thereby brought about. Not only has there been no falling off of membership, but of late there have been several additions thereto, while the Editor has been greatly gratified by a number of appreciative letters from his many fern-loving friends. The dead, or rather dormant, season, now ended, has naturally afforded little or no opportunity for reports of fresh acquisitions, but Mr. Cranfield’s contributions to this issue show clearly that much can be done during the period of rest to improve the conditions of growth, etc., in the coming active season. As an interesting branch of natural study, it cannot be contested that the cult of British Ferns is one which best repays the student both as regards the possibility of new X 50 wild sports and that of increasing their charms by spore propagation at home, while at the same time all this can be done so inexpensively at holiday times and hours of leisure as to be well within the compass of practically all conditions of society, poor or rich. Even a small collec- tion, 1f assiduously studied from the true fern lovers’ and students’ point of view, is soon seen to be of inexhaustible interest, while that interest naturally becomes greatly — enhanced as the collection gradually increases, as the Editor can personally testify, by the acquisition, by hunting, growing and propagating of his own peculiar and perhaps unique varieties. In view of all this, the Editor once again exhorts the present members to do their utmost to gain recruits amongst their probably admiring visitors, and to assist him by sending him their notes and, if necessary, enquiries. To any likely recraitee specimen GAZETTE will be sent free of charge, and as the subscription is only 5s. per annum, entitling him to four GAZETTES, and any desired information, plus association with an important body of fellow enthusiasts, recruiting should be easy if the will be there. Tue BritisH: FERN. GAZETTE, VoL. 2, (Nios iaee 24.—The Editor would again remind members that a small number of Vol. 2 have been bound into a very presentable volume of 313 pages and numerous illustra- tions. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of. The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure, as only a few are left. The subscriptions for 1915-16 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return post to 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. Tue Epitor. l a | OUR FRONTISPIECE. LASTREA THELYPTERIS GRANDICEPS., (The Marsh Buckley Fern.) It must be now some forty-five years since I made my first acquaintance with this Fern in the shape of some masses of soil and vegetable matter, about the size of one’s fist, which I saw marked up on a Covent Garden flower stall as ‘‘ Irish Moss, 2d. a clump.’”’ On examining one of __ these clumps, which afforded no evidence whatever of mossy adel growth, I could clearly see that some sort of Fern was concerned, as several coiled-up frond tips in a dormant state were visible, and I consequently invested twopence on the off-chance. Planted out in the garden, when the growing Season came, it sent up several fronds by which I was able to identify it, but owing to the dry conditions of the situation as contrasted with its needs as all but an aquatic plant, it only existed as a starveling until a year or so later I had built my Fernery and could properly attend to its requirements. To do so, I dug a deepish hole in the soil, at the bottom of which I placed a deep earthenware glazed pan, about 15 inches diameter, with no hole for drainage, and this I nearly filled with largish pieces of Seale brick. On this I placed a lot of fibrous material to prevent the soil from falling in, and finally planted what was left of my plant on the top of this, so that when levelled up the edge of the pan was several inches below the surface. I then poured water until I was sure the pan was quite full and left the rest to nature. The result was marvellous; that self-same season the roots evidently struck down into the pan, and led to such a vigorous growth that the creeping rootstocks emerged in all directions, and invaded not only the bed in the vicinity, but also the paths, until in time it became SO monopolistic that it had to be exiled to the open, 52 Here, then, we have a clear indication of the best way to treat L. thelyptens. This fern, however, in its normal form hardly repays all this trouble, nor in very damp situations does it need it. Among British Ferns it is the only one which thrives under absolutely bog conditions in mud. The Royal Fern is a thirsty one, but not to the same degree. L. thelypteris differs, as indicated above, from other native Lastreas, by having a widely creeping rootstock instead of a central crown. The fronds are long and slender, like © an attenuated L. montana, but commencing with a long bare stalk, instead of being feathered all the way from the bottom. It is quite deciduous, disappearing entirely in the autumn. It is not a common fern by any means, fre- quenting only quite boggy situations. We have found it in great quantities in the Norfolk Broads, where it monopolises considerable areas. So far no variety what- ever of this species is recorded as found in the British Isles, but a good many years ago a good polydactylous form was discovered by a lady (Mrs. Puffer) in the United States, and a division of this was very kindly sent to me in a dormant state, and being treated well, flourished accordingly. This had all terminals divided into some- what irregular crests. For some years it bore nothing but barren fronds, but at last a small stunted one rose which was very fertile indeed. Seizing the opportunity I sowed from this and raised a crop, mostly like the parent, but, with my usual luck, one greatly improved one appeared, in which the cresting was on much bolder lines. Thus I named it L.¢. gvandiceps. Of this our frontispiece gives a good idea, and a well-grown plant is well worthy of a place in a collection. No second fertile frond has appeared on the parental form, nor one as yet on the improved offspring, but as a start has been made we may well hope for further developments. Chip. os | we THE HARTSTONGUE FERN. (Continwed.) The thoroughbred frilled forms, though barren, are, however, happily gifted with the faculty of producing buds from their detached frond bases, as we have fre- quently described, and as these yield true plants much more quickly than spores could do if produced, the ‘crispums are by no means so handicapped as regards pro- pagation as their perfect barrenness might suggest. So far we have dealt only with the frilled section of this truly marvellous species, the varieties of which, however, must far and away transcend in number and diversity those of any other fern in existence, despite the normal simplicity of structure. Of late years, too, though it might have been considered that it had exhausted all possibilities, a mumber of new varieties have arisen in the hands of Selective cultivators which prove the contrary. Only at the last meeting of the R. H.S. Committee, already alluded to, Mr. Amos Perry obtained a well-merited award for another variety named S. v. plumosum, Perry’s variety, wherein beautiful and finely comminuted heavy tassels were added to the very foliose form named ‘ plumosum,” previously raised by Mr. H. Stansfield, and illustrated in the «British Fern Gazette,’ September, tg12. In the issue for December, 1914, there is illustrated perhaps the most remarkable alliance of this tasselling, with not only the frilling of ‘‘crispum,” but also the fimbriation or fringing, which as will be seen by that picture adds greatly to the Ornamental character of the fern. All those that we have _ mentioned belong to the élite as far as beauty is concerned. Outside these there are scores of finely crested and other- * wise varied ones, and a host which many would consider More curious than beautiful, and most of which are seedlings from erratic types and crosses between them, LB 24 whose merit as decorative plants is, as a rule, a minus ~ quantity. Despite its great difference in specific make and its. extreme variability, the Hartstongue is so closely allied to the usually constant Asplenia or Spleenworts that a successful cross has been achieved between it and Cetevach © officinavum by Mr. E. J. Lowe. Evidence of this we possess in the shape of micro-photographs of fronds, apparently of Ceterach, but simplified in form, being almost undivided, while the characteristic double lines of fructification of Scolopendrium are associated clearly with the single one of the Spleenwort family, both features forming a fairly reliable proof of the alliance. Furthermore, in Asp. mdus avis, the Bird’s Nest Fern of the Antipodes, we have a true Spieenwort with simple undivided fronds precisely on the lines of the Hartstongue, but on a much larger scale, and of this curiously enough a ramo-cristate form has been found wild and introduced. Inview of this close relationship, we feel sure that judicious sowings of, say, the good fertile crispums, or fine crested forms with Asp. midus avis, might very probably result in a cross or crosses, yielding very beautiful varieties of that charming species. Another characteristic of the Hartstongue as a relative of the Spleenworts is its capacity of associating itself with them as a wall or rock grower, since we find it, of course on a reduced scale, in abundance on stone walls in some parts. of the country, though it is only in shady plantations with ample root room that it is seen at its best as a robust- growing fern with fronds between two and three feet long. As regards ‘‘sports,” there is little doubt that the diminu- tive plants found on walls furnish a more likely hunting ground than the robuster full-sized specimens of the shady moorland or sheltered hedgerows which it so much affects,. and this for several reasons. In the first place, the search is facilitated by the separation of the individual plants and - % fe their easier examination, so that any departure in the way of expanded or divided tips or other sportive feature is easily observed, and, in the second place, as variation on marked lines is usually associated with diminution in size, incipient sports, which have a chance of preservation in the struggle for existence on the wall, are probably so heavily handi- capped by their robuster neighbours in the wood, that they have little or no chance of survival until the keen eye of the Fern hunter detects a difference and rescues the would-be gem from destruction by the overgrowth of its neighbours. Some experienced fern hunters have also entertained an idea that variation may sometimes be due to some check or handicap in the conditions of environ- ment, such as the restricted root growths resulting from development in chinks of rocks or walls instead of in free leafy soil, but so far there is little or no scientific evidence of this, it is a mere hypothesis. Cuds.T.. Druzry, V.M.H., F.L.S. THE CRANFIELD COLLECTION. Some time ago I promised to string together a few notes to appease our Editor’s craving for MSS., and’ possibly to afford a hint here and there by which some member may profit. I should like to acknowledge how greatly | am indebted to our Editor and many of our members both for gifts of plants and hints on cultivation and explanations of strange happenings. The visits to. brother enthusiasts’ collections afford such valuable means. of comparison and acquisition of knowledge and material that one could wish they were of more frequent occurrence ; in my case they are red-letter days to be reflected upon with pleasure and looked forward to with delight. It is 56 worthy of note that when looking through Mr, Amos Perry’s stock about eighteen months ago I was struck by the vigorous appearance of a large number of plants which were planted out in very nearly pure peat moss litter, I determined to try it as a mulch, and the results have been so satisfactory that I have lifted all my ferns this autumn, incorporated a liberal dressing of the material with the soil, and top dressed with the same material. The peat moss is very retentive of moisture, and seems to afford just the coolness and humidity round the crowns and an atmosphere in which the ferns delight. In those favoured districts in which some of our members reside such pre- cautions may not be necessary, but here on the borders of Middlesex and Herts drought during the growing season is one of the greatest difficulties with which we have to contend. There are others; the millenium is not yet. In a fairly extensive collection something of interest is usually cropping up. Amongst a batch of Scol. crispbum Nobile one out of some 250 plants is a marginatum with hardly a trace of crispum character, an undoubted bud sport. Again, in a sowing of Polyst. acul. Pulcherrimum (Bevis), which yielded various types of gracillimums, parental forms, reversions to practically normal angulare, and inter- mediate forms between the parental type and gracillimum, ‘some of great beauty (of which more anon), there was a Polydactylous Pulcherrimum. When I first spotted it I had visions of a crested Pulcherrimum, but time brought . disillusion to a certain extent, though I have still a faint hope. Members will recall the discovery of the Benbow ‘collection by Mr. Green when making researches at the Natural History Museum and our Editor’s interesting articles thereon. I collected some spores of which I made a number of sowings, using every precaution against strays. No signs of vegetation occurred for a long time, the spores all being forty or more years old, but at last a few 57 prothalli appeared, and the plants are now nearly full grown. Amongst them are two P. ang. grandiceps, a pretty acutilobe, some incised Lastrea ps. mas, a few rogue Polystichums, and some I am unable to identify. I propose to compare some of the fronds with the dried specimens if they seem sufficiently distinct next year. It is impossible to assert that the plants I have raised are from: spores of Benbow’s plants. At the same time fern spores are known to retain their vitality for a very long period, and an inquest next year may help to elucidate matters. Amongst the many thousands of ferns raised from spores annually new breaks and improved forms are bound to occur, and one is tempted to conjecture upon which lines developments are likely to arise. An article by some expert on the ferns of the future (anticipated in December ‘‘ Gazette ”—Ep.) would, I fancy, be interesting reading. ‘There are now many beautiful forms existing as single specimens, of which many of us would be glad to hear and our Society to record. I would like to hear the experience of those who have tried or been successful in raising plants from variegated forms of P. angulare. For three years I have made sowings from a very beautiful and strikingly white variegated plant, given me by Mr. Harris, of the Clifton Botanical Gardens, but have not succeeded in raising anything. From Moly’s P. ang. pulch. variegatum I have raised typical plants, including depauperation, but without any trace of the beautiful orange-coloured variegation of the parent. Jam wonder- ing whether this character may declare itself suddenly, like the breaking of atulip. Padley’s inequal variegation also yielded negative results. [This has been crossed with a cristate form with success.—Ep.| The parentage of the Jones and Fox flumose divisilobes seems to be almost as far from elucidation as ever, but some while since I saw a series of plants of this section raised by a nursery- a 58 man (the parentage of which he gave me) which appeared to be almost indistinguishable from some of Jones’ and Fox’s raising. Further experiments in this direction pee: yield a solution. It seems a great pity that the history of such a wonderful advance should be wrapped in mystery. In conclusion, I would express the hope that next year may witness our customary August reunion under happier circumstances than those which at present cast a dark shadow over our own country and a large part of Europe. W. B. CRANFIELD. December, 1915. RESULTS OF FERN SELECTION, It is extremely interesting to consider, taking the Ferns of the whole world into consideration, what an enormous difference exists between the small proportion of varieties or ‘sports’? as compared with normals among the hundreds of exotic species as compared with the great number produced by our own few native species, about two score only. This difference, be it noted, exists, despite the fact that a large proportion of these exotic species, hardy and tender, have been in trade hands fora much longer period than our native ones. These latter _ indeed fora long time were all but entirely ignored, and only became the objects of selective cultivation when the last century was well advanced, and when considerable collec- tions of exotics had been introduced. These, too, had been raised on a considerable scale from spores by the nurserymen who dealt with decorative foliage plants, including ferns, and who, of course, paid particular atten- tion to any sports which cropped up in their prope cultures, —_— - 59 As a result of this, at the time when the British , fern varieties began to attract attention (towards the end of the first half of the nineteenth century), there was certainly a considerable number of exotic varieties, some introduced from abroad as wild finds, but mostly acquired by selection, in the way indicated, from the offspring of these. At this time, however, when the British Fern pioneers became more and more inspired in their researches, by new discoveries in the ferny regions of Great Britain -of forms which far and away transcended in beauty the normal specific ones with which they were associated, we must note, to judge by the early catalogues which a few nurserymen issued, that the really valuable forms were dew as compared with eccentric ones, which nowadays are ignored except as souvenirs. Nature, if we may so personify the great Creative Power which underlies all matural phenomena, living or inanimate, in the invention and production of varietal forms of Ferns, as of other forms of life, produced many which may be regarded as thoroughbreds, that is, such as aresymmetrically beautiful ‘im make and characterized throughout on a consistent plan, but in addition to these, in a large number of cases, © she produces imperfect and unsymmetrical or eccentric types in which the varietal influence is evidenced in a wayward and irregular fashion. As a consequence, on the principle of heredity, both these classes, the constant and the inconstant, produce corresponding offspring, and, as a rule, the perfect or symmetrical varieties come fairly true to type, while the progeny of eccentric forms vary greatly, reproducing their peculiarities even on exaggerated lines, no two plants being counterparts of each other. ‘Some of these also are peculiarly apt to multiply so freely as to become veritable weeds. The better class of types, it is true, also vary, but as a rule this means only a greater or less development of the special character, the 60 symmetry and thoroughness being retained, so that this: particular character may be, and often is, greatly enhanced in a generation or two, or even inone. It is due to this: fact that at the present time we have a very large number of varieties, especially in the Polystichums, Scolo- pendriums, and Athyria, which are so improved by selection, that they far and away excel in beauty any of the wild ‘‘finds”’ or Nature’s unaided productions. Among these latter, however, rank, almost without excep- tion, the typical ‘‘sports’’ which form the basis of the numerous sections under which the British varieties have: — been classed. Something, too, has been done, but not much, in the way of combinations of varietal types by crossing, a branch which has yet to be properly cultivated, but the practicability of which has been demonstrated by several striking examples. Inthe early days to which we have referred, the number of wild ‘‘ sports” available as. a start was not very great, and among these were a large percentage of what we may term Nature’s failures. ‘These, of course, from the botanical biologists’ point of view, are: as interesting as are the best from that of the critical collector, since in either case we find, for no explicable reason, that the normal structural plan pursued presum- ably for ages, has been rejected and a new one adopted, on what can only be qualified as new specific lines, since the: change is inheritable and permanent. These “failures,” however, at the period we allude to, were regarded as. ‘curios,’ and as equally interesting from the collectors’ point of view as the “élite.” They consequently found. their way into trade hands, and being propagated yielded a copious crop of eccentrics. These were dignified with quasi-descriptive names and long descriptions, and quoted. at high prices, based quite as much on defects, as we now consider them, as on their merits as decorative plants. To give a typical example from R. Sim’s Catalogue, 1863. ij a 61 A. f.f. diversifrons is described as follows :—* Spreading shortish broad fronds some in divisional appearance normal, i.¢. like the species, others having occasional branching- pointed or oftener very irregular primary divisions (pinnae), or both irregularity of the secondary (pinnules), and forking of the primary divisions combined, the irregularity arising from the pinnules being here and there absent, or shortened, or rugged. A quaint-looking Variety. . . . 10s. 6d.”’ On carefully studying this description, it is seen that the fern is simply a mass of imperfections, and of a type which nowadays would be thrown out ignominiously at once as an eminently undesirable seedling, instead of being encouraged to grow up and audaciously couple itself with a claim of tos. 6d, There is no doubt whatever that a preponderance of such worthless types led to a reaction, and the subsequent neglect of British Ferns for many years. Meanwhile, however, the ‘“‘cult’’ survived in the _ hands of the original pioneers and their successors, whose efforts resulted in many new discoveries, so many of which _ were of the right kind that mere ‘‘ curios’’ were deservedly ignored. The catalogues of to-day consequently repre- sent, with very few exceptions, only meritorious forms, q and easier modes of propagation having also been dis- _ covered, the prices even of the best and rarest are extremely moderate. Subsequently to the writing of the above, the Gardeners’ Magazine has published the following, which we are per- mitted to reproduce. This refers to the same catalogue as is referred to above, viz. Sim’s of Foots Cray, 1863, and the high prices quoted, when considered in connection with the descriptions, contrast so greatly with the current ones for thoroughbreds as to form another source of con- ‘gtatulation to the fern lover of to-day, viz. greater ease of _ Acquisition plus finer character. 62 PAK TS VONGSG HS. (Reprinted from the Gardeners’ Magazine of fifty years ago,” February 3, 1866.) ‘‘The Common Hartstongue fern of the English hedge- rows is the most interesting of our native Filices. In its ordinary form it is distinct from all other British ferns, and it surpasses every known fern—no matter from what country—in sportiveness, so that to make a complete collection of its varieties would be a task of some magni- tude. That readers who are not accustomed to Harts- tongues may form some idea of their importance to fern growers, I cite a few statistics from Mr. Sim’s excellent | * Descriptive Catalogue of British Ferns.’ I find in that work descriptions of eighty-eight varieties of the Harts- tongue, the descriptions filling no less than eight pages. The varieties are offered at prices varying from one shilling to twenty-one shillings each; and casting up the several sums at which the varieties are priced, the total cost of one good plant each of these eighty-eight varieties would be £42, or within a fraction of ten shillings each all round. Nor must it be for a moment supposed that these varieties exist in catalogues only, or that the prices are not as real -as the prices in Consols. The fact is there are many fern collectors who gladly pay prices varying from half-a- guinea to two guineas for new sports of British ferns; and amateurs who are entering upon this agreeable and fascin- ating pastime usually make their first bold venture in the matter of outlay by ordering a complete set of Scolo- pendriums, so that there is really an active trade doing in such things ; and if any of us were to run down to Foots Cray, and see everything in Mr. Sim’s nursery, there would ‘be few things likely to astonish us more than the collection of Hartstongues.” Cuas: T. Druery, V:M.B. ieee ———<<—» * By permission of the Gardeners’ Magazine, ee en ae Se ere ere See e nee BEES Hgenmer nitions SS LA 63 A BEAUTIFUL FERN GROUP. We are indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Canon Kingsmill Moore for the loan of a block illustrating his exhibit in Dublin last year of six British Ferns. As these speak for themselves, we need but to indicate their names. From left to right, back row, stand P. acul. fulchervimum (Beavis), the parent of the gracillimum section, A. f/f, formoso cristatum, and A. f.f. cristatum densun (which seems to be hardly well named), and in front P. ang. flumosum- loxum (Jones and Fox), P. acul. gvracillimum Drueryit (young plant), and P. ang. plumosum Esflan. These deservedly gained the first prize, all being not only of the élite, but capitally grown. THE CAUSE OF VARIATION. One of the most burning questions of the day in biolo- gical circles is that relating to the reason why plants which have presumably adhered for long periods to ‘structural and other characters peculiar to their species, transmitting these practically truly for many generations, should apparently suddenly abandon these to a greater or less extent and adopt others of, it may be, a widely different character. This adoption it is found is, as a rule, of a permanent character, the new ‘‘characters” being trans-: mitted to the offspring by seed or spore, so that to all intents and purposes a new species comes into existence. ‘The botanist, however, recognizing the retention of some of the old specific characters, which may be termed ones in a modified form, refuses to accept these ‘‘ sports fundamental ones, such as those connected with the mode of reproduction peculiar to the genus of the plants con- cerned, and also, as a rule, some of the merely specific 3 or ‘mutations,’ as they are termed, as true spscies, -egarding them as mere ‘‘varieties.” For a very long 64 period, upto indeed acomparatively recent date, thescientific botanists refused to regard these ‘‘sports”’ as other than Nature’s mistakes, and it is only of recent years that the science of Teratology became established as a particular branch of study of these eccentricities, which was gradually found to be of absorbing interest. and fraught with valuable lessons for the biologist generally. Out of. the data accumulated in this direction there sprang naturally the desire to know the why and the wherefore of — the changes observed. Many were easily traceable to interference with the normal course of development due to: insect influence, such as galls, or other damage, but such divergencies always failed to be inherited by the offspring. Many, on the other hand, could not possibly be imputed. to such origin, and as the great majority of the experi- ments were conducted under artificial conditions of high culture and in connection with plants already of complex pedigree, and consequently very variable in their offspring, due to varied parental potencies, the idea became more and more strengthened that variation was always due to some such departure from purely natural conditions, and never occurred except when some ‘change of environ- ment’’ took place, and in such case evidenced a sympa- thetic response on the part of the plant in order to adapt itself thereto. Clearly, in the study of natural phenomena of this class, incomparably the best material for really practical research is presented by plants growing under entirely natural conditions, 7.e. wild ones in their native. habitats, and therefore free from the thousand and one disturbing influences inseparable from plants grown under artificial cultural conditions, and already, as we have stated, mostly of complex origin. Equally clearly, such study is not so easy, since it involves a vast amount of skilled and experienced research among the wild plants in order to discover the comparatively very rare ‘‘sports’” ray 6 a | or “mutations” im situ, and thus be able to judge of the possibility or probability of their divergence from the normal being due either to ‘“‘change of environment,” or tesponse to the different conditions thereby presented. To the best of our belief, obvious as we consider this statement to be, not one of the many more or less eminent botanists who from time to time put forward their theories of variational causes, usually on the lines we have indicated of ‘‘change’’ and sympathetic response, has devoted himself earnestly to the study of the wild sports, or attempted to profit by that of the literature thereanent which has been accumulated for more than half a century by the coterie, which the writer at present represents, of ardent students of our native British Ferns. For some occult reason akin, as we think, to the proverb that ‘‘a prophet has no honour in his own country,” the mere mention of ‘‘ British Ferns and their Varieties”? seems to scare rather than to attract the truly scientific student, but it is a curious fact that in all the domain of botanical research there is absolutely no family of plants which has been so thoroughly studied in the wild state and from the varietal point of view as the comparatively few species indigenous to the British Isles. Of no ' other family, too, has such careful record been kept by, it is true, amateurs, but amateurs, largely imbued by botanical knowledge, and who have been careful in the vast majority of cases to collect and preserve, not merely the dead fronds, but also the living plants them- ‘selves as indisputable evidence of the nature of the altera- tions observed. Surely such a fund of data as there is concerning these hundreds, for hundreds exist, of distinct and constant ‘‘sports,’’ is worthy of thorough study by _ those who on deeper scientific lines are studying the causes “of these differences, particularly when they are assured over and over again, that at any rate with regard to the —_— -——_— - 66 vast majority of such ‘sports’ it is entirely impossible to attribute them either to (1) change of environment, (2) : difference of environment, (3) any response to environ- — mental influences, or with a few exceptions to hybridiza- tion. Jor some years past the writer has endeavoured by j 3 replies to papers insisting on the importance of these three ~ conditions, to lead to a study of the literature we have. alluded to, and even of the plants themselves, but all in — vain; after a time the same insistence crops up again, literally repeated, and without the faintest reference to the evidence offered and which would inevitably confute the theory involved. Although. the reasons upon which the writer’s belief is founded have been frequently stated by him, a brief reference to the ordinary conditions under which Fern sports are found may not be out of place. It may be asserted, as a general rule, that they are discovered so closely associated with the normal or common forms (1) that they have frequently to be disentangled from such, both as regards their fronds and their roots, so that the environment is consequently identical; (2) that they are often found on hillsides, in glens and in other situations which quite preclude the possibility of any local change of environment for a long period; (3) that ‘“‘sports”’ occur to a predominant extent in species of which only one of the genus occurs here, such as Athyrium, Scclopendrium,. Blechnum, which excludes the idea of hybrid origin dear to some theorists; and, finally, (4) the forms assumed afford no appreciable evidence of sympathetic response to: environmental conditions. They will, of course, be stunted in dry and uncongenial exposed habitats, but when removed to sheltered conditions they are quite as likely to erow robustly as to retain a stunted or congested character such as a sympathetic response would involve, » That the writer is not prepared to offer a counter theory igh ea 67 in place of the one attacked, goes for nothing. To follow up a false theory is simply waste of time, and it is a service to science to demolish it, if reliable evidence to the contrary be adducible and producible, as is undoubtedly the case in this instance. Crasi. f. Davery, i ViM.H., F.L.Sj ——_ os TRUE DWARF VARIETIES OF BRITISH FERNS. A while ago in the ‘‘Gazette’”’ appeared some notes respecting dwarf ferns, and as for some time past [I have been getting together from various sources examples of thoroughbred dwarfs a few notes on the subject may prove interesting. These dwarf or midget forms are general in the animal and vegetable world, particularly when natural development may be affected by cultural conditions, It would be possible to cite numerous examples, but a few will suffice. In the domestic fowl there are Cochins in various classes and Bantam Cochins, Game in the various sections and Bantam Game, black and brown, red, pale and dark. The same occurs in pigeons, rabbits, dogs, horses, and other types. These forms are doubtless pro- duced by selective breeding, and, as a general rule, | think the majority of dwarf ferns have been raised in sowings of congested or dwarf forms, which, in order to test thoroughly, are planted out in frames under conditions of soil, shelter and moisture calculated to encourage the utmost development of which the plants are capable. Under such conditions any tendency to “bolt” is quickly manifested, entailing speedy removal to the general collection or destruction. As might be expected, Scolo- pendriums furnish the most numerous examples in my midget family, of which the following are well-known forms: Kelwayi, Densum, Spirale, S. cristatum, tripera- ferens, crispissimum, condensatum, Cousensii, ramo- 68 capitatum, angustatum and angustatum minor. The fol- lowing have been collected from various sources, the nomen- clature being descriptive :—Marginatum, cristatum nanum, crispum nanum, crispum cristatunr compactum, crispum cristatum, sculpturatum nanum, ramo cristatum, muri- catum, curioso filiferum, ramo marginatum nanum, rugosum nanum, and several others on trial. None of these exceed six inches in height, the majority being between two and four inches; all are thoroughbred. In A. f.f. there are Congestum excurrens, c. minus glomeratum, c. grandi- ceps, Kalothrix cristatum (Druery), Velutinum, seti- gerum congestum, s. c. cristatum congestum minus, c. m. cristatum, congestum minus fimbriatum, c. m. f. cristatum, and a few seedlings under trial of P. angulare, grandidens nanum, congestum of Padley and Lyall, both simple and crested, congestum densum, congestum, perserratum, congestum, and what is, I believe, quite new in P. ang.,a perfect spirale, five inches high, with quite circular trun- cate fronds, an inch in diameter, as stiff as a bottle brush. There are but few Lastreas and no Polypodies. One which was sent to me asa true dwarf very quickly changed its character, and became of almost normal dimensions. Doubtless many other dwarf forms exist, Blechnum sp. crispissimum being a notable example, and I hope to make additions from time to time, but judging from the number of trials I have made, true dwarfs, whether amongst large or small growing species, are not easy to raise or meet with. W. B. CRAN#FIELD. THE ORIGIN OF THE NAMES “OAK FERN” AND “BEECH FERN.” The exact significance of these names is involved in considerable obscurity. Sir J. E. Smith and Edward Newman both comment upon them as singularly inappro- 69 priate, and are at a loss to understand why they were bestowed. They cannot refer to any connection between the habitats of the ferns and those of the trees, for, though both ferns might possibly grow in company with the oak, neither of them would be in the least likely to thrive in company with the beech tree, since the latter generally grows on dry and preferably on chalky land, while the ferns love moisture and dislike lime. Carl Linné (Linnzus) is the accepted author of the names dryopteris and phegopteris, which are simply ‘‘ oak fern’’ and ‘‘ beech fern” written in Greek. Whether Linné invented the names himself or simply translated old popular names is uncertain, but, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is fair to assume that for some reason he bestowed them ‘‘out of his own head.” His reasons can only be matter for speculation, but I venture to make one or two guesses which may be taken for what they are worth. To take the oak fern first : its surface has a velvety bloom, which is not unlike that upon the young leaves of the oak tree in spring. We know that Linné was peculiarly susceptible to the awakening of Nature in the spring, and it is not unlikely that he may have had in mind the young foliage of the trees when he named this fern. If this suggestion be accepted, the name of the beech fern is equally explicable, fcr its young fronds have a hairy surface, which is quite comparable to that of the young leaves of the beech tree. Another possible, but less probable, explanation, I think, may be taken from the outline of the fronds when they are dried (i.e. pressed). If we look at a dried frond of the oak fern, its broad, soft, rounded form bears a certain resemblance to the outline in profile of Quercus vobury. It is true that the stipes of the fern are much too slender to correspond to the sturdy trunk of the tree, but I think names have been bestowed on the strength of resemblances 7O not more fanciful than this, Again, the pointed triangula outline of Ahegopter’s would correspond roughly to th more conical figure of the beech tree by contrast with th broad squat figure of the oak, 7 Possibly, some member more learned than myself in the archaeology of names may be able to give a better explana: tion than either of the above. In that case, I shall be the more pleased, and shall be quite satisfied to have set the ball rolling. BL W. Sransristp, Reading, ne rm ne en, CHLOROPHYLL. As Spring is near at hand, and as Ferns, like all other green plants, effect their growth by means of Chlorophyll) and have indeed, in the inconceiv ably remote period of the Coal age, play ed the main part, in conjunction with the . close allies, in building up the incalculable treasures whic have formed the chief basis of man’s commercial it industrial progress, we venture, with the permission of the: Jewrnal of Horitculiure, to reproduce a description of Chlorophyll and its sapreme importance as a creative factor, “At the approaching lovely season of the year, Y foliage of infinite shades, and verdure in all its vernal freshness, clothe the landscape with an indescribable charm, it probably seldom occurs to the beholder that this” universal greenness represents the first and most “a essential of his own existence, it being practically the ¢ and only vehicle for the transformation of solar activity , into potential life. All life is dependent, directly or, indirectly, upon vegetation, and the old saying that ‘all? flesh is grass* is absolutely and literally true if we accept grass as the symbol of vegetation generally. The meat- eaters are always dependent upon vegetable-feeding | animals, as a moment's consideration of our own case will | clearly show, and hence we are easily led to the conclusion : 71 at the entire realm of organic life is based on the capacity f nts to grow. “We next find that all plants, except those which are actically parasitic ones, or fungi, which feed upon plant sues dead or alive, and thus none the less exist at the 3 : of the green ones, can only form their foliage der the influence of sunlight, direct or diffused. Growth nder the influence of electric or other artificial light forms lag to this rule, for we have only to investigate source to find the sunlight as its origin, since one fj all kinds are obtained by the consumption of coal, i Is, etc., which are tnerely the stored-up products through Wegetation of past ages, of the sunshine of their time. irectly or indirectly, therefore, we always come at last he sun as the impelling vital force, and in connection . ith we equally invariably find that this force can “ find vital expression through the vegetation which othes the world with verdure; naturally, therefore, we ad a certain synchronism to exist between cause and st; that is, between vital vegetative activity and solar fluence, especially as solar light and solar heat are so imately associated, and the heat is also a factor in leaf “The next thipg to consider is how the sunshine is pabled to do its ‘Vital work within the leaves, and although is impossible for us to define the actual ‘how,’ we Dsolutely know that the work is entirely done by the een colouring matter itself, the so-called chlorophyll, hich is really the simple Greek for leaf colour. Within ety transparent cells which form the fabric of all s this colouring matter exists as an infinite number ? tiny green grains, which, under the influence of light, ire enabled not only to multiply, but in some subtle way break up or decompose the carbonic acid gas of the 5 which is absorbed by the leaves through the pores, te and such salts as may be contributed from the soil through the roots; and also to recombine their elements in infinite © ways to form woody and leafy tissues, and, in short, build up the plant on wider and wider lines. ‘Tf we pause a moment to consider the infinite variety of flavours, odours, and chemical products which exist in the plant world, and remember that of all these, nutritious, — noxious, or even deadly poisonous, are fashioned by these little green grains, and that every leaf in the fair prospect we may be enjoying is an actual and busy laboratory, engaged in this varied work, our conception of the wonders of Nature, and especially of the wonders of chlorophyll, cannot fail to be immensely widened. There is, indeed, — absolutely nothing else in creation, nothing so pervasive and so essential to life, which can be compared to it; and the more we investigate, the greater becomes our wonder and sense of reverence at the creative power which under- © lies it. ‘‘From the more microscopic forms of plant life to the giant Sequoias, it is the tiny green grains which, in con- junction with the formative cell, the twin wonders of creation, enable them to exist and reproduce themselves, and as we have already indicated, in those lowly forms of plant life, the fungi, which manage to exist without their actual presence within their substance, “they can only do so by feeding, as carnivorous animals do, on organic matter previously shaped by chlorophyll, and consequently charged with nutritive elements. The green leaf, in short, forms the one and only link between the solar forces and life itself, and in viewing the wide expanse of verdure of hill and dale and fields and forests in their spring and summer garb, we are the actual witnesses of the wondrous process of transformation upon which our very existence, and that of life in every other form, is absolutely dependent.” Cuas. T. Druery, V.Meliy fee ~~ ony i) a | a ES oe qaunsonian Instit, yg Qo F 2 VOL. 3. JUN 15 1916 © No. 26. 1 “tional Musev™ eee... British Fern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. Ps June, 1916. EDITED BY _ CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., F.LS. PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.) KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. WEARER... Gy 0 J . aw Se : \S My WY'Y YY Y yyy 4 % UM yyy tH Y Le y -_— x ‘ WN \ \ \ SN . N THE BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. OL. 3. JUNE, ror6. NO. ae CONTENTS. PAGE Epitoriat NotEs .. te ” ¥ ¥ 2 mh 73 THE AuGUST MEETING .. ae x Ot ei 75; Our FrontisriEce (P. ang. rev pene oh ts. os a 75 BriTIsH Ferns at AcTON.. : 4. A, an ihe 76 BLEcHNvuM Spicant (The Hard Fora) i ne e ‘i 78 FERN STRUCTURE... ¥ ein a he Be iu 8r FERNS AND WEEVILS - Bes te es a a 85 MysTeErRious FERNS .. ae a is ie oy, MF 87 DwarF BriTISH FERNS aa af v o < i: go Fern HunNtTING ey . Bd ‘ i 93 Osituary (Mr. T. G. H. - Eley) ys A ‘a a re 96 EDITORIAL NOTES. Another year has rolled away since we had to refer to our August meeting as a practical impossibility owing to the war, and to our extreme regret we are again compelled, and for the same unhappy reason, to abandon any hope that between now and the August Bank Holiday the position will be sufficiently changed to admit of such meeting on the old lines. (See special note on page 75.) Meanwhile, the Editor has great pleasure in announcing that the members, despite the war, have manfully sup- ported him, a very few withdrawing their support, and even these have been mostly replaced by fresh ones, so that numerically and financially we have suffered but little. We, however, regret to have to announce the somewhat sudden death of Mr. T. G. H. Eley, one of our most valued members, whose portrait we reproduce by the courtesy of the Barrow News, together with an obituary notice. sxnsonian Institue x) “ap JUN 15 1916 X 74 As usual, we cordially invite members to contribute to the pages of the Gazette, which is designed to be the centre to which all information, ve British Ferns and their Varieties, should gravitate. This time, as too often, it is the Editor who has to do most of the writing, though every one with a collection worth the name, and with © an intelligent power of observation worthy of the cult, must from time to time note things which are new to him or her, or requiring explanation, and it is precisely by such notes and records that knowledge is increased. New members are wanted, and the Editor would regard as a favour the receipt of name and address of any known British Fern lover not on our list, and to whom we might send a specimen copy of the Gazette. ‘The annual sub- scription to the Society is only 5s. from August to August, and entitles to four issues of the GAZETTE, plus association with a large number of fellow students of our beautiful British Ferns. THe British Fern GAZETTE, VoL. 2, Nos. 13 To 24.—The Editor would again remind members that a small number of Vol. 2 have been bound into a very presentable volume of 313 pages and numerous illustra- tions. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of, The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure, as only a few are left. The subscriptions for 1915-16 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return post to ll, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. | THE EDITOR. ib THE AUGUST MEETING. In view of the practical impossibility, owing to the continued war, of holding a meeting this year in con- junction with an outing, the Hon. Secretary has consulted with Mr. A. Cowan as President, Mr. W. B. Cranfield, Treasurer, and Dr. F. W. Stansfield, with the view of transacting the necessary business with the minimum of trouble and expense. To this end they have approved the insertion of a notification in the present Gazette, that no formal meeting will be held, and that in default of any objection on the part of other members of the Committee, the usual resolution relating to the passing of the balance sheet after audit, acceptance of the Reports, election of all the officers en masse as before, and the allocation of ten guineas to the Editor of the Gazette for his services and contributions in that connection in 1915-16, will be recorded as passed at a pro forvma meeting held at the Hon. Secretary’s house on August 7th, 1916, precisely as was done last year. The report of that meeting will then be embodied in the September Gazette, and no other notice than this will be previously issued. For order’s sake, the Members of the Committee, other than those named, are invited to confirm this arrangement on receipt of the June Gazette, silence, however, being assumed as acquiescence. Ce aoe, OUR FRONTISPIECE. PoLYSTICHUM ANGULARE REVOLVENS, In this beautiful fern, wild examples of which have been repeatedly found, we have a striking example of an unusual type of variation, which is the more curious as the tolling up of the frond contravenes one of the ordinary laws of foliose growth. Normally, a leaf or a frond in the process of growth expands on lines which present the maximum area to the light upon the stimulating action of which so much, in plant life, depends, Here, however, 76 it is clear that the backward curving of the pinnae, or of the upper part of the frond, tends to expose their under surfaces, as well as to reduce the area of exposure gener- ally. This form of variation is by no'means common, but it is not confined to the Polystichum, since we have ourselves found very marked examples in Blechnum spicant revolvens at Barnstaple, Athyrium filix feemina vevolvens in Scotland, © | and P. ang. vevolvens, as shown, in Devon, while in various parts of the country, including even Acton, we have noted a very handsome revolved form of the common bracken, Ptevis aquilina. Lastrea filix mas vevolvens was also found in the English Lake district, and we have seen varieties of Hartstongue with almost tubular fronds on the same principle. | C. Ta BRITISH FERNS AT ACTON. Those who are only acquainted with the British Ferns as they existed and were known in the days of the late Mr. Thomas Moore, can have little conception of them as they exist at the present day. The number of species may be said to remain the same, but the varieties and their apparently illimitable variability of form have gone beyond the fondest dreams of the imagination The other day between the daylight and the ‘‘mirk”’ we called upon Charles Thomas Druery, Esq., Stanwixbank, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, Middlesex, concerning whose Ferns we have heard a great deal, and some of which we remem- ber seeing at the Fern Conference held at Chiswick some years ago. His unique collection is almost entirely confined to special forms of the British species, many of which are the loveliest forms of their kind in existence. They consist of wild finds, or have sprung from the wildings under cultivation. On the present occasion we can only confine our remarks to a few of the groups, particularly those which are now in their best condition, 77 are evergreen, though we cannot refrain from alluding to some of the Lady Ferns which are amongst the finest ‘in existence. _ The common Polypody is now at its best, whether in its mative habitats or under cultivation, so that reference to it is very appropriate; but for the present we need refer only ‘to specially fine forms. Starting with Polypodium vulgare, , M ye may say that two of the primary developments of it re P. v. longipinnatum and P. v. cristatum. ‘The former has pinne about two or three times as long as those of the type, and was found by Mr. Druery at Killarney. The latter is simply crested. Between these and P. v. cambricum tk ere is a wide gulf; but some five forms of it, we noted here, constitute a very natural group. Mr. Druery regards al of them as plumose forms of Polypody, inasmuch as all of them have undergone a great amount of vegetative Be ooment, that is, they are much divided, greatly amplified and absolutely barren, so that no sporelings can be raised fromthem. Before going further we may correct an erroneous impression that has got widely circulated, namely, that the Welsh Polypody, so called, is peculiar to Wales, the fact being that it has been also found in several laces far distant, and the best types of it originated in the Lake District. The ample, leafy, twice divided fronds of P. v. cambricum are not yet mature, some being only half- grown, or less, as they only commence to grow in June when summer is upon us. P. v. Prestoni was found in the chink of a rock near Carnforth by Mr. Preston, and is a nore plumose form of P. v. cambricum, being in fact the lensest and most leafy or plumose of the whole section. P. v. Barrowii is the most robust of the section; and while t is less densely imbricate than P. v. Prestont, it is in every yay of bolder habit or form. P. v. plumosum Hadwin 4 much blunter segments than P. v. cambricum, less foliose and narrower fronds. P. v. cambricum Oakleyae B 78 differs from the type in having distinctly narrower pinne and pinnules. While all these five forms might be taken — for P. v. cambricum by a casual observer, they are really distinct in the eyes of the Fern lover who has patience to form a close acquaintance with them. This applies in a ‘similar way to every other class of plants liable to vary in details of structure or form. | (To be continued.) BLECHNUM SPICANT. (THE Harp Fern.) Considering the tough evergreen nature of this pretty fern, which justifies fully its common name, and its -abundance in many parts of the country, it is very curious that it so rarely figures among the common ferns of the garden, for if given a shady moist station it is fully capable of taking care of itself, and forming a distinct — feature among the other common species. In nature we find it abundant in humid shady woods, on sloping hedge banks, and often on exposed heaths among heather and other low-growing vegetation which gives it some pro- tection, while in boggy situations it may be seen among the sphagnum. It has two particular aversions—viz. drought at the roots and lime in either the soil or the water supplied to it, hence a condition of success under culture is provision of rain or quite soft water, as hard water contains lime, and inevitably kills it intime. The writer years ago lost the bulk of a collection of forty varieties through this cause, but as evidence of survival for a long period under pot culture with rain water he has several surviving finds dating nearly twenty years back which are still in fine condition. The soil should be an equal admixture of leaf-mould or peat, and good friable loam lightened with some coarse silver sand. The Hard Fern or Blechnum is shes re ie * fo: < bby 19 A So.uirary BriTisH MEMBER of a large family or genus, and is distinguished from all other British ferns by producing two distinct kinds of fronds, one set being dark lucent green, once divided into blunt, closely set teeth or pinnz, and pendant, so that they spread round in a sort of lax rosette; the other set, which bears the spores, is stiff and upright, longer and narrowed in all parts, so that the teeth are hardly leafy at all and stand much farther apart. On the back of these fertile pinnz are two rows of spore heaps, covered when unripe with a thin skin-like indusium springing from just _ within the narrow leafy margin on each side. This con- stitutes the difference between Blechnum and Lomaria, in which the edge of the leafy portion itself forms the cover. - In Lomaria, too, the fertile fronds are always narrowed, as in our Blechnum, while in many foreign Blechnums _ and in one British variety this is not the case. B. s, _ anomalum, not rare in hilly districts, has all the fronds leafy and lax and the spore heaps ranged along the midribs of the pinnz of most of them. In all the other varieties, and as we shall presently see there are many, the marked difference between the two classes of fronds persists and is often emphasized, broad, leafy, widely-tasselled barren fronds being set off by their stiff erect fertile ones with spiky, many-fingered crests, or it may be, with heavy _ bunch crests resembling green flowers. SOME OF THE VARIETIES, nearly all of which have been found wild, are very striking. - The writer’s first find in the fern line was B. s. concinnum Druery, found in 1881, on a stone dyke on tke middle of _ Exmoor. In this the long, blunt teeth of the barren formal frond are transformed into deeply notched semi- _ ircular short ones, like tiny scallop shells, so that the _ frond forms two even rows of these from end to end, and 8O is about one-third of an inch wide only. The fertile fronds are merely knobbed all the way up with hard little bosses. containing the spore heaps. In the Lake district Mr. Barnes found an equally narrow form, B. s. lineare, but the: rounded lobes are flat and smooth edged, and so slightly ~ divided that the barren frond is strap-like, and the fertile ones far narrower still and not knobbed. Two forms mid-. way between concinnum and the common are B. s. con- tvactum and B. s. stvictum, the former with round lobes a third of the way up the frond, and the latter more or less irregularly narrowed the entire length. B. s. wmbricatum has the fronds shortened and side divisions so densely set on as to overlap, and B. s. crispissimum Hartley is a little dwarf an inch or two high only, said to have been raised from strictum, though widely different. The Blechnum is occasionally found with the edges saw-toothed, B. s. sevvatum Airey is a well-marked wild find of this type, and through its spores gave Mr. Airey a much improved plant, termed B. s. plumosum Airey, divided nearly thrice, and very handsome. It has also done well | IN THE TassELLING D1rEcTION. Fern hunting among the Blechnums goes rarely unrewarded, as regards plants with some forked fronds, more rarely a plant is found with all fronds divided at their tips, and the writer’s second find hard on the heels of B. s. con- clumum was a fine spacimen of this class, B. s. polydactylunv Druery, with many-fingered tassels hanging down a hedge slope by the roadside near Wooda Bay, by Lynton. B.s. vamo-crvistatum, Kinahan’s, and Maunder’s forms branch first and tassel afterwards in a very handsome way, and B. s. Maunderi, raised from the latter, is simply a dense ball of cresting. B. s. multifurcatum Barnes, sometimes called tvinervio-coronans, has a stiff, radiating crest on a sort of stalk on the frond tip, and is very distinct and pretty. B. s. Aitkinianum is a curious branching variety, and the ia of’ Pa ots ~ - .* a » SI several distinct finds known as cristatum are all pretty and worth growing. JB. s. tvineyvium is a singular type not uncommon in hilly districts, especially in Ireland; in this the two bottom divisions of the frond are considerably lengthened, and in B.s. t. Hodgsone they are so large as to make the frond atrident. J. s. Forsteyi is a remarkable leafy, crispy, dense variety, difficult to describe, but very distinct, and the writer has found three forms which approach it, one a dwarf, one very foliose, and one nearer the normal, but well forked pinnae here and there, and the pinne set on so closely as to crowd each other and run together—confluent—at the frond tips. Mr. E. J. Lowe records eighty-five varieties of this charming fern, and as it Dots WELL witH Pot CULTURE, a frame or a shelf or two ina cool greenhouse may well be devoted toacollection. It is perfectly evergreen, retaining _ ats barren fronds quite fresh well into the second season, and until the new ones are perfected; the fertile ones perish much earlier, and can be cut off as soon as shabby - without detriment. The chief thing to bear in mind is, we repeat, the necessity of rain water or water free from lime, and the next thing, that the plant must not go dry; these points attended to, and proper planting to start with, the Blechnum will survive its owner. Cras. Fo Drugay) fh. FERN STRUCTURE. Although the structure of every plant is at once a marvel and a mystery, and careful consideration of the work, which is apparently spontaneously carried out from ‘ the germination of the seed to the subsequent fruition which completes the life cycle, must fill every thinking mind with wonder; ferns, if studied in a like fashion, present certain fundamental differences, which constitute $2 special marvels peculiar to themselves. In the first place, the antiquity of the fern tribe is enormously greater than that of flowering plants. We may go back to the earliest coal ages, a period antedating the deposit of thousands upon thousands of feet of subsequent formations of alli descriptions, and in those coal seams and the shale on which they were developed as primzeval forests of ferns and their allies, we shall find fronds as large or larger than those of to-day, and, what is more striking still, we shall find them as finely cut and as completely planned as our ferns of the present day, and with their reproductive spores. arranged on similar lines. This means that even then they had been evolved into full fern perfection, and were not, as we might reasonably expect, ruder and rougher types in process of shaping. Reading the history of the evolution of organic life in the light of present science, and of the varying phases of existence on the earth’s surface during the cooling and solidifying process, we are led to the conclusion that vegetation made its first appearance in an aquatic form, peopling, presumably, warm ocean waters, first as roving: organisms, and then in the shape of seaweed or alge. These, as the earth’s crust assumed greater and greater stability, would gradually invade the coasts, and with that adaptability which is imparted by inherent variation, would eventually find a footing inland as low forms of land plants, lichens, and their like, merging into mosses in one direction and fungi in another. All these types of vegetable life are, it will be noted, reproduced in one and the same manner, viz. not by seeds the product of fertilized flowers, for they bear no flowers proper, but by spores, minute bodies thrown off in enormous profusion, and so light as to be easily carried hither and thither by air or water. The result of this profusion and easy transference, coupled with the inherent power of variation aforesaid, which — 83 means adaptability, was that sooner or later all the varying conditions of the earth’s surface, drier or wetter, warmer or cooler, sunnier or shadier, eventually found occupants to fit them. Presumably for a long period dense cloudy skies, frequent torrential rain, and fierce and stormy winds prevailed, under which these lowly growths alone could flourish and maintain their footing. But presently the skies cleared, and under the vitalising sunbeams, an elevating impulse lifted the creeping moss into the huge tree-like lepidodendron ; the Calamites, now our equisetum, aped the fir tree, and last, but not least, in some occult fashion the fern frond was evolved as the fruit-bearer of some lowlier type of Marchantiform vegetation, and was differentiated into many genera and species prior to its _ final evolution, in conjunction with its allies, through some of their members, into trees, shrubs, and flowering plants which now adorn our globe. In the maidenhair tree (Salisburia adiantifolia) we have a. still existing link ’twixt fern and forest tree, and in many _ of our conifers we may still detect the structural features of the lycopods of long ago. It isa peculiar fact that this. adherence to ancient types is coupled still with an inde- pendence of that insect aid to reproduction which has metamorphosed our flowers, the pollen of most if not all conifers being windborne, thus excluding one potent factor of change. It is a curious fact, too, that despite the enormous lapse of time since their first evolution, and Since the coal age in which we find them so grandly developed, the method of reproduction has been so rigidly adhered to that to this day we find the first phase of fern life engendered by the spore, to be to all intents and purposes, lichen-like; asmall green scale attached to the soil by root-hairs, and sometimes proliferous, so that a single spore may not only cover a relatively considerable area of soil with a marchantoid growth, but this may exist 54 for years without producing anything resembling a fern proper. Nay, more, it has even been found capable of ‘existing indefinitely in this shape and producing spores without the intervention of fronds, quite possibly giving thus a glimpse of fern origin pure and simple, viz. a travelling, spore-bearing, lichen-like growth which, instead of throwing up fruiting columns like many of the tribe, evolved a chlorophyllic leafy frond instead, the better to carry its spores and scatter them the farther, evolution of ‘the fittest doing the rest in time. In these green scales, which are usually the size of a herring scale, but sometimes much larger, nearly an inch across, there is no vascular or veinlike structure, the spore produces first a short row of cells, which then multiply by fission until a heart-shape is assumed; at the indentation there is a thickened cushion, several cells thick, in which a group of incipient seeds is imbedded, each one being surmounted on the under surface of the scale by a teat- like, hollow projection, termed an archegonium. These form practically the female flowers. The under side of the scale bears also a great number of whitish root-hairs, which serve to attach it to the soil and nourish it, and among these, scattered indiscriminately on the surface of the scale, there are many small round-headed projections, termed antheridia. These constitute the male flower, and when ripe they burst, and the equivalent of pollen grains is scattered forth in the shape of a crowd of very minute ciliated organisms, 7.¢. tiny bodies, provided with movable hairs, which enable them to swim actively about in the dew-like moisture usually present beneath the scale or prothallus. When liberated they swim towards the arche- ‘gonia, one or more of whose seed-cells become fertilized, and shortly after this seed sends a root downwards anda frond upwards, and a fern proper is thus launched into existence. = 85 It is really only at this stage that the structure of a fern begins to resemble that of a flowering plant in so far that it now assumes the two fundamental forms of subterrestrial root and superterrestrial foliage. As regards the roots they may be at once dismissed with the remark that their formations and functions are practically alike in both lasses, but as regards the foliage, both structurally and functionally there is a wide difference between the frond of a fern and the leaf of a flowering plant, however similar they may, in some cases, appear to be. The frond of a fern normally is a contrivance to carry the spores, and in this capacity plays an individual part in the repro- ductive system of the plant; the leaf of a flowering plant can only do this when it has been so far metamorphosed as to become a flower, and even then the spore phase of existence never appears, and the scale stage is lost in the intricacy of the floral arrangements of interacting stamens _ and stigma, the latter being fertilized by the pollen grains borne by the former, precisely as under the tiny fern scale or prothallus, the antherozoids fertilize the embryo seed at _ the baseof the archegonium. The function of the travelling _ spore is fulfilled in the travelling seed so far as the spreading of the species is concerned. A fern frond in addition to this spore-bearing capacity has the faculty of growth by _ assimilation of the carbonic acid in the air through the action of its chlorophyll stimulated by light, and in this resembles plant foliage generally as well as in the resultant ‘stimulation of root-growth and the consequent extension and strengthening of the entire plant. C12’ By. (Lo be continued.) "~ FERNS AND WEEVILS. ; As it is in the winter time that the insidious ravages of ‘the weevil grub at the roots, as distinct from the summer -attacks of the weevil beetle on the foliage, are most to be SO dreaded, it is well to know how they may be dealt with with least risk to the plants concerned. If a sharp look- out be kept the owner of a collection of hardy ferns in pots will be fortunate if he does not here and there find evidence: of the grub existence among the roots, in the shape of loose fronds or wilted ones which come freely away from the root stock when pulled. Seedlings in pans, too, may become abnormally pale in tint and unhealthy looking, and, when subjected to the same test, they may be found to be simply lying loose on the surface, denuded of every root fibre. Such signs are infallible evidence that the grubs are busy, and the cultivator in mid-winter is con- fronted with the unpleasant fact that if the pots and pans be turned out and replanted they are bound to suffer seriously by removal at such an unfavourable season. On the other hand, if left alone, the grubs will never be satished until the plant or plants are destroyed, and hence it seems to be a choice of evils. We have, however, found that total immersion in water for several days, while doing no harm to the ferns, either drowns the grubs or drives them to the surface, and, in fact, in loose compost, they are almost invariably found on the surface of the soil in about forty-eight hours, when, of course, they can be disposed of. By actual experiments we have found these grubs able to withstand immersion for fully four days, so: that, for safety’s sake, it is well, when they do not appear on the top, to let the pots or pans stand in water, with the: soil entirely covered, for a day or two longer, say a week in all. Hartstongues seem to be the favourite prey of these marauders, but in point of fact no fern is safe from their attacks, for we once found a large well-established plant of Adiantum pedatrim which failed to rise in the: spring, and on investigating the cause no less than sixty fat white grubs formed a layer where the rhizomes of the: previous season had existed, while only one or two living” 87 ‘fs St @ pints existed where these rhizomes had slightly run up: | 2 pot edges. Any fern which is obviously checked for no ecarent reason may well be plunged, and it is quite _ probable that a few of these marauders may be busy in the: heart of the caudex, though invisible, unless very drastic _ shaking out be effected. Frequently in such cases mere: turning out of the ball from the pot may reveal the white (sometimes grey in their young state) grubs snugly ensconced next the pots, which invariabiy means a. _ further brood within the body of the soil. In places badly _ infested by the weevil, this winter search and the applica- tion of the suggested remedy is all the more advisable, as a. grubs appear to have few enemies, and hence nearly ery one permitted to survive will make its appearance ir the spring as a beetle, which is a source of great damage by eating the rising or perfected fronds, and as a pro- genitor of a numerous brood of grubs, and thus a per- petuator of the nuisance on a larger scale. In hardy ferneries under glass the existence of this pest, when once introduced, almost compels pot culture as against the in- stallation of the ferns in the soil itself in rockeries, since in the latter case they become ineradicable owing to the impossibility of locating the grubs when their root ravages are too partial to detect by failure of the plant. MYSTERIOUS FERNS. Although our utter ignorance of the cause of variations renders every ‘‘sport’’ a mystery, there are a few ferns in ‘cultivation whose origin is so strange as to place them in ' a separate category, and entitle them specially to be ‘classed as above. In the ordinary way, whether under natural conditions or under culture where considerable: numbers of specific forms are found or raised, we occa- _ Sionally find more or less isolated specimens which have "< 88 apparently spontaneously departed from the parental or specific type, and sometimes to a very -extraordinary extent. These usually are capable of transmitting the — new features of their progeny, and may also propagate by offsets, so that when discovered as adults, and perhaps old specimens, they may be associated with their offspring, but these latter generally are very few in number. In sowings— of such varieties, it is also a common thing to find still further departures from the specific form, but usually on similar lines; the species, however, remains unchanged. In the cases I purpose citing the sports have originated in a fashion which gives little or no clue to their origin, as will be seen. Some three or four years ago Mr. George Whitwell, of Kendal, made a sowing of Blechnum spicant varieties, and raised a number of plants of that species, but among them he found, not one only, but several plants of an extremely dwarf, congested, and ramose form of Lastvea propingua, all alike and unassociated with others of that species, and these plants are utterly unlike any known variety of L. propingua. They are only three or four inches high, dark green, extremely dense and hard in texture, and the small fronds .branch at one of more points. Mr. Whitwell, whose authority and experience are unimpeachable, has various forms of L. propinqua in his collection, and the possibility of stray spores from them cannot be overlooked; nevertheless, there is not a form among them to which either he or the writer could impute © the parentage, and, as has been said, several plants precisely alike originated simultaneously. Another case associated with Blechnum spicant may be cited, viz. Hartley’s B. s. crispissimum, a dwarf, dense form two or three inches high only, which came ez masse from a sowing of B. s. stvictum, a long and somewhat narrow form to which the whole batch presents no similarity at all, and, again, is diverse from any known type. I raised a _ og batch of this myself, and found even the prothalli to be _ thick and fleshy masses instead of the usually thin laminz, A third still more mysterious case is that of P. aguilina Be andiceps depaupervata, which appeared spontaneously and ‘simultaneously in five different and isolated places in Messrs. Birkenhead’s nursery at Sale, near Manchester. _ This had lax, pendulous fronds, repeatedly branching into. : slender, depauperate, tasselled ramifications. All the _ plants were alike, and yet they occurred in widely separated - houses at one and the same time as chance seedlings.. They resembled no other known variety at all, and the only theory that can be formed is that somewhere, at the place where peat or leaf-mould had been taken and supplied to the nursery, a wild sport of the type existed or exists, whose spores had thus been imported into suitable quarters for development. This was eventually lost to cultivation.. __ In the former case we have a feasible theory, but what. can we say for Adiantum Luddemanianum, that extra- ordinary ramose and crested form of maidenhair so long known in cultivation? This originated in a French Nursery, and was found growing in the soil under the staging of a greenhouse by Mr. E. Schneider, who chanced ‘to pay a visit. Some plants of A. capfillus veneris had Deen grown in the nursery, but the plant in question was the only fern visible. It was a robust clump, and speedily ‘changed hands, as may be imagined, the owner of the ‘Mlursery simply regarding it as an interloper. The ‘presence, under the circumstances, of such an extra- ordinary and unique “sport’’ which the solitary plant evidenced was a mystery indeed. Another instance, ‘presenting new features in the specific direction, occurred "some years ago in Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons’ nursery at Chelsea, in the case of Todea grandipinnula, assumed to be a form of Todea superba, or possibly a hybrid between 7. Fraseri and T. hymenophylloides, as plants of these were QO -adjacent to the culture which yielded the plants—a fairly | ‘large batch, all alike. Its hybrid character is, perhaps, but not surely, indicated by the infertility of its spores, as -the todeas are difficult to raise. On the other hand, some time afterwards, Todea Moore: (Baker) was introduced as a new species from Australia, and this cannot be “7 -criminated from Todea grandipinnula. ’ The appearance of specific exotic forms in collections ‘prior to their intentional introduction, such as occurred with Lomaria Patersomt at Kew years before it had been ‘found in its native habitat and sent thither, can, of course, be accounted for by wind-borne spores being introduced ‘in the soil attached to other importations, but that is a ~very different matter to most of the cases cited above, where no similar type is known to exist, and where the -chances would seem to be infinitely against the appearance -of not one only but numerous examples within the very limited area of an ordinary culture. The case of the todeas involves the actual evolution of a different species _at one jump, for had the varied type not appeared under culture as described, the subsequently-imported plants would never have been associated with 7. superba at all, a fact which opens up the whole question as to wherein lies the difference between a true species and an absolutely, constant distant variety which produces true progeny in -continuous succession, as So many varieties do. Cuas, LT, Druery, F.L.S) yaaa Pe ee ee ee ee DWARF BRITISH FERNS. The fact that among the many forms of variation which our British ferns have assumed, there is a very fair number of tiny editions de luxe, as it were, must be of interest to those whose space is particularly limited, and hence I make no -apology for describing a few of the best.. This peculiar Ol ) vagary in the direction of smallness is, so far at any rate as actual finds and introductions are concerned, confined : to British species ; the writer is certainly pot cognizant of -any dwarf exotic forms of otherwise large-growing species. With British ferns, to take a typical case, we have the : Hard Male Fern (Lastrea pseudo-mas) growing about four feet high, and its most striking large variety, the King of the Male Ferns, is as large or larger, as against which we may cite L. p. m. vamulosissima, dense crested, and usually | only five or six inches high; L. p. m. cnispa gracile, densely congested, and with curly-tipped pinne, of the same size; iL. p. m. crispa cristata, a crested dwarf, no larger; L. 9. | m. Langi, a narrow, dense-fronded and crested pigmy, like | a starfish, all of which are quite at home in thumb pots, and yet have all the concentrated prettiness of the best of their larger brothers. As they are robust little fellows in their way it is extremely curious that nature should cramp _ them into so small a compass while favouring other members of the same species so markedly as to size as she _has done. In the Lady Ferns we have, as great contrasts, the Species normally growing very large, while in Athyrium felix-feemina congestum minus and A. f.f. c. cvistatum we have two dwarf gems of four or five inches stature, both of dense growth and the latter prettily tasselled. A form which we must provisionally name, A. f.f. minus Boydi, is much smaller still, forming quite a mossy clump of three- inch fronds. A. ff. stellatum, found by Mrs. Wilson, reaches about six inches, with rounded spiky pinnz, the Opposite parts of which form stars, whence the name. Somewhat larger but still dwarf, about nine inches or so "as a rule, are A. ff. stipatum Granta, A. f.f. congestum Whitwell, and A. f.f. congestum Phillips, all with dense stiff fronds and very pretty. A. fj. crisbum, an old form, has a rambling root stock and branching crested fronds some Q2 six or eight inches high. And last, but not least by any means, there is that extraordinary form, A. f.f. wncoglo- mevatum of Stansfield, which forms with its fronds a spherical ball of infinite division like a ball of minutely cut Selaginella apoda, a fern absolutely without a parallel, some eight or nine inches high at the outside. Among the Shield Ferns, again, the same extremes occur, but in fewer number, feet being reduced to inches. Polystichum aculeatum congestum Lyeli, a dense-growing dwarf,isagem. f.a. farvissimum is wrongly named, since it is much larger, reaching nearly a foot, and P. a. con- gestum is dense, and short in stature. These are the only dwarfs we can quote in this species. In the Hartstongues, perhaps the most eccenbaie of all ferns, we have Scolopendrium vulgare spirale, a bunch of thick little corkscrews, as it were, and from this and others. Mr. Lowe raised a host of dwarfs, muricate, rugose and sculpturate, 7.¢. roughed in various ways on the surface, and also forked and crested; but few, if any, of these are in the market. Then there is the little moss-like form known S. v. densum Kelway, three inches high, and as wide across as the mass is permitted to grow. This forms first a mossy boss, and then produces young plants all over the edges, piling itself up with its offspring. This, too, must not be watered overhead, and is best under a bell-glass. The much-branched and crested varieties, S. v. Kelwayt (parent of the last), S..2. Cooling:, S. v. Baxter Senge Wardi, and S. v. Cousensi all form balls of frondage. The last is the best, and all have bulbils on the frond edges, by which they may be propagated. In the Hard Fern, Blech- num spicant, many of the varieties are small enough under culture to suit limited space, but the only two really dwarf forms are B. s. Maunder, a mass of cresting, and JB. s. crvispissimum Hartley, a tiny congested edition of the normal, with two-inch to three-inch fronds. 23 The whole of the ferns named could be well accommo- dated in a fair-sized north window, or ona stand in cold con- servatory. With the few exceptions noted, they are tough and strong in growth, and therefore are best in a well- lighted position with plenty of air. A frame under a north wall would also suit them, and even a sheltered rockery with a northern exposure; but, owing to their small size and minute prettiness, they are best accommodated where _ their charm is most seen, 7.¢. in a position near the eye. _ They are too good to consider as mere stopgaps for an out-of-the-way corner. Cuas. T. DRueEry, F.L.S., V.M.H. FERN HUNTING. In view of the immense number of varietal forms which our British species have assumed, and the fact that a very _ large proportion, numbering among them many of the finest, have originated in a wild state and been found by persons who have devoted their leisure to close inspection of the _ Ferns they have come across, or in rarer cases, altogether _ accidently, we may well devote a short chapter to the con- sideration of this singular capacity for variation and the circumstances under which such sports are found. Judg- ing by the results of Fern hunting in the British Isles as - contrasted with the relative paucity of foreign finds, it _ would prima facie appear that there must be a special some- _ thing in the soil, climate, or general environment which _ leads to greater sportiveness, but as against this theory it _ must be borne in mind that in no other country has there _ Sprung up a special taste for variety hunting, which, as _ here, has led to a considerable number of both sexes _ assiduously searching for new ones after having been _ inspired by distinct finds with that faith which is the best § encouragement to perseverance. On the average many 94 thousands of normal Ferns must pass beneath the scrutiny of the hunter or huntress (for ladies have been particularly fortunate) before a distinct sport presents itself, and obviously the first step necessary for a beginner is to acquire a thorough acquaintance with the normal forms, so that any departure is instantly noted and followed up by closer inspection. It very frequently happens that in a dense clump of rank-growing normals the merest tip of a frond or fronds indicates the presence therein of a variety, and it may even occur that one species may assume a varietal form closely resembling a different species of another shape and thus baffle the eye. Thus we have found two forms of Athyrium (Lady Fern), one which we named A. ff. oveopteroides, so closely did it imitate the mountain Lastrea (L. oveopteris or montana) which grew in conjunction, and the other we took at a first glance for Lastvea dilatata, the fronds being quite triangular (A. f.f. deltoideum), especially as L. dilatata was abundant in the same spot. The texture alone determined the second look, which discriminated them as marked varieties. Both these would infallibly have been overlooked had not experience educated the eye to relatively minute differences. Another point with reference to the greater number of British finds is that in many countries it is not so easy to hunt as here; the poking and prying and intrusion into the out-of-the-way nooks and corners which are liable to harbour good things, are all, it may be, attended with danger by harbouring bad ones, and we ourselves have still a vivid recollection of a fine rattlesnake in Mexico which turned up just beneath a lovely patch of Notho- chlzenas and Cheilanthes. Even here (in Ireland) we once let ourselves drop down the face of a rock to inspect a mass of Hymenophyllum, only to find a wasp’s nest as big as one’s head within six inches of our nose. Fortunately, by 95 Standing perfectly still, the disturbed swarm, after a chorus of buzzing, obviously took us for a fallen rock and permitted us to glide gradually away unmolested. The main point, however, is that the explorer abroad is usually a general botanist on the look-out only for new species, and a general glance satisfying him as to the species, he passes ‘on and does not pursue the quest pure and simple. When, however, a man with an eye for varieties goes abroad, as did the late Mr. S. Brown, to the Azores, very fine varieties crop up, as, for example, Woodwardia radicans cristata, two grand crested varieties of L. dilatata and Asp. Hemionitis multifidum and cristatum, a form of which we ourselves also found recently when there, plus a finely crested Freris aquilina. In the United States Ferns are so popular that a special Fern Bulletin is issued quarterly and a Fern chapter is instituted for the encouragement of _research. Here, again, quite recently varieties have been found, and we are the happy possessor of Phegopteris _ hexagonoptera truncata, like a huge Beech Fern, with all tips squared and thorned, and Dennstaedtia punctilobula _ evistata, prettily tasselled, sent us by Mr. W. I. Maxon of the Smithsonian Institute, while fronds of a nicely crested Athyrium were sent us not long since by a lady there. These facts point to our mind to the conclusion that wherever Ferns are plentiful it only needs proper hunting to find varieties, and the keener and more persistent- the hunter the more there will be-found. Mr. J. Moly, for instance, resident in Dorset, discovered in the course of years no less than 600 distinct varieties, numbering among _ them many of our finest, mainly within the district, and Dr. Wills, his neighbour at Chard, found a very large number in addition. We cite these facts at length because they constitute an encouragement to anyone enjoying opportunities of search in ferny districts. “ts ght oe (To be continued.) 06 OBITUARY. MR. T. G.°H. ELEY: We regret exceedingly to have to announce the somewhat sudden death of our esteemed member, Mr. T. G. H. Eley, at Brighton on March 18th, after an operation. Age 60. For many years he had been Postmaster at Barrow-in- Furness, but retired in 1912, when he left Barrow and took up his residence at Burgess Hill, near Brighton, whither he removed his fine collection of British Ferns, as related some time since by him in the ‘‘Gazette.”, Thaticatiees tion was extremely choice, and embraced some 800 varieties, many installed but the majority in the open. It will be remem- bered that to Mr. Eley we certainly owe the introduction of that charming wild variety of the Oak Fern, P. dryoptevas plumosum, the merits of which he recognized in the small collection of the finder, Mr. Christopherson, shortly before his (Christopherson’s) death, and then arranged for its subsequent acquisition. All who knew Mr. Eley recognized in him not only an ardent lover of British Ferns, but also an extremely amiable, hospitable and kindly gentleman, with whose family the greatest sympathy is felt in their bereavement. We are indebted for the photo to the courtesy of the Manager of the Bayyvow News, Barrow-in- Furness. we iwetphs a in several conservatories, — a ————— eee British Fern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. September, 1916. EDITED BY CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., F.LS. PUBLISHED BY _ THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY | g (Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.) c KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. t { & [> THE | Vationa Mus?) BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. VOL. 3. SEPTEMBER, 1916. No. 29. CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL NOTES .. g af os ais si ie 97 THE AuGcust MEETING. REPORT AND BALANCE SHEET .. 99 Our FRONTISPIECE (Blechnum s. v. revolvens) a ie 101 BriTIsH FERNS aT ACTON (continued) Be ~ te IOI LASTREA DILATATA AND iTs ALLIEs (Dr. Stansfield) a 104 FERN STRUCTURE (continued) ars0) Bak a + ae 112 FERN HUNTING (continued) .. A aw re “- 116 A DELIGHTFUL Hour - - a ik ye i 118 eee CATE Mr. T. H. ELey’s COLLECTION .. 7c Es 120 EDITORIAL NOTES, As announced in our June issue, in view of the continuance of the war, it was impracticable for our Annual Meeting to be held in conjunction with an outing as usual, and we now know that an additional obstacle has intervened in the shape of a postponement of the August Bank Holiday itself. We therefore give elsewhere the particulars of what has been done to fulfil the necessary business of such meetings, and to advise the members of the present position of the Society. Outside this we have nothing special to report, and can only express the heartfelt hope that, prior to another anniversary of our meeting, the war will be terminated and a Peace established on such a basis as will secure its permanence and satisfy both our- selves and our gallant Allies by involving that retribution which the German'nation so richly merits by its submission to and support of, its vainglorious, presumptuous and altogether unscrupulous rulers. As usual, we cordially invite members to contribute to | x NOV 98 the pages of the GazETTE, which is designed to be the centre to which all information, ve British Ferns and their Varieties, should gravitate. This time, as too often, it is the Editor who has to do most of the writing, though ~ every one with a collection worth the name, and with an intelligent power of observation worthy of the cult, must from time to time note things which are new to him or her, or requiring explanation, and it is precisely by — such notes and records that knowledge is increased. New members are wanted, and the Editor would regard as a favour the receipt of name and address of any known British Fern lover not on our list, and to whom we might send a specimen copy of the Gazette. ‘The annual sub- scription to the Society is only 5s. from August to August, and entitles to four issues of the GAZETTE, plus association with a large number of fellow students of our beautiful British Ferns. Tue BritTisH FERN GazETTE, VoL. 2, Nos. 13 TO 24.—The Editor would again remind members that a small number of Vol. 2 have been bound into a very presentable volume of 313 pages and numerous illustra- tions. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of. The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure, as only a few are left. X The subscriptions for 1916-17 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return post to 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. THE EDITOR, 99 THE AUGUST MEETING. _ For the reasons given in the Editorial Notes, the meeting this year was held purely pro foyma at the residence of the on. Secretary, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, W., at 12 noon on Monday, August 7th, 1916. The abate sheet being A roduced, ‘s following resolutions were passed, to which Ww e append the list of officers as re-elected, and also the balance sheet, shewing a balance to the credit of the Society of £65 2s. 8d., which may be regarded as ex- tremely satisfactory under the adverse conditions of the war :— ee a = w RESOLUTIONS, That the accounts and balance sheet be approved. That the Officers and Committee of the Society be re-elected for the ensuing year. That the annual excursion (to South Wales) proposed for 1916 be held—subject to the war—in 1917. That the Hon. Secretary be requested to continue the Editorship of the ‘‘ British Fern Gazette’’ and that an honorarium of ten guineas be voted to him for his services in that connection for the past year. President : Mr. A. Cowan, Penicuik. a Vice-Presidents : ‘Dr. F. W. Stansfield, Reading. Mr. J. J. Smithies, Kendal. Mr. C. T. Druery, Acton, London, Mr. W. H. Phillips, Belfast. 1 Mr. W. B. Boyd, Melrose. Hon. Secretary : Mr. Chas. T. Druery, v.M.H., F.L.S. Treasurer : Mr. W. B. Cranfield, Enfield Chass. Auditor : Mr: J. J. Smithies. bh Committee : Mr. T. Bolton, Warton. Mr. W. E. Farrer, Lancaster. "5, J.J. Smithies, Kendal. », W. Bell, Furness Abbey. _, KR. Whiteside, Lancaster. », G. Whitwell, Kendal. | Mr. W. Wilson, Kendal. | Together with the President and Vice-Presidents as members ex-officio. 100 —— OO —— ———Ew ‘AAvjadIIg KAVAOWOTT ‘KRYAANA “L ‘SWHO “HpPNy 94} Jaya O} a[qeun sem soIyWIS “IJ SSoUT]I 0} SuImMO Oo O1 ArejaI9aS ‘uOH 0} anp vourjeg Ag ‘Z ‘Sny *9Q161 6 £947 Be OF er <> "* —p3}0A SB 9}}9Ze45 fjO JOUpPHY 0} Wniie10u0oy“ -*2‘8ny - ‘91601 8 ZI Sg ** jepusy ‘yueg je oouefeq “ +z ‘Sny O OI OI ** G161I pajoA s¥_9z}0ze5) jO JOUPA 0} UWMne1ou0H ‘9g ‘8ny *C161 BESO EAE oe ats "* reak toysaseisog ‘* ‘oz Ajnf 9 OI = pe ** sgsuadxa [BAOWsl pus “ox ‘sadojaauq “ Be an ee ee ee -jZ% ‘g/Z ‘-/9 ‘-/$ ‘aouejsisse [eorzery “ “Sny ‘g16r ‘das ‘S161 2s og Aa ee “e = oun{ ‘br oun{ eee oj pur ‘ICI "1€ “Ie 9. tiek == oa i ‘09 Ae ae 84 | “9161 8 8 9 (2) syo0[g pue ayjezey ‘idac —! "0D % ‘wos ‘r9TTTIN Aq ‘gi ydas i, ? et es 3 TOL "SAVILOO ‘sjdieoa1 Jo Jequinu YIM soei8y x ee ty ares i? yueg ye soureq oy ‘Z ‘sny ‘Q161 625-518 > QO .01 0 “AteyoINsS 9y} 0) enp saueyeq “* “* -** Ble ool ee sig Survep ve jseisjuy. fe re) rf I ee role) » AEIN ‘TJ ‘WH 1Apy 6 66 6 Otek eee i x8 SIoquinN :; OC, — PUL. .Seninjo,-— punoed “- “ * TEI O07. 7. =[S4r ‘SOUPADPCUl. Suoncmasame f**~ <5 OS 075 Ton fete saeesie Sona liosa ney —=-% ee oe Oo. 0. OFF =/S 72 zea yusrino ‘suoijdtzosqng oz ‘ ‘sny ‘9161 9 Sbieeees "39C *uO;] jO-.Spueu . “—- ao on 5 _ pinna, pinnule, or pinnulet spreads out eventually at its _ precise and proper angle and in its precise and proper plane. Meanwhile, if it be a tree fern, each frond is sending down the trunk its own special contribution of ___ wiry brown roots, acting at once as feeders for itself, and \* strengtheners of that trunk for its additional burden. _ Finally all this is done, the terminal growth ceases, and here and there at thousands of points in the marvellous network of veins which form the final architectural filling im, as it were, there is a busy fashioning of millions on millions of spores, the ultimate end and purpose of the _ whole structural scheme. [But the structural work is by mo means done. Each spore, though individually invisible to the naked eye, is beautifully constructed. In its heart _ is atiny cell replete with all its potencies of the race, and _ sheathed with several protective coats. The spores, unlike the loose ones of the fungus tribe, are usually stored in tiny caskets of an oval shape, attached in groups to the parent frond by tiny jointed stalks. These caskets are cunningly fashioned with a jointed spring passing nearly round them perpendicularly, and ending at a weak point among the cells which compose them. When the spores are ripe this weak point splits, gapes a little, and then - suddenly the backspring comes into action with explosive effect, the top half of the capsule flies violently backwards, 9 and in the convulsion the spores are ejected far and wide. ¥ As a rule the fern frond differs from its apparent parallel _ ima tree branch in having no axillary buds, z.c. buds seated - atthe junction of the leaves with the stems, but in some _ Species instances, usually abnormal, occur, such as in our ay proliferous Polystichums or Shield Ferns, while in some of the Gleichenias it is a specific feature. In other cases, _ however, buds are freely formed, not in the axils but on _ the frond surface, springing from veins well within the _ margin. Asplenium bulbiferum and several closely allied EP - » a = * 114 -species do. this, and Woodwardia orientalis and others. -Other species, such as W. vadicans, several adiantums, and the Walking Fern (Camptosorus rhyzophyllus) bear buds at or near their termizal points, sc that the decumbent. fronds touching the soil root into it and so spread afar like our common bramble. Ferns, indeed, while steadfastly maintaining these fundamental differences, have adopted most of the contrivances of flowering plants for spreading “themselves abroad, despite their persistent restriction as regards the one mode of spore distribution described and -common to all genera, although flowers have adopted a thousand and one different methods of getting their seeds distributed. Thus, while many, indeed most, ferns pro- pagate themselves by side shoots or off-sets, some of them like Nephrolepis and Struthiopteris improve upon this by -sending out runners under or over the ground, which here and there develop buds and plants far away it may be from the parents, obviously a great advantage. A number of spscies, also, like our Polypodies and Bracken (Péevis aquilina) achieve the same ends by travel- ling rhizomes, 7.¢. more or less fleshy root stocks which send up single fronds in succession as they progress, and Sg OR ete Alms ee PS ee Sp do not, like the species previously cited, form isolated ~ shuttlecock crowns when they develop plants. These travelling rhizomes are often very fleshy, and constitute reserves of nourishment which enables the fern to survive and rise again after periods of drought or heat, which might otherwise prove fatal. Some travel close to or upon the service, and in this way find congenial habitats — -on tree trunks and similar situations where soil proper is non-existent. Others, like our Bracken, burrow very deeply, and it is interesting to note how a seedling Bracken at its third or fourth frond forms a green bud at the side which, abjuring the light, plunges perpendicularly into the soil to emerge perhaps, like a diver, a foot away a 115 jn the form of a substantial frond. Despite this burrowing tendency, however, these rhizomes and stolons are not _ roots proper, these always exist independently as rambling fibres of indefinite extension, and generally bearing, in the ‘open fissures of the soil, a dense covering of root-hairs, the presence of which is always a sign of health. Tree ferns, as we have seen, have their trunks annually strengthened by the roots sent down from the bases of the new season’s fronds. The trunk is formed primarily of the fleshy or woody bases of the fronds. A young tree _ fern commences with a shuttlecock crown growing on the soil, each year the crop or circlet of new fronds springs up _ inside the old one at a somewhat higher level, the old fronds rot all but an inch or two at the base, which is ‘ woody and permanent; from each new frond base springs _aset of roots which find their way between the old stumps -iato the soil. In time it is obvious the crown is lifted entirely free from the soil, and it is also obvious that the _ trunk is strengthened and thickened annually, although in -an utterly different fashion to that of trees proper, unless, _ indeed, we may assume a parallel in the fact that its annual crop of leaves thickens its bark by a generally dis- _ tributed ring of wood as an equivalent to an entwined ring ‘ of root fibres in the fern. Anyway, this is the structural process, and therein we may discover one of the main _ conditions of the tree fern existence, viz. a climate which is so constantly humid that the roots in descending the trunk are never killed by drought. Such conditions _ obtain in all tree fern districts, and to such an extent that _ We usually find them associated with such humidity-loving ferns as the delicate tribe of Filmies, which clothe their drunks and form very frequently in their minuteness and delicacy of structure the very antithesis of their grand associates. In the filmy ferns we arrive so very near to the mosses, iy he) the scale-like prothallus even giving place to a thready one, that in all probability we may regard them as the ~ primordial forms of ferns, grading upwards through the lovely Todeas to the harder-fronded species which at the further end of the exposure scale defy both drought and heat in the most unfernlike fashion, a type of which we have at home in our familiar Ceterach. Although I have alluded ina general way to the complex internal structure of the fern frond, which serves both to: strengthen it and supply it with sap from the root system, space altogether precludes entering into the wonderful individual details of such structure which sections display under the microscope, and which, as well as the system of — venation and general plan of growth, varies greatly in the different genera and species, and even in the varieties, although each species has certain characteristic arrange- ments which enable the expert to determine it, very often by sections only. A familiar example is the Common ~ Bracken, a stem section of which invariably displays the ~ rude resemblance to an eagle, which gives it its botanical name of Pteris aquilina. Cuas. T. Druery, F.L-S. Vey FERN HUNTING (continued). It is well worthy of note that in the large majority of instances the “finds” are either solitary plants or clumps originating presumably from an originally single sport, though now and again, as might be expected, seedlings have established themselves near by, so that further search is rewarded by further specimens. Very — rarely colonies, as it were, are found as in cur own case of Asp. ad. nigrum caudatum, where many yards of a stone dyke contained no other form but hundreds of this. | . | | ti7 THE EQUIPMENT OF THE FERN HUNTER is of the simplest ; some carry a tin vasculum, which is so far good that it protects the fronds from injury; it, how- ever, has the disadvantage when one is clambering over the rough and precipitous ground so dear to Ferns of Swinging round and getting in the way, and personally we abjure anything but a strong trowel, a stout hooked stick, a cloth bag like a fish basket, which can be rolled up, a pocketful of old newspapers, and some string. A ‘find”’ discovered, we dig it up carefully by the roots, separate it from any associated common ones, wrap sonie moss or old fronds round the roots, envelop it in a sheet of paper, slip it into the bag, and sling this behind us by a string over our shoulders. At the first opportunity we dip the roots ‘in water, and when we reach our temporary haven at the end of the day we instal it in a box with a good supply of fresh wet moss, and place this in a cool shady place. The ‘Fern is then good for a fortnight or more, until finally ‘installed at home. Puzzles, of course, crop up in such expeditions ; ‘‘ finds ’’ sometimes occur in awkward places, are seen at the top of a high wall far out of reach, or in hedges where the tree roots almost require dynamite to ! Miberate the Fern, or, as in one of our experiences, it may be so huge as to need two men and a horse and cart for ‘dislodgment and conveyance, or, finally, as,in the case of ‘that beautiful Fern P. v. Prestoni, it may be seated so deep in a rock chink that the finder had to roll the rock itself _ across country and actually grow the Fern out of its hermitage at home. We, however, only know of one case which baffled the enthusiast, a charming Lady Fern, ‘growing in a deep drain, in the mouth of which, at the base of a massive stone dyke, the merest tips of the fronds hhad reached the light with the roots under the dyke and on the inaccessible other side of it. We nearly suffered such a Catastrophe ourselves once, finding a beautifully crested 118 L. dilatata in a close preserve bristling with threats of pro- secution of Fern robbers. Here, however, the Fern itself saved the situation by bearing ripe spores, and thus, though left practically intact, eventually decked our fernery with true progeny. However, we have now said enough, we _ think, to show that Fern hunting is not without its adventures as well as — its rewards, and with the final remark that the occurrence ~ of varieties is too wayward and capricious to permit as yet any definite information to be given as regards the likeliest places, we will simply conclude by recommending our readers to try their hand the first opportunity, and express- ing the hope that success may inoculate them with that lasting and incurable disease known as the ‘ Fern fever.” Cuas. T. Druery, -F.L.S., Viviane A DELIGHTFUL HOUR. A brilliant sunshiny morning at the latter end of May, with a fresh cool wind after a heavy dew, and the air laden with the odour of the lilacs just at their best and a strong whiff every now and again of the delicate scent of the hawthorns, constitute in itself a perfect enjoyment and an irresistible temptation to a stroll round the garden to see how the Ferns are progressing. Charming, however, as are the conditions, it is as yet too early in the season for the I’erns in the open to evoke the enthusiasm inspired by the more previous ones installed in yonder temple in the shape of a spacious greenhouse, and hence after a little gloating over the promise afforded by the rapidly uncoiling fronds outside, we reverently open the door of the temple aforesaid and enter therein for a revel in revelations so to speak. Naturally the first thing that we do is to take stock of those Ferns in which we are 3 119 personally interested, either as finder of the wild originals or as raiser of improvements thereof; and here, though our collection is numerically small, we feel that we have ‘certainly been peculiarly highly favoured by fortune during our Fern loving career, so large is the number and so beautiful are the plants that we can claim as our very own for the reasons given. ‘Two of the most prominent ‘Specimens with many four feet fronds, though as yet with the outward pendulous tips peculiar to the developing Polystichum, are from divisions of P. aculeatum pulcher- yimum Beavis, a Fern which, even as Dame Nature ‘shapes it in its wild form, ranks with the most stately Ferns we Britons possess, but which, of course, we cannot claim as a personal find as it fell to the lot of a farm bourer, who, though not an expert, was sufiiciently = by its exceptional beauty and difference from its normal companions, that he at once took it to Dr. Wills, close by in Dorset, and thus secured it for future genera- tions. For forty years, however, though liberal in offsets, and thus widely distributed in time ae Dr. Wills and his Bends, it was assumed to be barren of spores, but in ‘Tecent years a few were discovered. The result of this dis- covery was astounding, and looking round the ‘‘ temple ” aforesaid, we may perceive a row of its much more beauti- ful Bfispring in the shape of grand plants of the now well-known gracillimum strain, Green’s plumcsum, and a handsome variant named provisionally ‘ diversifrons,’’ as In some years it bears fronds of somewhat different ‘cutting. Each of these plants has its peculiarities of makes, but the gracillimums are very similar, the ultimate divisions being very slender, long and delicate, giving an entirely different aspect to the plant from that of the ‘parental one. The parental form has the peculiarity that at the apex of the frond the side divisions turn inwards and lap over the midrib so as to form a long Mis i —— ae i ee ae S|.) le ee os ee - T2090 slender terminal, and in one of the gracillimums this — character is inherited in such a way that the secondary side divisions or pinnules are all crescent shaped and turned inwards so as to overlap the midrib with very charming effect. The ultimate long, slender divisions in some cases dilate at their tips so as to form small pseudo crests, but much of this depends upon close and liberal culture. Of these plants, there are seven or eight fine specimens. In a place of honour and in association with them there is, however, one of the closely allied family P. angulaye, which it was our good fortune to raise, and which we fear stands alone as being the nearest representative survivor of the unique Fern P. ang. divisi- lobum pl. Baldwin, by far the best of the Jones and Fox group, but which has now been lost to sight for a number of years. Fortunately, the year before the death of Mr. E. J. Lowe, the owner of that unique gem, the writer called upon him and saw the plant. Cee (Lo be continued.) THE LATE MR. T. H. ELEY’S COLLECTION. It should interest our readers to know that Miss Eley is desirous of disposing of the above collection, which is a very good one. The Editor visited it about two years ago, and found it to consist of some eight hundred good varieties, including a large number of the very best forms. An unusually favourable opportunity is therefore presented for the acquisition of fine plants from a reliable source. Letters addressed to the Editor will be forwarded to Miss Eley with pleasure, She aa, peepee Poe DAR PE Pe Ta VOL. 3. No. 30. PEEUENE . British fern ee ectte PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. PE OT ~anian \ institu December, 1K yw EDITED BY HARLES Te DRUERY; VahEH., PLS ; PUBLISHED =e ia 3 E BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Hon, Secretary, C. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.) a KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. Mise ee? Fe = rag ae PPM Po Me eT ERE Pb FH ee | ed we ; te DRUERYII. ACULEATUM PULCHERRIMUM, POLYSTICHUM THE VOL. 3. DECEMBER, tror16. No. 30. CONTENTS. PAGE EpitToriaL Notes ; oe oe a 121 FRONTISPIECE (P. acul. sles bien ~ o« oe 123 A DELIGHTFUL Hoowr (conclusion) .. ds ee ee ee 123 FERN MystTeErIEs (Dr. Stansfield) Py Pp we és 125, Harpy FERNS IN WINTER... ; os ds is ea 130: FERN Bubs .. a ye i ée 133. SOME Daryicovtims OF AN eee (Rowlands) be 137 New Ferns (Dr. Stansfield) oo ae oe 141 FRONDS AND LEAVES ea ap ar ae "e r 142 BriTisH Ferns (C. T. Druery) es 147 EDITORIAL NOTES, It has been a source of much gratification to the Editor to receive numerous spontaneous letters of appreciation of the contents of the Gazette, and particularly of Dr. Stansfield’s recent data concerning the puzzling species and sub-species known as the L. dilatata section. In this issue we have been favoured with a further contribution, by the same high authority, on the even more interesting forms of Ferns which make their appearance under culture or even under wild conditions under more or less inexplicable circumstances. Our member, Mr. Rowlands, inspired by Dr. Stansfield’s ast contribution, also helps us materially on very practical lines, by dealing with some amateur difficulties. Further- more, several new members have joined through the Le22 recommendation of existing ones, so that altogether the Editor congratulates himself this time upon a very satis- factory response to his appeals for practical support in all these directions. Trusting that such support may be continued, and that the coming year may witness the advent of a lasting Peace on healthy and durable lines, the Editor cordially conveys to all friends the customary greetings of the season. | New members are wanted, and the Editor would regard as a favour the receipt of name and address of any known British Fern lover not on our list, and to whom we might send a specimen copy of the GazgrtTe. The annual sub- scription to the Society is only 5s. from August to August, and entitles to four issues of the GAzETTE, plus association with a large number of fellow students of our beautiful British Ferns. THe British FERN GAZETTE, VoL. 2, Nos. 13 ZOm § 24.—The Editor would again remind members that a small number of Vol. 2 have been bound into a very presentable volume of 313 pages and numerous illustra- tions. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of. The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure, as only a few are left. X The subscriptions for 1916-17 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return post to 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. THE EDITOR. A ad , a fi . 4 123 OUR FRONTISPIECE. PoLYsTICHUM ACULEATUM PULCHERRIMUM, DRUERYII. This fern, which is one of the original batch of seedlings raised by Mr. Druery, along with the gvacillimums, from P. acul, pulcherrimum, Bevis, was originally named pulcher- vimum dimorphum on account of its being supposed to produce two distinct types of fronds. A small offset, given to me by the raiser two or three years ago, has now grown into a large specimen and has been perfectly con- stant and uniform in character all through. I venture, therefore, to suggest that the name dimorphum should be _ dropped and pulcherrimum only retained. It is one of the _ very finest ferns in cultivation, having all the vigour, _ symmetry, and bold habit of its parent with all the parental _ beauties in an enhanced degree. It is, in fact, a perfect pulchervimun i in aculeatum, It is robust enough to do well in the open air, and seems to stand a certain amount of exposure to wind (that great enemy of fern beauty) 5. without serious injury. Every fern grower who sees it 4 will want to plant it as soon as he can obtain it. a q F. W. STANSFIELD. A DELIGHTFUL HOUR (continued). It was believed to be barren, but our experience leading _ toa close examination with a strong lens, a few sporangia were detected, and Mr. Lowe kindly permitting, these were removed and sown, the result was thirteen plants all of the Jones and Fox type, and one of them resembling Baldwiniit very strongly. This being of good constitution __ has become the grand specimen we are gloating over, “and which this season for the first time is yielding a few _ spores, which of course have been sown with all possible _ care. ESE ee _s_S SS,sriree ee ee © wm ie — = =>. = = = Ee ee = ee 124 It is, we may here remark, by profiting by such opportunities that many of our finest Ferns have been acquired. This remark applies with peculiar appro- priateness to the “‘superbum” section of Athyrium filix feemina, which has resulted from a fortunate sowing from an immediate descendant of the Axminster plumosum, and which now, widely disseminated by divisions and seedlings, constitute the cvéme de la cvéme of the plumose and tasselled hardy Ferns of every collection worthy the name. Of these, of course, specimens of the best forms occupy considerable space. » “7 oo a a apparently cannot be, anything of this sort; the veins all _ fun straight from end to end of the component leafage, and all they can do is to grow longer. CuAS. ba Devery.”-V. Mi BoE. S. BRITISH FERNS. Although the species of British Ferns, which are popularly known and grown in thousands of gardens, ' May be numbered on the fingers, and indeed, in the vast / Majority of cases, consist but of four or five kinds, viz. ) the Common Male Fern, the Lady Fern, the Broad ’ Buckler Fern, the Shield Fern and the Hartstongue, there | are really no less than forty-four species, representing ‘ fifteen genera, indigenous to the British Isles. A certain number of these, it is true, hardly lend themselves to general garden use as decorative plants, presumably | Owing to their small size and the difficulty of imitating 148 those natural conditions under which they thrive in their native habitats. Thus the Sea Spleenwort (Asplenium mavinum), which lines the caves and dots the cliffs with its bright green foliage on many of our rocky coasts, — especially in the west, will not stand inland outdoor culture. Deprived of salt-laden air it languishes, and despite its tough leathery foliage, a very few degrees of — frost suffice to kill it. It is, in point of fact, better adapted to subtropical conditions, and when grown ina warm greenhouse assumes a size and luxuriance of growth © such as it never attains here under natural conditions, the © fronds reaching a height of two feet and the plant forming a stout bush as much through. The delicate Maidenhair | Fern (Adiantum capillus Veneris) is also a coastal fern, but — of more limited extension; this, too, is tender, aia is confined’ to our warm western counties. A few of the other Spleenworts (Aspflenia), A. fontanum, A. septentrisnale, | A. geymanicum, and A. viride, may, under very favourable | conditions of climate, be induced to survive inrocky chinks | and crevices, but cannot be recommended as popular | plants. The Adder’s Tongue (Ofhioglossum vulgatum) and | the Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria) belong to the same | category requiring special conditions, while in no way | appealing to taste as regards their beauty. Outside these | exceptions, however, there are many of the remaining | species which are popularly ignored, but which are well | worthy of a place in those rockeries which are devoted to ] the hardy Ferns already cited. The Buckler Fern or | Lastrea group, for instance, popularly represented by the 1 Male Fern (Lastvea filix-mas), and the Broad Buckler Fern | (L. dilatata) embraces two other species of quite equal or | greater merit, viz. the Lemon-scented Fern (L. montana i or oveopteris), and the Hay-scented Fern (L. @mula). The | former is an erect growing Fern, with pale green fronds | arranged shuttlecock fashion around a central caudex. | These fronds are covered with glands, and when gently | 149 drawn through the hands an agreeable lemon-like odour is perceived, whence its name. In habit and make _ qt somewhat resembles the Male Fern, but is distin- _ guished by the side divisions continuing right down to the base, where they taper into rounded lobes, while _ the Male Fern has a naked stalk of several inches, the side divisions then commencing are fairly long ones. L. @muila is a little on the lines of the Broad Buckler _ Fern, but smaller, and with its fronds beautifully crisped and crinkled rendering it far prettier. L. thelypteris, the Marsh Fern, resembles an attenuated L. montana, but has a Creeping root, and only thrives in bogs. It is not to be recommended for garden culture. ' The family of the Shield Ferns consists of three members, _ viz. the Holly Fern (Polystichum lonchitis), the Soft Shield Fern (P. angulare), and the Hard Shield Fern (P. aculeatum). The first is a true mountain Fern, rarely found below 2,000 feet. Its hard lucent green fronds are once divided, the midrib bearing two rows of acutely pointed divisions, somewhat like Holly leaves, whence its name. Given a northern aspect, with its crown well sheltered by an over- hanging rock or brier, it will grow in the garden, but is | father apt to perish, unless the air be very pure. P. angulave, the Soft Shield Fern, grows much larger and has long lax fronds twice divided, the segments resembling those of the Holly Fern in shape, but being much softer in texture, whence the name. The Hard Shield Fern (P. aculeatum) is stiffer in growth and tougher in make, but otherwise not very dissimilar. To these species, as to some of the others, we recur later. The Polypody family, represented by the Common Polypody (Polypodium vulgare), the Oak Fern (P. dryopteris), the Beech Fern (P. phegopteris), and the Limestone Polypody (P. calcavewm), are all available for rockeries in sheltered Situations. The first-named is a very common fern in many parts of the country, topping old walls and fringing iii} “al 150 the hedgerows and stone dykes with its pendulous once divided fronds. All four species have rambling, creeping root-stocks, but those of P. vulgare are thick and fleshy, those of the others are very slender and stringy, in a sort of mat whence the fronds spring, forming a dense clump. P. vulgare is quite evergreen, while the others die down in the autumn. Asa result of this habit of growth, a loose, open, leafy soil is essential. ~The Bladder Fern (Cystopteris) we will merely allude to, they are not be recommended for general culture, not being particularly beautiful, while the fronds have a habit of becoming brown very early in the season. Ke- curring to the Spleenworts, of which we have mentioned a few of the ineligibles, the Maidenhair Spleenwort (A. tvichomanes) is a pretty little rosette-forming fern which does well in chinks of rocks, and the Black Maidenhair Spleenwort (A. adiantum nigyum) of very different habit, with upright twice divided fronds, is also a rock lover and forms a pretty relief among the robuster growers. The | other Spleenworts (Cetevach officinarum) may do well in the chinks of a wall with sunny aspect. The Royal Fern (Osmunda vegalis) is extremely handsome when well grown, but it is a moisture-loving species requiring plenty of water, and is most at home when its roots are in boggy soil. To plant it high up on rockworks is therefore to court failure. The Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant) merits far more attention than it gets. Itis avery pretty Fern, with dark green-shining once divided fronds of two kinds, leafy barren ones, which form a spreading rosette, and thinner erect fertile ones, consisting of little more than midribs bearing the spores. It is quite evergreen and thrives in good leafy soil, provided it does not suffer from drought. The Parsley Fern (Allosorus crispus) is a pretty small growing species, usually supposed to be difficult of culture, but really of the easiest if properly planted. Its normal habitat is on the sloping debris of mountain sides, 151 where it is constantly liable to be buried by slips and slides of the loose material. The way to plant it, therefore, is to dig a hole with a northern aspect, half fill it with loose rubbly fern mould, lay the plant on that with the crown towards the north, and then bury it entirely with a shovelful of gravel; this done, drop a large burr on the south side, leaving room on the north for the new fronds to push through the gravel, as they will do. This done, leave it alone and it will thrivefor years. The Lady Fern and the Hartstongue practically remain to complete the list of available species, and both of these are too familiar objects to require description or cultural suggestion. So far we have dealt entirely with our British Ferns from the normal point of view, 7.¢., as concerns those types which grow wild in countless myriads in many parts of the country, and find their way into our gardens, partly by collection of the wild forms on the occasion of visits to ferny districts, but far more largely owing to vandialistic raids upon the wild plants for commercial purposes by the tramp, the needy villager, and last, but by no means least, by the wholesale raider with his horse and cart and lack © of any idea of mewm and tuum, who visits a picturesque ferny lane and leaves desolation behind him. Given suitable positions and a little care these common forms are very pretty, but as we have seen it is only a few of these that are utilized, so that a popular British Fernery is ordinarily, as we have said, a monotonous grouping of a few species only. What then will be thought when we assert that a fully representative collection of British Ferns would embrace many hundreds of distinct forms, very many of which far and away eclipse the common ones in delicacy and beauty ? Yet that this isso, ‘is evidenced by the magnificent collection in Kew Gardens, where some thousands of British Ferns and some hundreds of distinct varieties exemplify that remarkable faculty which our Native Ferns possess of spontaneously sporting \ a . 4 * 152 into types very different from the common ones. No mam knows how or why it happens, but here and there among the normal species, there is occasionally found a ‘‘ sport,” that is, a Fern of the same species as its neighbours and undoubted parents, but shaped and fashioned in quite different lines. Such a plant moreover, when removed and cultivated, not only retains its new form unaltered, but when propagated by its spores, its progeny will be fairly true to the new type, or better still, may vary still more on like lines, so that greatly improved types are eventually obtained. Thus a fern with once divided fronds may sport into one with twice divided fronds of much more feathery nature, and this may goon until in a few generations, or even it may be in one, we arrive at fronds so dense and so moss- like in appearance, that only an expert could determine its species. Obviously with Ferns capable of spontaneous. improvement to this extent, it is absurd to devote alk available space to what the connoisseur regards as the weed forms, the mere raw material out of which Dame Nature generously fashions the improved and highly decorative varieties we have in view. Nearly every one of the British species has yielded ‘‘sports”’ of this descrip- tion. According to the most recent descriptive catalogue, the Hartstongue boasts no less than 450 varieties, the Shield Ferns 384, the Lady Fern 313, the Buckler Ferns | (6 species) 259, and the Common Polypody 75. A large number of these consists of beautifully tasselled forms, others are delicately dissected and feathery, others are prettily dwarfed and congested, and others are varied on quaint and eccentric lines. There are, therefore, forms adapted to meet all tastes, all are hardy save these species already mentioned, and in short, given sheltered conditions from hot sun and destructive wind, there is no family of truly British plants which remotely approaches that of the Ferns in varietal interest and amenability to culture. ¥ Cuas. T. Drurry, V.M.H., Pale ON ~ Ning pOEE) Lat LSU a al Ooi glee oie - ag “eS” 74a go — aS a a — a =. Cc RD ge oe gens . ee SN i. a a * NOV 5 1930 5, 4 og STON A, muse pre Ge... British ff ern — Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. “ mel 4 wy is , J 14 aad ‘. \ om aye ous he wb a: Cafe Sti 5 <= i. ’ id at o> van “Edi a ts" Ko ‘ > 5 - wre, F . Ps , his health, which renders it very dificult for him to do the a: needful when outside contributions are scanty, as is too - often the case. Verb. sat. sap. 2 = THE EDITOR. _New members are wanted, and the Editor would regard as a favour the receipt of name and address of any known Me citish Fern lover not on our list, and to whom we might —_ —_—_— 4 X * | a. | # 4 j . » |! 154 send a specimen copy of the GAzeTTE. The annual sub- scription to the Society is only 5s. from August to August, and entitles to four issues of the GazETTE, plus association with a large number of fellow students of our beautiful British Ferns. a THE British FERN GAZETTE, VoL. 2, Nos. 13 TO 24.—The Editor would again remind members that a small number of Vol. 2 have been bound into a very presentable volume of 313 pages and numerous illustra- tions. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to.our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of. The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure, as only a few are left. The subscriptions for 1916-17 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return post to 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. ) OUR FRONTISPIECE. POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM GRACILLIMUM CRANFIELD, © It is a special charm of the offspring of P. aculeatum pul- chervrimum Beavis that even among those plants recognised as gvacillimums scarcely any two are exactly alike. In my own small collection I have quite half a dozen gracillimums raised by Mr. Druery, besides-one raised by Mr. Cranfield, and several seedlings of my own. All these have their special and individual charms, and one would be reluctant to dispense with any one among them. The subject of the illustration in this number of the ‘ Gazette”’ has, > — I = T55 however (1916), come out as peculiarly distinct, and seems to deserve a separate name (that of the raiser), although it is still a gracillimum, and may, under some circumstances, be difficult to distinguish from others. It is marked by a somewhat more foliose character than the rest, and the ultimate segments, especially near the tips of the pinnz, are especially luxuriant; so much so, that by their weight they give the frond an elegant, drooping, and ostrich feather-like appearance, which is well shown in the illustration. The plant was raised by Mr. Cranfield some years ago and given as a small seedling to Mr. Henwood, who very kindly gave me an early aa from which in 1916 the illustration was taken. Of course, as soon as the distinct character of the plant was recognised, a piece (the first division, in fact) was sent back to the raiser, who has every reason to be proud of his bantling. ; EF, W. STANSFIELD. Reading, January, 1917. POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM GRACILLIMUM CRANFIELD. This peculiarly beautiful variety represents a further example of the diversity of forms which can be evolved from spores of one and the same variety when once a Species has broken away from its normal type. For further remarkable exemplifications of this capacity we need only refer to our previous illustrations and articles in our “Gazettes,” Vol. 1, Nos. 1 to 12, pp. 4, 24, 50, I19, 133, 226, 227, 271, 288; Vol. 2, Nos. 13 to 24, pp. 159, 200, 257, 285; and Vol. 3, No. 30, p. 123. The simple fact that sO many references have been made constitutes a fair proof of exceptional merit, while the photo (285) displays a wide divergence of form in opposite directions, which is entirely unique in our experience. 7 Tue EpIrTor. . Ap, te a fe Ol 156 SOME DIFFICULTIES OF AN AMATEUR. (Continued.) Another subject that was forcibly brought back to one’s mind while reading Dr. Stansfield’s article, is the utter chaos existing in the nomenclature of Ferns. He com- mences his article by stating that Lastvea dilatata is “‘ part of the Polystichum cristatum of Linnzeus, the Polypodium dilatatum of Hoffmann, the Polypodium multiflorum of Roth, and the Dryopteris avistata of the most modern school of botanists.” When on earth are we going to get any uniformity in naming our plants? One knows, of course, that many of the older names have been permanently deleted, but even in the enlightened year of 1916 botanical authorities still continue to call the same plant by different names. Pre- cedence—is it or is it not to be considered? Or is there © any real difficulty now in deciding which was the original name given to any particular plant? Kew, I believe, still calls the Male Fern Nephvodium filix mas, but the Americans prefer Dryopteris filix mas, while I suppose most members of the British Pteridological Society still choose to call it Lastvea filix mas. Is one to suppose that it is a matter of no great importance, or does each think the name he uses ~ is the correct one? Was the Vienna Congress a repre- — sentative and an authoritative one? If so, why is it not accepted everywhere? A difference in nomenclature, such as is found in the examples Blechnum spicant and Lomania spicant, is difficult enough to explain away—it is, I believe, one of Mr. Druery’s pet troubles—but there seems to be | less excuse for calling the same plant a Lastrea,a Nephro- | dium, an Aspidium and a Dryopteris, when no doubt is | entertained as to which genus the plant really does belong. | My small library of Fern books was again referred to, | with considerable interest. The generic names, Pteris, | 157 Adiantum, Cystopteris, Woodsia, Trichomanes, Hymeno- phyllum, Osmunda, Botrychium and Ophioglossum, were accepted by all the writers, and so need not be referred to again. Among the remaining genera, however, there was con- ; Siderable variation. Take, first, the Male Fern group. The Kew Handbook (Second Edition) puts these ferns in the genus Nephrodium. For this same genus the _ “London Catalogue of British Plants” prefers the name ‘Lastrea, which is also the name used by Babbington, and in Mr. Druery’s book. Hooker uses Nephrodium, while _ Mr. G. Claridge Druce, in his recent revision of Hayward’s a e% ' ie Ls bi % ‘- =. id a e Zz Pocket Book,’’ uses Dryopteris. Mr. Druce, by the way, is one of the best known and most progressive of our modern botanists. In the preface to the above-mentioned _“ Hayward,” he states that the names he employs are in accordance with the ‘‘ Vienna Actes” of nomenclature, * _ which, I believe, follows the law of priority very closely. Take, next, the Prickly Shield Fern group. Kew and _ Hooker here employ the generic name Aspidium, while - the London Catalogue, Druce, Druery and Babbington employ the name Polystichum. Lowe calls the Prickly _ Shield Fern Aspidium aculeatum and angulare, but raced: to describe the cultivated varieties under the ~Sub-section Polystichum., The Lady Fern is called an _ Asplenium by two (Kew and Hooker), and an Athyrium by the rest. The little annual Jersey Fern is included by all except one under Gymnogramme. Here, Hooker is the exception. He states that ‘‘the generic name Gram- _ mites, Swartz, has the right of priority over that of Gymno- 7) 7 gramma, Dest.—an opinion not apparently accepted by _ the Vienna Congress, or Mr. Druce would have used Pit. s& : The Hartstongue has been generally known as a Scolo- pendrium, but I find that long ago Babbington considered B -_ 158 the name Phyllitis more correct, and in this he is followed by the London Catalogue and by Druce. The Parsley Fern is another for which two different generic names are used. Hooker and Druery retain Allosorus, while all the rest employ the name Crypto- gramme, In the remaining ferns the trouble seems to arise not so much from accepting or ignoring the rule of precedence in nomenclature as from the different ideas as to the classification of them. Whatever generic name is used for the Lady Fern, there seems also to be some trouble in deciding whether it is to be considered a Spleenwort or not. This difficulty seems to be increased in the case of the fern known as the Alpine Polypody. Kew, Hooker and Babbington put it under the genus Polypodium, while the others do not approve of this, putting it under Athyrium. All the above-mentioned authorities are agreed as to the ‘genus of our Common Polypody, but the tendency now seems to be towards splitting off the Oak and Beech Ferns and putting them into a separate genus—Phegopteris. At any rate, the London Catalogue and Druce do so, and ‘the American botanists do likewise. As a final example, it might be mentioned that the little ‘Scaly Spleenwort is retained under Asplenium by Lowe, ‘by Druery and by Kew, while Druce, the London Cata- logue, Hooker and Babbington place it under Ceterach. All the above-mentioned books were compiled by men who can be justly called authorities. They nearly all give synonymous terms in brackets, but have deliberately chosen one of two or more names as that which is correct. But why all this variation? War time, perhaps, is not the happiest time to remind one of this sort of worry, but surely botanical knowledge .has now sufficiently advanced for such questions to be . E . os bbe a r - We eG HAS = : —s A. of 159 settled! Iam sure all keen students of the Fern World would thank the Editor or someone else of high authority in these matters fora ray of light on this dark subject. S. P. Row .anps. SPECIES AND VARIETY. Dr. F,. W. STANSFIELD. In the ‘‘ Gazette’’ of December, 1916, continued in this issue, Mr. Rowlands raises the very interesting and perti- ment question, ‘‘ What is a Species?” In a great measure he answers his own question by realising that “the division into species is a man-made convention.” In this I am persuaded that he is right, for no really satis- factory definition of a species has yet been generally accepted, even if it had been propounded, which is very questionable. The fact that among both zoologists and botanists we have always had ‘‘lumpers and splitters” is a practical confession that the word is undefinable. It is 4 agreed that a species means ‘‘a sort or kind,” but exactly _ how much difference is required to constitute a species is purely a matter of opinion and individual fancy. The result is that every man who aspires to be ‘‘an authority ” has his own pet species and genera, varieties and forms. Practically no two writers (unless one is a copyist of the other) are agreed as to the exact number of species among even such a small section of plants as the British ferns. Nevertheless, the fact that there is a large measure of agreement with regard to the great majority proves that _ there is something in the idea of a species. It is not a “mere figment of imagination. Mr. Rowlands has quoted a large number of differences of opinion as to British species _ among botanical writers, so it is unnecesary to labour this } point. There is, however, general agreement that ¢.g. the i > Se ee eS ee Oe ee ee 160 Aspleniums : marinum, trichomanes, viride, vuta-muraria, septen- tvionale, adiantum-mgvum and lanceolatum are distinct species. Also that the Lastveas : filix-mas, dilatata, montana and ngida are equally distinct. The question of species or variety comes in only when Aspleniwms Germanicum and acutum and Lastveas spinulosa cristata, uliginosa, emula, pseudo-mas and propingua come to be considered. It comesin again among the Polystichums, because there is difference of opinion as to whether P. aculeatum and angulave constitute one species or two. P. lonehitis is generally considered distinct, but there are grounds for doubting whether even this can always be separated from aculeatum. Mr. Rowlands does me the honour of assuming that I havea clear idea as to what I mean by a species as distinct from a variety. | Thus directly challenged, I will endeavour to formulate what I, myself, mean by a species. I do this with much diffidence, and without contesting the right of any other person to hold a different opinion. A species then I should consider as an aggregation of individuals, wild in Nature, having a large number of characters in common and resembling each other more than they resemble other individuals. It must be capable of holding its own in the struggle for existence, and must be marked off from other species by characters which can be precisely defined in words. What, then, isa variety? We must discriminate between ‘‘ botanical” varieties and varieties in our special fern sense, which latter are generally referred to, if referred to at all, by botanists as ‘‘ monstrosities.” Broadly speaking, a variety consists of a number of individuals resembling some particular species in most points, but differing in minor particulars, which, however, are capable of being precisely defined. It must ‘‘ come true’’ from seeds or spores in general, although it may sometimes revert to the parent species. It is this latter point which chiefly distinguishes a variety from a species. om It will be generally found in the case of a botanical variety that the origin is known, or that it crops up sporadically. If a variety has existed wild from time immemorial and always comes true from seed, it is generally regarded as a ; species, even though it may differ in very small degree a a ee wat ee —o from some other species. (Lo be continued). FERN PROPAGATION BY SPORES. _ Since the Fern spore differs materially in several ways: _ from a seed and requires different treatment in order to _ produce the Fern with which we are familiar, failure to _ propagate by its means is the rule rather than the excep: - tion with the amateur fern cultivator, an explanation of these differences which generally underly such failures may be of special service and lead to their avoidance. A _seed differs from a spore by being not merely a reproduc- tive body containing a vital germ which has been fertilized by the conjunction of two parental potencies, but this _ germ is associated with a supply of nutriment capable of _ supporting the infant plant and giving it a fair start in life. The spore, on the other hand, has no such store, and consists solely of a protective husk or shell containing a reproductive cell devoid as yet of a fertilized germ. As a consequence of this simplicity it can be, and is much Smaller than any seed, and is always so small as to be _ microscopic, or only just visible to the naked eye, while the seed, as we know, may vary from the very minute up to huge bodies as large as a man’s head, the Seychelles _-Cocoanut, for instance. The seed, as we are aware, only _ requires to be placed in soil or subjected to a similar en- _ vironment of humidity and temperature, and the vitalized _ germ can avail itself of the contained nutrition to burst its 162 protecting cover, extend an incipient root, and become straightway an independent plant of the parental type. The spore, on the other hand, seeing that as an unfertilized cell it is as yet an imperfect organism, in- capable of reproduction, must, when shed, find an environ- — ment of particularly favourable character where it can remain undisturbed long enough for it to burst its protec- tive shell, and by multiplication of the single cell it contains, construct a scale-like organism, no larger than a herring-scale, on the under side of which there are gener- ated male and female organs, the homologues of flowers, through which the essential operation of seed formation and fertilization can be effected, and the parental frond-bearing Fern reproduced. Now, when we consider that the spore is microscopic, and the whole of the reproductive opera- tions are effected within the area of a herring-scale, and that it is on the under side of this scale that this is done, it is easy to understand that it is only about three-quarters of a century ago that the true nature of the operation was. discovered and its practical identity with that of flowering plants made clear. Leaving, however, these technical points aside, which we have only mentioned to emphasize the necessity of observing the rules hereafter laid down to ensure successful culture by such delicately organized means, we will now give in detail the method which we ourselves have found most effective to that end. At the outset it will be seen that the first essentials are— 1. A constantly humid soil. 2. Freedom from disturbance by worms or other insects. 3. Immunity from fungi or other competitive growths, engendered by the persistent humidity. ; . To start with, we usually use small shallow red earthen- ware pans, about 14 inches deep and five in diameter. These we drain well by placing broken pieces of pots over the holes in the bottom. We then fill them up with a 163 mixture of loamy soil and leaf mould and coarse silver sand, forming an open porous compost, which we top with a sprinkling of loam. This we press down flat, so that a level soil is left with about half an inch free space between the surface and the eventual glass cover. To secure the contents from subsequent disturbance by worms or invasion by intrusive fungi, etc., we now place a piece of paper on the soil, and upon this we pour boiling water until this runs out scalding hot at the bottom of the pan, the contents of which is thus entirely cleared of worms, germs, etc., leaving a clear field for the Fern spores when these are introduced. We next cover the pan with a piece of glass and allow it to cool. When quite cold we take the pan into the dwelling-house, 7.e. away from an atmosphere. probably charged with undesired spores, and removing the glass and paper scatter the spores EXTREMELY THINLY and evenly over the soil, replace the glass, and the opera- tion is complete. N.B.—The spores must lie quite on the surfaceand not buried. The panshould then be placed ina. saucer, in which a little water should be maintained, the bottom edge of the pan just touching the water. The soil is thus placed at a slight angle to the light, while the risk of worms intruding from below is obviated. Nothing now is needed but to place the arrangement where it can remain and be easily seen, and receive plenty of light, but mo direct sunshine. If the sowing be effected in the late- spring, or in a warm house, say, in a Wardian case, or under a bell-glass in a living room, in about three weeks the first evidence of success will be visible as a faint green flush on the surface of the soil, showing that the spores have- germinated and begun to form the prothalli or herring- _scale-like growth above described, and as time goes on each of these tiny growths will expand, and if the pre- caution of very thin sowing has not been observed, will: begin to overlap each other.. If by so doing they become: 164 densely crowded, small patches can be pricked out an inch apart, and inserted into other pans similarly prepared and sterilized by boiling water as above. If not crowded, the next stage, in a week or two later, will be the appear- ance of little fronds, and after this growth continues fairly — rapidly until removal is obviously necessary, and complete success may be recorded. Unless the cultivator has been very careful to avoid the admixture of the spores with © those of other perhaps undesirable species when sowing was effected as above described, it is fairly certain that ‘a considerable number of these will assert themselves in the offspring, and by this time they will be fairly recognizable, and should be extracted and treated according to their merit, z.e. either treated as weeds and ruthlessly destroyed, or, it may be, as acquisitions worthy of excep- tional treatment, and treated as such with special care. In sowings of fine forms of varietal Ferns, it is at this ‘stage that the youngsters afford the most interesting study, as exceptional value is often quite evident to the expert in the young fronds when but a few inches high. Under ordinary conditions ripe Fern spores may be found in June or July, and then is the best time to gather and sow — them, As a frond may yield millions of spores, each little. patch otf capsules containing scores of pods containing spores, our plan is to sever a pinnule or smaller portion of a frond and place it on a piece of white paper, when in an hour or two a quite sufficient number for a sowing will be ‘shed, while a too generous admixture of undesirables will be avoided. To scrape or shake a whole frond over the pan, as is usually done, is to start a crop of many thousands of all sorts at the expense of the élite, and probably frustrate all previous precautions taken to obtain a pure culture. Cuas. T, Davery; Vian eee o-— 165 FERNERY WEEDS. uray, when for our choicest Ferns we provide glass — in a conservatory, which we keep as cool d moist as possible for the sake of the pets it contains, ot ther forms of vegetation make their appearance, and if not uppressed are as prone as the weeds out of doors to assert . would-be monopoly, and do their best to oust the proper sccupants. Equally naturally, theconditions being different, e find these weeds to be mostly different species to the out- side ones, and sometimes to be so pretty as to render their rastic suppression somewhat of a trial to the admirer of Vegetative beauty. First and foremost, of course, since he occupants proper shed their myriads of spores every ear under very favourable conditions for their germina- ion, many of these succeed in reaching the frond stage, ind some few varietal forms of moderate merit seem to be mndowed with special vitality, and if not weeded out will lez savily handicap their more select associates. These, hen, constitute one section of what we must, with proper egard to the welfare of the élite, treat as weeds and eradicate on similar lines. In this connection, however, he fern lover should always keep his eye open for prizes, or stray seedlings may appear of the choicest forms, hough it is remarkable what an extensive crop of very nferior ones turn up whose parentage under such circum- stancesisapuzzle. If, however, we havea single specimen ) of what is known as the “ Craigii”’ section of Lady Fern, f@ may rely upon its vagrant offspring springing up every- where and displaying all its imperfections and eccentricities Qn a liberal scale, though very rarely will there be one mongst them which is worth bringing on. The Lastreas, pale Fern and Broad Buckler Fern, too, come very freely, ind in their true varietal forms, asa rule. The inferior or Bogue ” types, however, form appropriate presents to 166 those visitors who, by bitter experience, you know to be such as will subsequently explain that the gardener forgot to plant them, or the maid forgets to water them, or some similar excuse for that neglect, which would make the giver ‘‘wild’”’ had he entrusted them with something ‘‘rich and rare.’’ Of a lower type of vegetation than Ferns are the various species of Marchantia or Liver- worts, which do their best to cover the surface of the soil with a dense mass of overlapping verdure. ‘These are very beautiful botanically considered, and their various. forms of fertilization are interesting, some like tiny turn- stiles, some with fluted domes or stalks, some with shallow cups filled apparently with tiny green eggs, and so on. These, however, can form so thick a mat over, for instance, the soil in the pots and pans of Polypodies as to practically imprison the rising fronds, and consequently have to be cleared away from time to time. Another, and this is. really a pest, is the common Ovalis acetosella or Wood- sorrel, which sends its slender tough stolons in all directions, and if left alone will so tie up even the crown- forming ferns as to hinder development seriously. Its. seedlings come up all over the place as the plant, Balsam fashion, has explosive seed vessels, and shoots their contents when ripe far and wide. Another weed is Sibthor pen europea, a delicate creeping plant, which can hardly _ be debited with much damage, and indeed festoons the pots. and pans so prettily with its light coloured small leafed foliage that we usually leave it alone. Of this there are three varieties, green, golden, and a variegated white and green, which, however, is too delicate to holdits own, and has only repaid repeated introduction by persistent dis- appearance. Another of like harmless kind is a Séla- ginella, which sows itself and spreads and forms a pretty adjunct without any tendency to over self-assertion. Occasionally, of course, the common outside weeds are: | a Ri) 167 introduced with the soil, but these are not assertive under shady Fern conditions, and are easily removed. Mosses of various species sometimes appear, but not in our experience to any pernicious extent, but where impure water is used, or rather over used, Conferve will clothe the sodden soil with such a dense mat of slender fibres as to seriously handicap the plant concerned, and this should be picked off persistently to enable the soil to be aerated, and water judiciously withheld to check it further. Although scarcely to be classed as a Fernery Weed, though really a weed among my Ferns, I may chronicle ‘here a curious sport, showing that even the weeds have their vagaries. The wild violets in the open is in my garden somewhat assertive, and recently while stooping down to examine a clump of dwarf congested Athyria, my attention was attracted to some curiously deeply frilled and fringed foliage which I took at first for an extra pretty Hartstongue. To my surprise, however, it turned out to be a violet and not a fern at all, of which most of the leaves were of this ornate character. I managed to get out a ‘Specimen to pot up, and hope to obtain a constant plant. Some thirty years ago, curiously enough, when Fern hunting in Devon, I found a precisely similar form, which I sent at once to the late Mr. G. B. Wollaston, whose garden was a museum of such curios of vegetation, in addition to his renowned Fern collection. Subsequently, however, I learnt that he has lost it. I hope I shall be more successful. Cras. T.. Daokay,, Vie. o,,. E.L.S. FERN FRINGES. The frond of a Fern is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful developments in the vegetable world. There is little doubt that if we could trace it back to its origin, we 168 should find it to be an insignificant excrescence on some humble growth akin to the Liverworts, which still in lonely guise are apt to cover the pots and pans in which these developed relatives are growing. In some of these Liver- worts, indeed, we find small and extremely pretty projec- tions in the shape of turnstiles and ridged tabular growths which bear spores as do the Fern fronds, though in very different fashions. In others we see beautiful trans- lucent cups seated on the surfaces and filled with little green bodies which are, however, not spores, but practic- ally detached buds to which no Fern is known to beara parallel. Anyway, it is certain that from such humble beginning fronds originated in association with a basal bud which produced fronds again, while in time, eons © of time, inconceivable to: the mind of man, these became differentiated in all directions, size and cutting, until we have arrived at the many thousands of distinct types which — now people the world from the minute grass-like Asplenum septentvionale, or even smaller forms, up to the majestic Tree Ferns of Antipodean Fern Glens and Forests. ‘The — curious part of Fern history is that, judging by the fossil remains, even as far back as the earliest Coal age, Ferns were as highly developed, and appear to have existed in even greater profusion than now, since that was indeed the Fern age, Ferns and their allies constituting the main vegeta- — tion, hence for their evolution from the humble beginning suggested, we have to antedate all our required cons prior to the Coal formations hitherto discovered. The idea makes the brain reel; and yet must be accepted. Certain © phases, however, of Fern development or evolution appear to have been left to quite recent times, since if we may judge by the records gathered by geologists the marked varietal forms, of which such an‘abundance have-turned up under natural conditions in the last century, either did not ~ exist in those old days, or else, which.~ve must admit as 169 possible, their rarity has precluded their appearance among the fossil remains alluded to. Another fact, and one somewhat more to the point, is that it is under man’s selective care that some of the most extraordinary forms have originated, and amongst these must be classed the fringed forms we have in view. The most remarkable of these belong to the species of Scolopendrium or Harts- tongue, and from their history we gather that under Matural conditions their extreme capacity for fringing would hardly be likely to appear, since it is only brought out by close Wardian case culture. On the other hand, ‘one of the two wild finds from which our examples sprang “was S. v. crispum Drummondig, found many years ago by Miss Drummond near Falmouth, and this, even under ‘ordinary culture, sends up fronds of two sorts, one long, Matrow, and smooth-edged, but frilled and tasselled and Bibeat oy curved, switchback fashion in the plane of the ‘frond, while the other fronds are similar in general character, but with the edges fringed throughout with long ‘slender projections, which are Be ee at the tip, and when cut off and layered extend into prothalli, which yield. typical plants in the normal way. Here, therefore, we have a fringed form which originated naturally as such; in the second case, however, the natural wild find was of Most unlikely type, S. v. undulato rigidum, a form which as- its descriptive name implies ‘is only slightly frilly and of ‘stiffhabits. The edges are quite smooth. Messrs. Stans- field, however, on sowing its spores found that it per- sistently yielded a percentage of quite different progeny, Viz. with thin papery fronds deeply frilled and beautifully fringed throughout. These, though assuming thus a true plumose character, retained partial fertility, and hence in time a fimbriate section was established, known as S. ». Stansfieldii, which furthermore assumed more or less heavy’ ‘Crests, which differentiated the plants still more from their - - fi 170 stiff fronded progenitor. The fringing of this section differs from that of Drummondiz in being shorter, and although it is believed that Mr. H. Bolton, of Carnforth, raised a batch of youngsters by layering the edges (i.e, aposporously), both Dr. Stansfield and the writer have so far failed to evoke a prothalloid growth from the tips, while with Drummondiz it is most easily done. Despite the great beauty of the Stansfieldii section, as developed ‘by the Stansfields and by Mr. Cropper, it is in the Drum- mondiz progeny that we have the finest types, and in the plant in the writer's possession, obtained, he believes, as Wardian case culture every tip is surmounted by a trans- a seedling from Mr. T. Bolton, of Carnforth, the tendency _ to produce two kinds of fronds is completely eliminated, every frond is extremely deeply fringed, and under lucent prothallus. The fronds are curved in their plane, deeply frilled and tipped by a spreading fringed crest, the ‘‘ensemble”’ being one of the most lovely ferns con- ceivable, and appropriately named S. v. Drummondia — superbum. Under ordinary greenhouse culture, robust plants become beautifully fringed, but lack the final touch of adherent prothalli, and much of the delicacy induced by — | : | | | | case culture, which seems to agree with it perfectly. In Mr. Bolton’s hands we have seen other plants of this | section bearing extremely heavy crests, and apparently presenting even greater possibilities than our plants, but in this connection a very curious thing has happened. With his permission we cut off a frond base from his best plant, with a view to obtaining a specimen through the buds such bases produce under proper culture. In due time two buds appeared, one on each side. The original plant whence the base was taken has no trace of the plain edged fronds thereon, as we have described by the original find, but of these two basal plants one has all the fronds perfectly smooth edged, the other is all fimbriation and | | | ) | | | 171 «crests, a proof that the original tendency is still in the blood, and also that bulbils are not absolutely reliable for the propagation of varieties. Furthermore, Mr. Bolton gave us portions of the fringed crests of some plants, which when layered produced abundance of prothalli and young plants, all but one of which appear to be fringed, and that is quite plain edged, the old blood presumably teasserting itself here also. Plants, indeed, so produced vary considerably ; in another culture, from Drummondize itself, we have a true marginate foi but with certain Drummondiz features which preclude the idea of a stray. ‘The biological question underlying these fringed forms, especially “the aposporous ones, is whether it is not a reversion to a far back ancestral lichen type, a possibility which recommends itself to the cultivator’s mind when he has but to cut off a piece of the edge and peg it down, in ‘order to see it grow out in all directions and cover the ‘pot or pan with proliferous prothalli in profusion, imitating a Marshantia precisely. In other families we have also fringed forms. Polypodium vulgare Cornubiense often fringes its most finely cut fronds with long ligulate projections. Birkenhead’s P. ang. plumosissimum crowds its delicate Mossy fronds with an outgrowth of similar character, moss 0n moss, and in Bolton’s A. f. f. Clavissima we see the slender tips of pinnz and pinnules run out into prothalli tipped tongues, while finally in L. p. m. apospora, a beautifully- crested son of the King of the Male Ferns, but cursed, alas! with a consumptive constitution, every point is only waiting to touch the soil, in order to root as a prothallus, and breed a crop of asexual youngsters like itself. Cuas. T. Druery, F.L.S., V.M.H. il ae Ss ge? FERN SPORTS. Although the phenomenon of ‘‘ mutation ”’ or ‘‘ sporting ” is undoubtedly general through all organic life, animal as well as vegetable, naturally it is in the latter that it mainly appeals to the horticulturist, and particularly to the selec- tive cultivator. -It is often assumed, but in our opinion erroneously, that cultivation is the inducing factor in the changes observed, but continued research in the direction of the wild forms of ferns, especially British ones, has shown that an immense number of such mutations occur in perfectly wild plants growing under quite natural conditions, where the cultural factor is altogether absent. We quite admit that long continued protection from adverse conditions, coupled with liberal treatment, will in course of time lead to stronger and stronger growth; but this is quite a different thing from those marked structural differences seen in ‘‘mutations” proper, and which are. almost invariably transmissible by inheritance through the seed or the spore. These differences are fixed, and will be — retained under natural conditions of growth, but those which are induced by high feeding, etc., will assuredly return to the normal type when these stimulative influences are withdrawn. As a rule with ferns, if we can trace the past history ~ of a marked abnormal form, we find that either it or its near progenitor was found asa wild specimen among the common forms of our woods, glens and hedge banks, and although it is unfortunately usually very difficult to trace the pedigree of exotic ‘“‘sports,” there is little doubt that the original departure occurred under similar conditions. However, it must be borne in ‘mind that many exotics are raised, and have been raised for decades, by the thousand or even the million under circumstances which are all in favour of any departure or ‘‘sport” being observed. ? 173 From the sowing of the spore to the potting up of the saleable plant, they are passing under the inspection of expert discoverers, so to speak, and are not likely to escape notice. The wild ‘‘sport,” on the other hand, may originate in the midst of myriads of its normal fellows on a wild hillside far from the haunts of men, or in the deep recesses of a wood where the chance of its discovery is just as remote as under the opposite conditions described it is likely. Since this experience has shown that despite this handicap many hundreds of wild sports have been found, it is clear that given a like percentage or per millage of variation among the myriads of cultivated youngsters, it is no wonder that a large amount of variation is discovered among them, and it is by no means necessary to impute this at all to cultural stimulus. Furthermore, a vast number of plants raised under cultivation are from already abnormal parents, and this, it is well known, tends to further variation. Among British ferns, as we have indicated, the great majority of sports under culture can be traced back to a wild source, but among exotics one of the most striking examples to the contrary is that of the innumerable forms of Nephrolepis exaltata, and other species, which have appeared of late years, as derived from species which originally appeared incapable of any marked variation. In N. exaltata we have, indeed, one of the most unpro- misingly simple forms conceivable, a mere once divided frond of plain sword-like outline, and yet when this once began to become decompound, 7.¢. more than once divided, _it proceeded to vary, so to speak, by leaps and bounds, producing by its thready stolons, and not as usual through its spores, a succession of variants in the way not only of finer and finer dissection, culminating so far in N. e. Willmott@ and Marshalli compaeta, but also of different 174 detail, so that scores of distinct varieties have been eptceeal | Here we have no wild progenital ‘‘ mutation” to start with, but even here, it may be argued, that in a fern raised as this was from the outset by the myriad for the market, there was always a good chance that the starting ‘‘ sport” should present itself under culture, without that culture being necessarily the inducing factor. In short, the moral of these notes is, we contend, that we are still as far as ever from knowing the reason as das of these subtle but invaluable changes. Cuas. ‘T.-Druery, V.M.H.) oie BRITISH FERNS: SPRING TREATMENT. Since the early spring is undoubtedly the best peril of the year for the treatment of hardy Ferns as regards planting, shifting, division, and propagation generally, a few lines in that connection may be apyopfos. ‘The forty odd species indigenous to Great Britain fall into two categories, viz. the deciduous ones, the fronds of which die down in the autumn, and the evergreen whose fronds persist through the winter, and only perish in the second season when new ones arise to take their place. To the first category belong the Lady Ferns (Athyrium filix femina), most of the Buckler Ferns (Lastreas or Nephro- diums), the Bladder Ferns (Cystopteris), and the Royal Fern (Osmunda vegalis), three species of Polypodium (the Oak, Beech and Limestone), and the Bracken (Péevis aqutlina). The evergreens embrace the Shield Ferns (Polystichum, three species), the Hartstongue (Scolopendvium), all the Asplenia (Spleenworts), the Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant), and the Common Polypody (P. vulgare). The remainder of the native species are so little adapted for general 175 cultivation that we may ignore them. At the time of writing (February) all the deciduous species are only represented by either underground stolons, and therefore quite invisible, or by projecting stumps or crowns in which are contained the incipient fronds of the coming season, while the evergreens bear the fronds of the previous season in a more or less shabby and damaged condition if they have been grown outside, and had there- fore to stand the brunts of wintry storms and frosts, while under cover they may still be quite presentable and remain so until replaced by new ones. In either case root action will already have been commenced, as may be ascertained by turning out pot plants, and in the case of crown-forming species, it will be seen that new roots are springing from the bases of the future fronds, each one of which produces its own independent bunch. The new fronds, however, in either case, evergreen or deciduous, are still dormant, and hence no better time can be chosen than the present for separating crown from crown for propagating purposes, since not only is there no risk of damage to the future crop of fronds, but after the long rest the vigour of the plant is at its maximum to aid in re-establishment when the divisions are planted as separate individuals or the original plants replaced in the soil. The crown-forming ferns develop their fronds in more or less definite circlets, shuttle- cock fashion, and are easily recognized as consisting of several individuals where these, in the form of lateral growths, have been allowed to develop. Each one can be separated from the mass by means of a blunt trowel inserted between them, and when thus forced apart each will come away with its own independent set of roots, all ready to establish it as an independent individual when potted or planted in the open. A great point is to avoid damaging the incipient roots aforesaid, and also to take Care that the young crown is planted at once, and not 176 allowed to dry out in the least by exposure to dry air. In dry weather, too, care must be taken to keep them watered until obvious growth commences, showing that root action has recommenced. With the evergreens all dead matter should be removed, but absolutely green foliage should be retained, as it undoubtedly still plays a part in stimulating growth. Ferns with underground | stolons may be propagated by divisions, each piece separated consisting of a section of the stolon or creeping rootstock with its bunch of roots and a frond or two of evergreen, or growing tips showing incipient fronds if otherwise. In the case of the Polystichums, a number of varieties, among them some of the finest, bear bulbils or young plants on the old fronds, and these can be used for propagative purposes by layering the bulbil-bearing sections in good soil, pegging them down and keeping close until rooted. By attending to these instructions the number of plants can be materially increased, and, what is more, experience has demonstrated that Ferns ~ develop far more strongly when confined to single crowns, and display their beauty to greater advantage than when allowed to form bunches of many crowns, so that a double advantage is gained by these operations. It should be understood that in giving this advice we have in view not the common or normal forms of British Ferns, which the costermonger hawks at a penny or twopence per root, but the great number of far more beautiful varieties which may now be obtained from such firms as Mays, Stansfields, Perry and others at very moderate prices indeed. Cuas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S, ritish ffern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. June, 1917. = 5 ~~ oq . ss a % - a &: he i - a D2 oy aa = » EDITED. BY: meARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., F.LS. * ‘4 k: PUBLISHED BY 3 THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY = (Hon. Secretaryy, C. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, Loxdon, W.) KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. Anag a oe vee. ‘ : - ‘ = 2 ea wane v1 Ww tH fy < a < H Wn — aa Q < op Se = aa ©) fy < Z x H Zz © = 9) a (2) as H ap < e THE BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. ' Vou. 3. FONE, 1917. No. 3% CONTENTS. PAGE cesar mOTES. ».. 177 Our FRONTISPIECE (eae Winsted PETERS eaatuie F. i. S ) 178 SPECIES AND VARIETIES (continued) “ e is - 178 A Serious Fern PEstT.. “ ne is oe “ 182 Firmy Ferns. : ap oP “ep 4 187 FERN Beton IN ae ean en bs = é. 190 _ Mysterious FERNS .. 5 “ xis Le oe a 197 EDITORIAL NOTES, ~ Owing largely to the inclemency of the weather, there has been little or no improvement in the Editor’s health, and he is therefore once again compelled to claim indul- gence for any shortcomings. ) Tue British FerN Gazette, Vou. 2, Nos. 13 To 24.—The Editor would again remind members that a small number of Vol. 2 were bound into a very pre- sentable volume of 313 pages and numerous illustra- tions. As no reprint will be available, and the books are widely recognized as most valuable contributions to our Fern literature, the opportunity of acquiring copies, even extra ones, should not be lost sight of. The price to members is 3s. gd. post free, and speedy application is advisable to secure, as very few are left. The subscriptions for 1916-17 being due in advance, ‘the Hon. Secretary would feel much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return Pose to ll, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W. 178 OUR FRONTISPIECE. LASTREA MONTANA FORMOSA-CRISTATA F.L.S. for the photo of this very beautiful form of the Lemon- scented Fern Lastrvea montana we are indebted to Doctor F. W. Stansfield, as representing one of the best varieties raised by Mr. W. Barnes from a wild find of a species considered at the outset as rarely liable to vary at all, but which subsequently proved quite otherwise and most prolific in this direction. SPECIES AND VARIETIES. (Continued.) | On the other hand, a very distinct thing, found wild only once, is regarded as a_ variety. For instance, Cystopteris (fragilis) Dickieana, found only once wild, is regarded as a variety only, although it comes perfectly true from spores, and might conceivably hold its own as a wild plant. If a mountain side had been found covered with it, or a mile or two of shore largely — inhabited by it, it would almost certainly have been called a species. Something of the kind actually happened in the case of Pseudathyrium flexile, which, when first found by Mr. Backhouse ‘‘in one place only in Glen Prosen,” was called a variety of P. alpestve. On seeing specimens, and being informed that it was “most abundant in Glen Prosen,” Newman immediately described it as a species. It has since been found in a number of localities by our president, Mr. Alex. Cowan, and others, but the plants — vary from each other in the degree to which they depart from P. alpestve. In other words, there are connecting — links with alpestve, although I am not sure that it merges imperceptibly into that species. Now this matter of 179 connecting links is the stumbling block which prevents the three forms of the old Lastvea filix-mas (species of Wollaston) from being universally accepted as species. The types are distinct enough, and the distinctions can be precisely defined ; each one is also capable of holding its own in the struggle for existence, since wide districts can often be found in which each is the prevailing fern, if not the sole occupier, but, unfortunately, for precise botanical classifica- tion, there are numerous individuals which do not belong altogether to one type but present characters of two kinds, -orintermediate characters. Inthis and similar cases I think we may fairly fall back upon the term sub-species. They are, in fact, species in process of evolution, not yet com- pletely separated. It is quite conceivable that in no very long time the intermediate individua's may die out (they are even now much less numerous than the types), and we should then have three fully developed species. In the case of the Polystichums aculeatum and angulare, we have _two sub-species in which the process of separation has gone a little further; that is to say, the intermediate individuals ‘are much less numerous, and in many localities are scarcely to be found at all. In North Hampshire, how- ever, they are frequent, and plants are often to be found which are difficult to assign to one ‘‘species”’ rather than tothe other. To go back to L. filix-mas and its varieties or sub-species, Mr. Rowlands, quoting Babington, refers to afimis as a variety. This is the same thing as Moodre’s L.f. mas incisa, and is by Newman given the same rank as his _ Borverii (pseudo-mas of Wollaston) and abbreviata (propinqua of Wollaston). It has also been described as a species (Aspidium affine and Polystichum affine) by German botanists. The figure of it in Moore’s Nature-printed Ferns, how- ‘ever, appears to me to be much nearer to the typical jilix- mas than either psewdo-mas or propingua. I have certainly seen wild individuals much more distinct than Moore’s -, - MW figure, and I have in my garden a plant found by the late Mr. Barnes (L. f. mas incisa, Barnes), which is quite as distinct | as either pseudo-mas or pyopingua, and which, if it were i found wild in the same profusion, would be quite as much | entitled to rank as a sub-species as either of them. It must be regarded, I think, as a variety, to be distinguished | from a sub-species only by its, hitherto, smaller power of | colonization. ; What, then, about the ‘horticultural’ varieties in | which we, as fern-growers, are particularly interested? They are, in most cases, quite as distinct as jim ‘‘botanical’’ varieties, and, indeed, often much more so; | they are capable, in most cases, of reproducing themselves ’ fairly truly from spores. What, then, is the bar to their ranking as varieties proper in the botanical sens3? It is | that they are found wild mostly as zsolated individuals, and not in considerable colonies. Polypodium v. semilacerum, which is frequent in the West of Ireland and fairly so in some parts of England, is often recognised as a variety by those who would deny the title to the quite equally distinct, but not equally common, P. v. cvistatum ; and we | know that P. Cambricum was described as a species by Linnzus, although it is devoid of one of the essential parts of a fern (v.c. fructification), and is therefore in- capable of reproducing itself from spores. It must be admitted that there is some ground for the term of abuse ‘‘monstrosity,’’ which has been so indiscriminately applied to horticultural varieties, inasmuch as in the early days of fern collecting many depauperations and deformities were | gathered, propagated, and named. ‘The British Pterido- logical Society has,.- however, since its foundation, set its | face against the naming and perpetuation of mere ugliness. — i If the word ‘‘monstrosity’’ could be restricted to those | forms which are less beautiful than the parent species, it would have a useful application, but I imagine that but Ss SS = SS — = See SO = = = —— = = = = ISI few of these now survive in cultivation, and with the multiplication of beautiful and symmetrical forms there is mo excuse for the cultivation of abortions. Of course, it is a matter of taste as to what constitutes beauty, and what is beauty to one may be ugliness to another. I have _heard, for instance, of cresting being condemned i» toto as a deformity, and an eminent gardening authority ‘‘ would _as soon have a dog with a tail on the end of its nose”’ as acrested fern. Most of us, however, look upon cresting, so long as it is symmetrical, as a pleasing variation. I think it must be conceded that the essence of beauty ina fern is symmetry, and although some ferns which are not perfectly symmetrical may, for other reasons, be worth growing, the absence of this quality must always be looked upon as a defect. Returning now to Mr. Rowlands and his very reason- ‘able complaints as to the absence of uniformity in the -Mames given to genera and species, even when it is i ‘tTegarded asa settled question what these are, I must admit ‘that I personally take little interest in questions of mere “Priority, especially as the names first given, so far as these can be ascertained, are often absurdly inappropriate. When a name is in practically universal use, it seems a pity to alter it because some person, perhaps in the dark ages, called it by some other name long since forgotten. ‘There would seem to be no finality in this matter, unless some researcher can discover the names given by Adam. If, however, the high scientific persons who try to settle ‘these things will only agree among themselves, either as the result of a Vienna Congress or by some other method, ‘I promise that I, for one, will conform to their decision. Dryopteris avistata will serve me just as well as Lastrea Milatata, Phyllitis Scolopendvium, as well as Scolopendrium vulgare, and ‘‘a rose by any other name would smell as Sweet,” but the trouble is that as soon as one becomes B 182 accustomed to a new name, another alteration is made, and so on ad infinitum. Up to the present, in writing for the ‘‘ Gazette,’”’ I have used the names under which I was brought up, simply because, in my judgment, they are those best understood by my readers. PF, W. STANSFIELD. ~ Reading, January, 1917. A SERIOUS FERN PEST. The following matter appeared partly in the “ British Fern Gazette,’’ Vol. 2, No. 13, but is of such importance that we have no hesitation in reproducing Sir F. Moore’s addition, and suggesting the wisdom of submitting either the weevils or the grubs in suspicious cases to experts for their opinion before it is too late, as when once estab- lished it appears to be almost impossible to save the plant attacked. EDITOR. Our Native Ferns are, as a rule, so free from either disease or pests that we are apt to think there is no necessity for being on our guard against danger. Buta ~ recent experience of mine has been of a very startling nature, and I am sure the readers of the ‘‘ Gazette” will thank me for a warning with reference to a danger, which if not common is certainly terrible. For some time a large and exceptionally fine collection of Native Ferns with which I am acquainted was observed to lack its usual vigour; the crowns developed unevenly, making much less than their usual number of fronds, and the fronds produced in many cases were very unequal in size and finish. Under the impression that what was wanted was re-planting and new compost, the collection was lifted and very carefully re-planted. Unhappily the 183 results this year, instead of being improved, were so much worse that a thorough inspection was instituted, and I am sorry to say that a very alarming discovery has been made. The whole collection has been found to be infested with a white grub which forms the larva of a weevil. These pests appear to burrow downwards from the top; they hollow out the stems of the fronds and work right into the very heart of the crowns, so much so that their favourite resting place would seem to be the cells where the fronds for the succeeding year are in process of .formation. The melancholy feature of this discovery is *that unhappily there appears to be no cure if once the pest gets established. The collection to which I refer, so far as it is affected, is about to be destroyed, and all the infected soil is to be removed. The importance of giving ‘publicity to the matter consists in the forearming which arises from forewarning. It is quite possible that if the approach of the marauder was recognised early its ravages might be stayed. What is suggested is a very aehdl examination wherever petabishad Ferns show signs of failure or lack of vigour. So far as the habits of the weevil have been observed, it appears to attack chiefly the Polystichums and Scolopendviums; the Athyviums and _Lastreas seem likely to escape, and no inroad has been made upon the Polypodiums. I have ascertained that the name of the insect is Syagrius intyudens. H. KinGsmitt Moore. With reference to above we have, with the kind aid of Mr. F. J. Chittenden, of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens at Wisley, ascertained that the insect in question isa Weevil of Australian origin, waich has found admission to this country doubtless with imported plants, and has proved terribly destructive to Ferns in the Glasnevin Gardens at Dublin. The insect is very fully described in | | : . . 184 a paper by J. Mangan, B.A., etc., in the ‘“ journals Economic Biology,” Vol. III. (1908), pp. 84-90, with several plates, but according to his notes its attacks had so far been exclusively confined to hot-house Ferns. This, however, judging by the material sent us by the Rev. H. Kingsmill Moore, would appear to be no longer the case, Since such material consisted of stout caudices of Poly- stichum angulave, and his note refers to other species which would certainly not receive hot-house treatment.* About a dozen specimens of the living beetle were sent to us for inspection. Both these and the material were at once immersed in boiling water to prevent risk of escape. The Weevil is named Syagvius intrudens, and is very much smaller than the Vine Weevil, Otsorhynchus sulcatus, with which we are only too familiar already, being about one- third the size, with a much rougher cuticle and a com- paratively larger proboscis. The grubs are white and curved, similar to those of the Vine Weevil, but on the same smaller scale. The damage done by the grub is effected differently to that effected by the Vine Weevil, the eggs being laid, not in the soil, but in depressions gnawed into the frond stalks into which the grubs burrow when hatched, thus destroying the fronds to a much greater extent, the frond, however robust, being crippled or destroyed. The beetles, however, attack the frond laminz in the same way as does the Vine Weevil, viz. by gnawing from the edges. When severely affected, this suppression of proper frond growth by the grub appears to weaken the central axis, and so lead eventually to the entire perishing of even large established plants. That the actual axis of growth is directly destroyed we are inclined to doubt, as on dissecting the material sent we could find * The Rev. H. K. Moore confirms this having visited the collec- tion, which was grown entirely in the open, 185 no burrowings in its vicinity, though the single grub we found was entangled in the scales of the frond bases (Polystichum). We could find no traces of attack upon the _ roots or undersides of the caudices, as with the grubs of the Vine Weevil. The fronds alone appear to be devoured. As with the Vine Weevil, it has been found that complete immersion in water of pots or pans, when these are employed, compels the beetles to leave the soil almost immediately and climb the frond stalks, where they are easily captured, thus supplying a means of reducing their numbers where such immersion is possible. Both beetle and grub appear to be immune from the action of any insecticide remedy which the plants can withstand, even hydrocyanic vapour failing to kill them, while immersion in water for a long time leaves the grubs unharmed. Under these circumstances it is almost, if not _ quite, impossible to get rid of the pest if once established in immovable plants, since practically the only way of _ eradicating it is to immerse the pots or pans whenever it is _ noticed that the fronds are attacked by the beetle, which is _ purely a night feeder. This, if persisted in throughout the season, is fairly effective. Should any of our readers come across a Weevil of this small type, we should like to see it, not necessarily alive, but preferably killed by hot water. Incidentally we may mention that although the affected Caudices sent us were immersed in boiling water before dissection, some pieces being dropped on to damp sand in a stoppered bottle after that operation are already developing, despite the scalding, numerous bulbils on the freshly exposed surfaces in the shape of small white pimples, an indication that resuscitation and even pro- pagation is possible, even when the plant is seemingly “quite destroyed. (Vide also ‘“* A Resuscitated Collection,” Vol. I., p. 251.) Tue EDpITor. < Ys 4 186 RoyaL BoTanicaAL GARDENS, GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN, Dear Mr. Druery, March 7th, 1917. I fear there is nothing I can write for you as to infected sources, as I have no idea from whence the weevil came. Professor Carpenter concluded it was of Australian origin. I can only say that it has been a most destructive pest in every way. It first appeared in the houses, and cleared out two-thirds of my collection of ferns. I found that anything that killed the weevil killed the plants. Cyaniding only killed any beetles that might be out and about; it did not reach the grubs in the root stocks, or the beetles under the soil. From the greenhouse it spread to my out-door collection, which was a particularly good one, enriched from Bristol, the late Dr. Lowe, of Shire Newton, Chepstow, and many other collections. [I think it must have got to this from soil used as top dressing, the old potting soil which had been screened. The a is my whole collection of hardy ferns is gone. I burnt the last of it last year. Indoors I have it well in hand and am almost clear, and the collection is beginning to look well again. The only remedy I found was soaking the plants in water, one inch above the level of the pots, and picking off the beetles as they come to the surface. ‘This I do four times yearly. From sixty to seventy at one time, I only got nine last time I steeped in all the different houses. You wil. see from this that I cannot possibly state where the weevil came from. I do not know where it is now distributed, nor do | know if it exists outside these gardens, therefore I am unable to give any warning such as you suggest. With kind regards, I am, faithfully yours, F, W. Moore. eh Pi > b , > 187 FILMY FERNS. We now come to a class of ferns which, although native to our country, grow in such moist and shady positions as only deep and secluded glens or even rocky humid caves by waterfalls can furnish, hence ordinary out of door culture is quite out of the question, and practically nothing but bell-glasses or Wardian cases are available for their culture, since even the moist air of a fernery under glass is not sufficiently evenly and constantly humid for them. They are truly the children of shade and aerial humidity— a touch of hot sun shrivels them irrecoverably, and with these facts in mind we must treat them accordingly. Where they grow we find them revelling in rocky rubble, intermingled with vegetable débris and sand, their creeping root-stocks forming a sort of mat thickly covered with their translucent dark green fronds, the smaller species, the hymenophyllums, resembling luxuriant moss clumps; the larger species, Jvichomanes vadicans or the British Fern, anchoring itself upon the stones by roots penetrating deeply among them, and emanating froma thicker creeping root-stock of a black colour and hairy, in the fashion of our friend the common Polybody, the beautifully twice-cut erect transparent fronds rising singly in like fashion. Moisure-lovers as all are, they do not affect bogs, but always running water, which means a need for drainage. As we have now mastered all their vital needs let us see how we can provide for them artificially. A WarDIAN CASE we will take into consideration, though a redware pan closely fitted with a bell-glass answers as well, bar the More restricted space. An ordinary Wardian case has a zinc-lined receptacle for soil about four or five inches deep, and this should have an outlet provided with a tap, since, as we have seen, drainage is a necessity. To secure a free 188 outflow for surplus water we cover the bottom’of this receptacle all over with concave pieces of broken flower ‘pots, hollow side down, supplementing these with pieces. of broken brick or pots, until quite two inches are taken up by this sub-arrangement. Over this spread a thin layer of moss, just covering it, and upon this we may now spread a good open compost of brown peat, good lumpy > loam, and coarse silver sand in about equal proportions, filling up well to the brim. Upon this we may spread a number of pieces of any open porous stone, sandstone or limestone, or, failing these, pieces of broken red bricks. On these spread a little more compost, and then peg down on the surface the little mats of hymenophyllum and the long, creeping root-stocks of trichomanes, taking care to put the latter near the centre, so that its larger fronds may have free room to develop. Now take a double handful or two of finely rubbed down compost as described, and sift this well over until all roots are quite covered, and perhaps even the little mats of fronds themselves, and as a final operation take a watering-can full of rain-water, if possible, - and give the whole such a drenching shower that this last addition is washed right into the rest of the soil, and so beds the plants firmly in the desired positions, all fronds being visible, and even the creeping root-stocks of the bristle fern, as they like the air and do not burrow. Now put on your glass, and place the case where it gets AMPLE LIGHT BUT No SUNSHINE; close the doors and even the ventilating apertures, and leave it severely alone for a month or two, by which time ample evidence of growth will certainly be afforded if the above instructions are complied with, and the plants were healthy when put in. As the moisture exhaled from the soil and condensed on the glass trickles back again to the soil a close case needs water rarely, but now and again, 9 a ¢ 189 say once a fortnight, when growth is well started, a gentle dewing with perfectly clean water will be beneficial. At the outset, however, ‘‘ leave it alone”’ is the motto. Having mastered the modus operandi of the start, we will devote a line or two to the plants themselves. HyMENOPHYLLUM TUNBRIDGENSE AND H. UNILATERALE. Both these are small-growing filmies, with fronds an inch or two high as a rule, though they may attain double that size. The fronds, which are twice divided into blunt- ended, tongue-shaped lobes, are semi-transparent and very much alike in both species, but in H. wmzlaterale, as its Name implies, the divisions all spring from the upper half of the pinna or side division of the frond. These ferns bear their spores in relatively large urn-shaped cups seated at the base of the pinna next the midrib. In H. Tunbridgense this cup is fairly level-brimmed, while in A. unilatevale itis cleftin the middle. Both have long, creeping root-stocks, quite thread-like, from which the fronds spring singly. Some branched forms have been found of Hi. unilatevale, but the variation has no appreciable effect on the appearance of the clumps, which owe their charm. entirely to their mossy look and translucent, fresh, dark green colour. ‘TRICHOMANES RADICANS. This fern now is very rare in a wild state, only existing in very secluded mountain glens on private estates, but. formerly it was found in a number of places, and as a Species it is widely distributed in many distant parts of the world, especially in warmer climes than ours. It is,. however, quite hardy. Its culture is already indicated. A number of very distinct varieties have been found, the best of which are: T. 7. Andvewsi, with narrow and more lance-shaped fronds than the type; T. rv. dilatatum, a ’ = 190 ‘splendid robust form; 7. 7. dissectum, very finely cut; T. 7. densum, a congested form; and one rather small-growing variety, T. 7. proliferum, was sent the writer from Dublin some years back, which bore little plants freely on the fronds like Asplenium bulbiferum, but although we raised several plants from these bulbils, no persuasion, either by ourselves or by our friends, has induced them to follow the parental lead. | IN CoNCLUSION, although it is not a Britisher, we cannot -ignore the wonderful filmy fern, Todea superba, which is equally hardy, and forms a charming companion, where room is available, for its much larger growth. The same treat- ment fits it exactly, except as regards planting, which is done in the ordinary way, as it is of the shuttle-cock per- suasion, growing in a circlet round a central crown. A brick pit sunk with a northern aspect and closely glazed would accommodate this and the others splendidly. C. T. DRuERY. FERN VARIATION IN GREAT BRITAIN. Up to a comparatively recent date, the departures from the normal type of ferns which were found growing wild under perfectly natural conditions received little or no attention from professional botanists, but were simply dubbed ‘‘ monstrosities’’ and left for amateurs to collect, cultivate, and observe. Eventually, however, the dis- covery that “sports’’ did not always merely involve a superficial change of form, but also that this change was in some cases correlated with hitherto unknown modifica- tions and abridgments of the normal life cycle, led to a greater interest being taken, with the result that theories 1gI as to the origin of alternation of generations were seriously affected. Before these investigations and discoveries, it Was assumed that the life cycle was necessarily spore, prothallus, fertilized egg, and finally the sporophyte or fern proper. Apogamy, however, discovered by Professor Farlow, eliminated the sexual act, a vascular structure originating in the prothallus which resulted in an asexual bud, whence at once arose the sporophyte, the life cycle then being spore, prothallus, sporophyte. This, though first remarked in a normal Pteris cretica, was subsequently found by DeBarry to occur with seeming constancy in an abnormal tasselled form of Lastrea (L. pseudo-mas évistata) and several other species normal and abnormal. The next discovery was that of soral apospory by the writer, on a form of Athyrium filix-femina, which shortened the life cycle in another way altogether, by eliminating the spore, masses of prothalli being produced, as Professor F. O. Bower subsequently ascertained, from the stalks of aborted sporangia, on the ordinary soral sites.* Here the life cycle runs thus, sporophyte, sorus, prothallus, fertilized €gg, sporophyte. No sooner was this phenomenon announced than Mr. G. B. Wollaston reported the still more remarkable case of apical apospory in the form of Polystichum angulave (P. ang. pulcherrimum), in which the abnormally long sickle-shaped pinnules had their terminal and segmental apices dilated into prothalli, which when layered ran the normal course, with the exception that Tesulting plants were invariably defective and depauperate. Here the sorus is eliminated, and the prothalli are produced altogether independently of the usual reproductive sites, by a modification of the tissue of the sporophyte. Several quite independent finds of the pulcherrimum type existed, * Druery, C. T.: Jour. Linn. Soc. 21: 354. 1884: 22: 427-440, 1885. Bower, F. O.: Trans. Linn. Soc. 2: 301-326. 1887. 192 and in every case apical apospory was found to be corre- lated with it, and furthermore soral apospory existed on the fertile fronds. The modifications of the life cycle, however, were not even yet exhausted, for curiously enough a sporeling of the apogamous variety of Lastrea above mentioned was found by the writer to bear a well developed prothallis at the tip of its first frond, and the second and third bore prothalli, even profusely, on their surfaces, a sort of prothallic rash as it were.* These produced a brood of plantlets, but one and all lost this aposporous character and assumed the merely crested type of the parent as their later fronds arose. Here as we have apogamy and apospory associated, the life cycle dwindles down to the sporophyte, prothallus, sporophyte, the shortest possible cut except the bulbils on the fronds of vivi- parous ferns, which have no intermediate stage at all. Sub- sequently, the writer found both soral and apical apospory — on another variety of Athyrium, and apical on a fimbriate form of Scolopendrium.t Curiously enough, subsequent to the discovery of the aposporous Lastrea, a sporeling of — the same parentage originated in Mr. Cropper’s collection, which was and is profusely prothalliferus from all apices, the smallest piece of frond forming a mass of prothalli when layered, which creeps about Marchantia-like and yields a perennial crop of typical plants. Finally, in this — connection, Professor Farlow found an aposporus (soral) type of Ptevis aguilina. Subsequently, at Professor F. O. Bower’s suggestion, Mr. W. H. Lang commenced a series of investigations in connection with the prothalli produced from spores of abnormal varieties, and thereby practically completed the series of abnormal modifications of the life cycle, by finding in more than one species prothallt * Druery, C. T.: Jour. Linn. Soc. 29; 480-482. 1892. + DrukEry. C. T.: Jour. Linn. Soc. 30: 281-284. 1892, 193 bearing developed sporangia and spores,t thus cutting out the sporophyte, and reducing the life cycle to spore, prothallus, spore, an absolute minimum, I must refer to Mr. Lang’s papers for the most interesting details of these and other vagaries, and will merely add that on one and the same prothallus several different modes of reproduc- tion were found, namely, asexual bulbils, some producing fronds and others merely roots, other prothalli budding out from the surface, and sporophytes sexually developed, all these on prothalli which themselves were thick cylin- drical fleshy masses instead of the normal flat cordate thallus, while archegonia, antheridia, and sporangia were indiscriminately dotted about among the other varied growths. The above facts are cited merely as a prelude and justi- fication for the suggestion that in the study of American species the varieties should have due attention and not be dabelled ‘‘ monstrosities,” and ignored as they were in Great Britain for a very long period. The writer has repeatedly urged and urges once more that it is quite as much, if not more, in the direction of nature’s exceptions that we should seek the key to many of her secrets. Certainly in the study of the abnormal fern types alluded to, a number of new and unexpected facts have cropped up, which largely modify previous ideas regarding fern _ teproduction, not one of the links in the normal life cycle being absoutely essential. Spore, prothallus, egg, sporo- phyte, have all in turn been shown to be superfluous, the fern in one shape or another reproducing itself without them. As regards the great number of varietal forms which have originated in Great Britain, there is little doubt that + Lanc, W. H.: Proc. Roy. Soc. 63: 56-61. Phii. Trans. Roy. Soc. Ser. B. 190: 187-238. 1808. EE a — 7 ¥ 4 | | / f 194 it is due far more to the continued existence of a coterie of persistent variety hunters than to any predisposing elements in the environment. The travelling botanist is rarely a variety hunter, but a species hunter. hence he does not in a habitat full of known species examine them. plant by plant, or scan them with a peculiarly trained eye, as would the hunter for sports. If he have such an eye and a taste for varieties, we have the evidence that ‘finds’ will crop up abroad as wellas at home. Witness. Mr. George Brown, who found Woodwardia radicans cristata, two finely crested forms of Lastrea dilatata, and two tasselled forms of Asplenium henmuonitis in the Azores; while the writer, hunting in all for about two hours recently at Fayal (Azores), found a clump of Asplenium hemionitis beautifully tasselled throughout, and a fine pendulous polydactylous variety of Ptevis aguilina which lined the high road for fifty yards. This being so I would advocate variety hunting in the United States as a pursuit likely to reward its votaries not merely with very beautiful types for their collections, but also with material well worthy scientific attention. Thanks to some short notes sent to the Fern Bulletin, 1 have received already fronds of a crested Athyrium found by a lady, and plants of Denstaedtia punctilobula cristata and Phegopteris hexagonoptera truncata, the latter found by Mr. W. R. Maxon on the Potomac, which have originated in the United States as wild sports, a proof that such sports exist. At the same time, however, I note that much stress is laid upon doubtful subvarieties, which a wider knowledge of marked ones would probably minimize considerably. In my own fern hunting expedi- tions [ invariably come across subvarieties in which the cutting is more or less modified; but with the abundance of really marked types in mind, these are simply noted and left. | As exemplifying this abundance the figures from ~ 2 195 its Mr. Lowe's British Ferns, a descriptive list published im 1891, may be appropriately quoted. No. of vars. Pteris aquilina .. ee i ‘ id "s 17 Adiantum capillus-Veneris be _ et ae 24 Asplenium adiantum nigrum.. im i ‘ie 16 trichomanes Bs “e o Zs 27 maximum - a he oe 28 : Athyrium filix-foemina a és he 24, SPs Scolopendrium vulgare ¥ “e > e awit 459 Polystichum aculeatum ¥ agi ix o 34 angulare me Ps - ay) 204 Lastrea filix-mas “s 4 ay be va 54 pseudo-mas .. e ee ie ie 42 propinqua .. : i i i. ie . Decal British fern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. September, 1917. EDITED BY mW. STANSFIELD, M.D. PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY on. Secretary, W. B. Cranfield, East Lodge, Enfield Chase, Middlesex, KENDAL, WESTMORELAND. s j ‘ i = { ia fhe: ay on \\ -e t i : : f, qi ‘ 4 me, 3. \ eee, wv 01930 No. 33. wy a On 4 VAL , THE BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. VoL. 3. SEPTEMBER, 10917. No. 33. CONTENTS. PAGE Mr. Druery’s PorTRAIT .. as ar .. Frontispiece THE LATE Mr. C. T. Drvery .. ai va “ 9 CI ee 66 ce oO 2ST. op 3? be says" oun{ 9 ¢ ee ce sé O Cr II ee o- ee se ‘ICI 9 +1 *-900Idstjuo1g = a Bae en ‘* soumnjoA punog 9 £29 *: +. 2 ‘oaqT ‘z ‘uel pue 9}}9zeD jo sroquiny yorg “ ‘£161 SG “t= 08? Ae °* ysalojuy queg ‘ O 11S °° sqoo[g pu a}jazeyD ‘3dasg Oo S11 -/S je (soueape tre Litt —! "0D % ‘uog ‘aTTTTN “61 *ydag o ¢ -/Sye(aeoue ut) x 1 Ir Gt 3 my F solipuns 0 $ zz -/$ ye (41-9161) suol}dtz9sqng 6g “« Oo OI Axeja1990S ‘uoF] OONpsourjeg Aq ‘LZ ‘Sny 8 zi Sg °° ee yueg ye sourjeg op ‘2 ‘Sny “P8 oF "O10 ee "9161 ‘SAVILOO - Sil ‘Salada y Peg. ee . Tae « ai ( oe a : : 206 FERNERY WEEDS IN A NORTHERN GARDEN. A weed is a plant which increases at a greater rate than is desirable, and by so doing endangers the well-being of the rest of the community. The only Fern weed which is a Fern proper, in the open- air fernery, is Pteris aquilina polydactyla. In deep, sandy, well cultivated land, a single plant of this fern will ina very few years overrun an acre of ground unless vigorously combated. Its fronds, 3 to 4 feet high, remorselessly cover up all smaller growing subjects and quickly blot out the landscape so far as all other ferns are concerned. Under glass the list of Fern weeds is a more formidable one, and my most dreaded weed is Cystopteris bulbifera, which, propagating itself by its dropped bulbils, and growing 2 feet or more, has taken possession in four seasons of 200 square yards in spite of persistent weedings involving the destruction of hundreds of thousands. One crop of bulbil produced plants following so quickly upon the heels of another, as to suggest the words of Macbeth :— ‘‘The times have been, That when the brains were out the man would die, And there an end, but now they rise again.” | Then comes Stvuthiopteris Germanica, which pushes its ropelike rhizomes in all directions, and proceeds with Teutonic thoroughness and “ peaceful penetration’ to take possession of the whole earth. This it would quickly accomplish were outdoor conditions equal to the ideal conditions prevailing in my bog fernery. Its North American relative is on the whole the greater sinner of the two, in consequence of its thinner and more numerous rhizomes. A single plant becomes a battalion in two seasons if undisturbed. | 4 Lomaria Magellanica, a most majestic fern growing 5 feet, — and making rhizomes and young plants innumerable, can with persistence and determination be kept within bounds, 207 but the other fern weeds above mentioned have come to stay, and cannot, in the short space of life left to an elderly cultivator, be exterminated. Lastrea decuvyrens is a standing menace to the rest of the community, being propagated by buds produced on the roots. A small colony of ten plants have in a few years become as many thousands, without any assistance on my part. Onoclea sensibilis and Lastvea thelypteris are sometimes troublesome, but not to the same extent as the above mentioned, which are the chief sinners. It will be noticed that it is not the ferns produced from spores that are the most formidable weeds, but the Scampering rhizomiferous and bulbiferous subjects. Microlepia anthriscifolia, thoughtlessly introduced a few years ago, and growing 2 to 3 feet, now requires most drastic treatment in order to prevent its destroying every- thing less than 1 foot high. My most troublesome non-fern weed is LEquisetum sylvaticum, which, as a general nuisance, is facile princeps. It grows 2 feet, and can only be partially kept in check by deep and persistent forking, the effects of which only hold good for one season. The main rhizomes are met with at a depth of 30 inches. The uninitiated would never suspect the existence of these Main arteries, which are as thick as one’s finger. The upper stratum of rhizomes, as thick as coarse packing string, can be removed for years without sapping the | vitality of the whole plant, whose main roots may have }an outlet above ground 20 yards away. The plant grows }at an alarming rate, probably a foot per week. The hot \eing conditions under glass in the bog fernery are | Suggestive of the conditions prevailing in the carboniferous | epoch, and one can easily understand the deposition of the coal measures after experiencing the phenomenally 208 luxuriant growth of our common Lguisetum under practi- cally tropical conditions. Liquid mud under foot and a temperature over 100° F., and no ventilation. Cavdamine hiysutum is another weed which projects its-seeds 3 feet in all directions. Under tropical conditions this plant — occupies ten days from birth to maturity, and can reproduce itself a hundredfold every ten days. Sagina procumbens is a bad weed in the open ground, and, there are several others, but I think I have mentioned the: most troublesome. LASTREA MONTANA FORMOSA.-CRISTATA. The history of this Fern, which formed the frontispiece: of the June Gazette, was not correctly given im) iam number, doubtless owing to my failure to supply the par- ticulars in time for publication. It originated as a seedling from spores of L. montana plumosa-cristata sent to me by Mr. Whitwell, who was himself the raiser of the very beautiful parent. The ancestry of the latter is not cer- tainly known, but from its appearance I should say it was. the result of a cross between L. montana coronans of Barnes. and one of the plumose varieties, probably either Mr. Whitwell’s own or Mr. Barnes’s find. The grandchild, the subject of this paragraph, was the only montana which appeared from the sowing of flumosa-cristata. It differs. from its immediate parent in being much more densely crested, and was named from its striking similarity to: Athyrium f.f. formosa-cristatum. The plant has had a somewhat chequered career, inasmuch as, three years ago, I divided it into three, intending to send the first division to the giver of the spores. Unfortunately the two best — pieces died almost immediately, and it was not until the autumn of 1916 that I was able again to divide the survivor. The better of these two pieces was sent to 209 ~— od 32N Mr. Whitwell, but I learn from him that his plant met with an accident from a chance stone thrown by a boy and consequently perished. ‘There is, therefore, only a single crown of this plant now surviving. Iam glad to say it is doing well, although much smaller than when the photograph was taken, which was before the first division. F, W. STANSFIELD, SOME RECENT WILD FINDS. Notwithstanding the difficult conditions as to travelling and the lack of leisure produced by the war, new finds ‘continue to be made by members of the Society and others, sometimes in the most unexpected places. East Anglia has not hitherto been considered to be productive Fern country, but Mr. Charles Henwood, while staying at Cromer in the autumn of 1914, went for a walk with a lady friend and they admired the luxuriant growth of Polypodium vulgare which lined some of the lanes. The lady (Miss Scott) re narked that one of the plants was of a *‘ different colour’’ from the rest. Mr. Henwood then saw that it differed not only in colour but in form as well, and was in fact one of the plumose or ‘‘ Cambricum”’ section. It was extracted from the wall, in which it was growing, with some difficulty and was sent by post to Mr. Henwood, senior, who received it in a dried up and almost moribund ‘condition. He revived it by dint of extreme care, and it is now (1917) a fine plant and turns out to be very near the old Cambricum, from which it differs in being slightly ‘denser although not approaching to Prestoniz in this respect. The following year Mr. C. Henwood re-visited the place and extracted another scrap from the old habitat. He was also successful in finding, in the neighbourhood, a very thoroughly crested variety of the same species. It is very mear to the old cristatum, and is not yet quite sufficiently 218 developed to make sure whether it will be distinct from that variety. In 1916 the same hunter found a nice variety of Blechnum spicant on an old wall in the county of Bucks, quite near to the Middlesex border. It was very smalh and stunted when found, but was finely toothed in the way of Airey’s servvatum No. 7. It has now made some growth of a more fcliose type, and seems likely to be near to Airey’s sevvatum No. 2, which is one of the finest known varieties of — the species. It will, however, not be named until it has attained maturity and, with it, its final character. The finding of these three Ferns, by a new hunter and in quite: new Fern country, is a good omen for the future. The discovery of a ‘‘ Cambricum”’ Polypody in East Anglia is a further example of the absurdity of naming a plant from the locality in which it is first discovered. Another case of this hasty nomenclature is to be found in P. v. Cornubiense, which has been found in Wales and, more: recently, in Devonshire as well as in Cornwall. FF, Wi a EVERGREEN HARDY FERNS. Our British species of Ferns are pretty equally divided into two sections, the evergreen andthe deciduous. The former retain their fronds through the winter and until the fresh growth replaces them the following season, and. the latter die down to the ground in the autumn, whether protected or not. In many hands, where this latter peculiarity is not understood, the gradual discoloration and subsequent decay of the fronds, without any touch: of frost or other apparent reason, is construed as actual death of the plant itself, especially as there is not, as in the more familiar case of deciduous trees and shrubs, anything left above ground to indicate persistent vitality, nothing remaining visible but a dead-looking, hard caudex 21I or root-stock. Even with those who do interpret this decay rightly as merely superficial, the absence of any visible plant often leads to neglect; the pots are placed out of sight to make room for more presentable things, watering is consequently forgotten altogether, and as a result the sleep merges into the sleep of death as the central tissues dry and perish, and valuable plants are consequently lost. In natural conditions dormant Ferns are saturated throughout their resting period in such a climate as ours, and as our native species are, of course, quite hardy (with unimportant exceptions), the simplest plan is to turn deciduous pot plants out of doors, and plunge them, pots and all, into soil or cocoa fibre. They are thus secured from drought without need of any attention whatever, while it is a simple matter, in March or April, to lift them, wash the pots, and reinstate —_ when they show signs of reawakening. The entire absence of old fronds is then an actual advantage, as nothing is left to detract from the beauty of the new frondage, which with such treatment rises with great rapidity under the genial influence of the spring. I should, however, give a word of warning to those who possess warmed conservatories against introducing Hardy Ferns into them earlier than March. Some varieties respond freely to such forcing conditions as this involves, but, like human beings, they must have their proper spell of rest in order to do their full day’s work, and, if pre- cociously roused, are apt to suffer in constitution, and show the effects later intheseason. The evergreen British species are the spleenworts (Aspflenia), the Shield Ferns (Polystichum), the Hartstongue (Scolopendvium), Hard Fern (Blechnum), the Hard Male Fern (Lastvea pseudo-mas), ‘and the Common Polypody (Polypodium vulgare), including all their varieties; and as, fortunately, all these have been very liberally endowed by Nature with a capacity for 2 ee sporting into very beautiful abnormal forms, we have in them ample material for indoor decoration throughout the winter if we only take a few precautions for their protection and proper treatment. Undoubtedly the first essential is clean culture during the growing season, since if white fly, aphis, thrips, or | similar vermin are permitted to prey upon the fronds, the © damage becomes accentuated in the autumn by fungoid growths, and consequent discoloration and unsightliness — ensues when the dormant period arrives. A clean-fronded evergreen Fern will lose little or none of its attractiveness during the winter, while a dirty one will be but an eyesore. A few fumigations are the best remedy for most of these pests, but I have found it advisable to remove tender seedlings, especially of Blechnum spicant, before using this remedy. With sone of the heavily-crested varieties, or heavy-fronded plumose forms of polystichum, I frequently find it well to tie black thread or silk some few inches up the stalk of each frond, z7.e. where the pinnz begin, in such a way that it forms a tight ring, extending from frond to frond, with a knotted turn round each one. This is quite invisible except on very close inspection, and checks entirely that tendency to drop which is induced by the abnormal weight and the relaxed sap vigour of the resting season. The Broad Buckler Fern (L. dilatata), so treated, may be added to the list of evergreens with advantage, while the two grand varieties of this species found in the Azores (L. d. foliosa-cristata and L. d. polydactyla) are perfectly evergreen without such aid. I have so frequently given lists of the best forms of thie species that I will not here recapitulate. I may, however, lay particular stress upon the value of our polypodium ~ varieties for winter decoration under glass. Here there is no question of adventitious support, and many of the finest forms are characterised by the peculiar fact that, while ae 213 the type starts growth early in the season, they remain dormant until July, though retaining the previous season’s fronds entirely. They also continue growing until so late in the season that experienced growers maintain they are not at their best until November, a fact which implies that they present a bright and fresh appearance the whole winter through, and extend the active interests of the Fern - lover for several months. ‘To succeed with this Fern and _ form attractive specimens, the varieties must be grown either in pans or hanging baskets, and in a good open compost of brown fibrous peat or leaf-mould, kept open with silver sand. ‘The fleshy travelling rootstocks peculiar to this species must be bedded on the surface or only slightly mulched over, and the pans should be well drained and stand upon, not in, saucers which constantly contain water. So treated the fronds assume a size which is rarely seen under natural conditions, and the varietal character is enhanced in the same ratio. Hanging baskets _ should be liberally lined with moss to retain both soil and moisture, the soil should be somewhat heaped, and the rootstocks planted thereon as above. Kept well watered, these will travel, and eventually fronds will emerge at the sides as well as the top, and so form very handsome specimens. A few small seedlings of other Ferns may be introduced at the sides, and the common variegated selaginella may be dotted in as a set-off, but this, like tbe seedlings, must not be allowed to grow rampant. The common green selaginella especially is apt to handicap the tenants proper, and must be kept well within bounds. Sibthorpia europza is, subject to the same restriction, a pretty companion, but Oxalis acetosella, the common wood sorrel, is an invader to be rooted out remorselessly as a pest. Finally, | may remark that my observations apply to perfectly cold greenhouses or conservatories. In warmed ones, 7.¢., where the frost is just excluded, the ferns in oS — 214 question will also be quite at home, and under such conditions the Sea Spleenwort (Asplenium marinum), especially its plumose form, will make grand specimens, and the true Maidenhair (Adiantum capillus veneris), and its varietics imbricatum, daphnites, and Cornubiense (a small Farleyense-like variety) will do well. These, however, perish if frozen, since, despite the fact that they are natives, they are only found on our warmest coasts, and within the © influence of the western sea breezes. Winter sun need not be avoided, as the ferns will bear and be the better for all the light they can get, and, above all, let it not be forgotten that the watering-can is a vital factor in fern life, sleeping or awaking, C-L BRITISH AND EXOTIC FERNS. Although so far only one definite alliance is recorded between a British Fern anda tender exotic, in the shape of that very striking success in hybridisation, Polypodium Schneideri x , this one success is amply sufficient to show that a wide field is open for the amplification of fine forms on similar lines. This plant is due to a cross effected between a variety of Polypodium vulgare and the normal form of P. aureum. The former is in itself one of the most remarkable varieties of a normally simple pinnate species, and was found wild many years ago in Cornwall, for which reason it is known as P. v. cornubiense, while on account of its very elegant cutting it is also more generally known as P. v. elegantissimum. It is charac- terised by being polymorphic, 7.c. bearing fronds of several distinct types; a small proportion are quite normal, and the rest are of two much divided forms, one tripinnate and foliose, the other tripinnate, and even quadripinnate, the divisions being all very narrow. To add to its peculiarity, all three types may appear on one and the same frond. 215 Finally, the finest cut fronds, under congenial conditions of culture, finish their growth by forming long linear extensions to the ultimate segments, and a profusion of bulbils on the sites of the spore heaps. We have here consequently not merely one distinct varietal feature, but several in conjunction, and it is this fact, among others, which stamps the cross in question as an undoubted one, while the appearance of a single varietal character might be imputed to an independent variation or sport, despite the use of a parent which possessed it. In P. Schneideri x, as we have seen, one parent, P. aureum, is of a normal specific type, somewhat resembling the normal P. vulgare in the fact that despite its far greater size, it is simply pinnate. The introduction of the blood of P. v. elegantissi- mum evidences itself in the cross by imparting to the huge size of P. aureum precisely the same finely-cut character of the intermediate fronds (the finest type had so far not appeared) conjoined with the same, in this case, dimorphic feature of an intermixture of very slightly modified normal fronds of P. aureum, plus the piecemeal appearance of the two characters in one and the same frond. In addition to this incontestable proof of the alliance, we have a constitutional factor introduced in the shape of a capacity to stand several degrees of frost, a plant in the writer’s collection having survived several winters in a quite cold house, where it has been repeatedly slightly frozen. As _ further evidence of alliance between very distinct species, the spores are imperfect, and though seemingly freely produced, appear under the microscope as mere dust. The possibility therefore of P. Schneideri x being a mere sport on parallel iines to P. elegantissimum, instead of a cross, May, it will be seen, be dismissed as untenable, and we are fully justified therefore in accepting it asa fair starting- point for further experiments on similar lines. Mr. Schneider indeed was not content with this success, but 216 subsequently sowed P. v. cristatum with other exotic members of the same genus, and undoubtedly obtained crested forms of the latter among the results of his sowing ; cresting however per se occurs so frequently as a sport that these results, though we sée no reason to doubt their hybrid origin, are not so conclusive, though neverthe less encouraging for further efforts. The British species of Ferns curiously enough have not only afforded a far greater number of ‘‘sports,” crested, plumose and otherwise varied, than the exotics, but there are many types of variation among them at once beautiful and curious which have not appeared at all among the latter, and which, if they could be introduced by judicious crossing, would certainly give rise to very attractive and valuable decorative plants, besides, and this is a material point, adding in all probability to their hardiness and consequent ease of cultivation. In Ferns fortunately the would-be hybridiser is not handicapped as in flowering plants by incompatibility between the size of the pollen grains and the length of stigma to be traversed to reach the embryo seed. Undoubtedly in most plants these factors are nicely co-adapted; a very long-styled stigma, like that of a Lily, is associated with large pollen grains, and very short-styled flowers with smaller ones. Practi- cally, however, all Ferns, from the smallest to the largest, perform their reproductive functions on the same micro- scopic scale, the prothallus or tiny primary leaf produced from the spore is much of a size throughout all the genera, and as the antherozoids are free-swimming organisms, a little difference in dimensions forms no obstacle to their reaching the archegonial bud. | Hence no obvious structural difficulty stands in the way of mating the tiniest Fern with the largest Tree-Fern; all that is necessary is some degree of kinship. ‘This fact clearly widens the field of operations considerably, and, ras, to take a concrete example, suggests the possibility of infusing the pretty cresting of our native Asplenium Trichomanes even into the grand Asplenium nidus-avis, _ or many others of the large family of the exotic Spleen- worts, which by the way are peculiarly constant and non- Sportive in themselves. .In this particular connection too, and especially in allusion to A. nidus-avis, our native Hartstongue, Scolopendrium vulgare, which has perhaps afforded more distinct varieties than any other species, might well be used. That it is closely allied to the Spleenwort is seen in its linear fructification, and the fact that although these are always in faced pairs, while that of the Spleenwort is assumed to be single, there are exceptions. to the rule in the latter family, faced pairs precisely of the Scolopendrium type occurring frequently in A. hemionitis, while they have been noted in varietal forms of A. marinum. In these genera, then, there are obviously many openings for alliance, which by the way there is strong evidence to prove has already been affected in the case of S. vulgare and A. Ceterach. In the Polypodium family, likewise a large one, there are many fine forms which, allied with the many types of P. vulgare, would be very handsome, as evidenced by P. Schneideri. In the Polystichums, also, there are many exotics which are evidently very closely akin to our native species, P. lonchitis, P. aculeatum, and P. angulare; and as most of the very finest plumose forms of the latter bear spores, there is ample material to work upon. In that beautiful lucent-fronded evergreen P. setosum alone: there is an invaluable subject for hybridisation. Our Blechnum spicant is another species which has varied considerably on pretty lines, and has numerous foreign relatives which have not done so, and yet might be induced to do under persuasion of marriage; while the Lastreas or Nephrodiums, though apt to be apogamic— 218 z.é. to produce young by mere asexual budding from the prothallus—have yielded in all native species plenty of good forms, although the exotics, with the exception of N. molle, have done but little in that way. Osmunda regalis has given both crested and fine-cut types probably capable of introduction into the several exotic species, since they are certainly closely allied. All these possibilities being assumed, the next question, and a vital one, is—How are they to be attacked ? and this is a very simple matter. The crossing of Ferns, unfortunately, cannot as yet be systematically done, as with flowers, owing to the microscopic nature of the reproductive process; but numerous successful attempts prove that if the spores of the two parental forms be sown together in one pan, there is the chance of the antherozoids or fertilising organisms of one prothallus being conveyed either by water or insect agency to another, and thus effecting a cross. Hence success would doubtless crown the efforts of the Fern spore sower who, when sowing his exotics, persistently scattered the spores of likely British partners, on the lines above indicated, among those of the exotic. Or, in view of the fact that spores vary considerably in the time occupied in producing the prothallus, and eventually the Fern proper, he might sow separately and subsequently associate by pricking out patches of each and replanting in very close juxtaposition. This we believe was the way P. Schneideri was obtained. On the other hand, there is considerable range of time between the maturing of Fern prothalli, even in the same sowing, so that success might well be obtained in the simpler way of sowing together. In any case, nothing is lost by the attempt, since with judicious selection of good forms a crop of the parental types is obtained, and is worth having, even if the wished- for conjunction fails. Cuas, T. Drurry, V.M.H., Foe | 219 IDEAL FERN HABITATS. In the plant world, as in that of humanity, it is the exception rather than the rule for the individual to be naturally placed under such favourable conditions of environment that its potentialities can be developed to the utmost. As a rule, the all but inevitable struggle for existence necessitates some sort of compromise, which may mean such a degree of handicapping that the real merits and capabilities are hardly at all developed. Hence in the Fern world we frequently find that, although Ferns as a rule are constituted to flourish in shady, damp, and sheltered situations, and although by virtue of their robust and hardy nature they manage to exist in places where these essential needs are but very poorly provided, the result is that they present stunted, unattractive growth with but a trace of the natural charm which more favourable conditions would enable them to develop. Nature, with her usual knack of adapting her creations to the*most varied conditions, has, in the course of zons of time, endowed many of the original shade and moisture-loving- Ferns with the capacity to withstand both drought and sunshine, as we may see evidenced in such genera as the Cheilanthes, Nothochlenas, and even in our familiar Ceterach offici- narum. In all these cases, however, we find the adapt- ation to detract from the foliose, pendulous grace of the major portion of the Fern tribe, the fronds of necessity become more or less hard and leathery, and thus, though undoubtedly pretty when at their best, cannot for a moment compare with the stately grace of the Tree and other Ferns which fill our antipodean valleys or even with the smailer but yet delightful frondage of our largest native Ferns, such as the Lady, Male, and Shield Ferns, which deck the sheltered combes of our humid western counties. The aim of gardeners is to obviate, as far as possible, 220 the natural handicapping to which we have alluded, and — to provide the plants taken in hand with as nearly as possible ideal conditions of growth, and supplied with all incentives to perfect development. To do this effect- ively we have, however, in the first place to study Nature to ascertain under which natural conditions the plants are at their best, and, having acquired this knowledge, to apply it as far as practicable to cultivation. Thus to. see our native Ferns at their best we must visit one of our deep western valleys, where a rushing, tumbling stream. brawls between high, rocky banks hemmed in by trees, the two latter sheltering admirably from boisterous breeze- and broiling sun. The very air is humid from the proximity of the stream, and the leafy, rocky soil is. never dry. Here are all the essential conditions of Fern life at their best, and we see the results all around us. in waving masses of feathery frondage, while a closer inspection will show the ground beneath to be covered: with flourishing colonies of Blechnums, Oak Fern, Beech Fern, Polypodium vulgare, and others of the smaller Ferns. Leaving the glen and reaching an adjacent road. we may still find all these, but in a much smaller state, and in many cases stunted and torn by the wind, and — thus void of all the charm of their more favoured neigh- bours. Presently, however, the road dips into a hollow and becomes a shady cutting, walled in on either side: by rough, retaining stone dykes, while overhead the trees. almost meet, and thus once again we have a Fern: paradise, but with a difference. Nature, as we have said, has varied her creations to such varied conditions. Here: we have more air and light, and the loose stone dykes afford a combination of perfect drainage with constant. dampness, that better suits the tastes of other species of Ferns, which, moreover, under the freer conditions of growth in the dell we have left, would be over-growm and enfeebled. 221 Hence in these walls we find colonies of the various Spleenworts, associated with Polypodies, common, Oak, and Beech Fern, and last, but not least, the beautiful, _strap-fronded Hart’s-tongue will be found, not merely in a comparatively small state in the chinks and crevices, but also in robust condition along the foot. Such dykes, indeed, form ideal hunting grounds for the Fern enthu- _siast, for besides the wall or rock Ferns proper there are sure to be innumerable seedlings of the dell species, _which, being precluded by their position from becoming huge, full-grown specimens, make up for this by their numbers, and in this way increase the hunter’s chances of a find. In such a lane or cutting we have frequently found no less than fifteen or sixteen different species, and it is clear, therefore, that a sunken artificial rockery shaded judiciously by trees may represent one of the ideal habitats we have in view. Some Ferns, however, are more exacting in their water requirements than even the dell Ferns aforesaid, unless, indeed, that dell develops here and there—as it well may do—into a local bog or ‘marsh. In that case we may find a colony of the Royal »Fern (Osmunda regalis) lifting its tall, fertile fronds from midst an abundant circle of more drooping barren ones; * grand sight indeed under ideal conditions. On the banks of the Upper Dart we have seen this splendid _ Fern with huge fronds to feet high covering the stream- - balks like a coppice. The secret of such growth is that although the crown of the Fern is well above the water- level, its deeply penetrating roots are really below it, and, giyen these conditions, the Osmunda, owing to the Btonghness of its fronds, will stand considerable sunlight "without damage. Naturally, this fact renders it par- ticularly adapted for water-side culture generally, in proof of which we need only refer to our illustration of a beautiful specimen, the condition of which attests how i ; H 2:22 ‘perfectly its particular needs have been met and how entirely the ideal has been realised. . Cuas. T. Druery, F.L,S., Vi Nie THE MOTOR-CAR IN FERN-HUNTING. Although the coming of the motor-car into general use will probably be eventually a factor in the denudation of our ferny districts, both by the greater opportunities offered for vandalism and the direct destruction of fern habitats, by the improvement of roads, yet in the mean-— time the judicious use of this convenient method of travelling may be of great value to fern hunters in the exploration of districts hitherto difficult of access. It is obvious that the actual hunting must be done on foot, since no other method allows time for the careful exam- ination of the ferns in a given area. ‘The preliminary selection of promising hunting grounds can, however, be done with great advantage by means of a motor-car, horse-carriage or bicycle. When the hunting grounds have been selected they can be reached by any means which may be found most convenient. When the profit- able ground is some miles away from one’s base there is nothing like a motor-car for reaching it quickly and avoiding the waste of time involved in tramping over barren roads. In my own district there is no fern country less than eight or ten miles from home, and the — nearest really profitable ground is some twenty miles away in a district badly served by railway. The twenty odd miles can be easily covered in an hour or (let it be whispered only) even in less time, and thus several — hours of happy hunting can be got in the course of half- a-day’s holiday, which is the most that can often be spared from the cares of life by a busy man. Some of the best hunting I have had was during a ‘long week” in Somerset (before the war), when a motor-car was available to carry us out to a suitable district in the 223 morning. The day was spent in exploring the lanes and woods on foot, and the car returned again in the evening to carry us back home. In this way the best ‘parts of a district some fifty miles in diameter can be explored in a week or a fortnight according to the rich- mess or otherwise of the neighbourhood. This method of fern hunting has been enjoyed by our members on several of our annual excursions, and has resulted in ‘some good finds being made. When; for any reason, the motor-car is not available as is now generally the case during war-time, the humbler bicycle makes a very fair substitute, and has the additional advantage that good things can sometimes be “spotted” by the road- ‘side while one is actually riding. JI know of several finds which have been made by a member while travel- ling about his business on a bicycle. In the summer of 1916 I spent a week at the seaside in Dorsetshire with some members of my family, and, by means of a Bicycle, was able to explore the neighbourhood, for many giles around, for ferns. Starting out in the morning, im any likely direction, one rode on until a suitable lane ‘or wood was observed; the bicycle was then put behind a hedge or leaned against a gate (the people are mostly honest in Wessex), and comfortable and leisurely hunt- ing was pursued on foot until the locality was exhausted, when again a short ride would enable one to reach another promising habitat, and so on until evening fell. In this way one reached one’s quarters in the evening healthily tired but not over-fatigued, and with an ‘excellent appetite for dinner. Should bad weather befall ‘during the day, as will sometimes happen, one has only to mount the bicycle and ‘“‘scoot” for home, shelter, é nd dry clothes. In the old days before the coming of the motor-car, when the Society’s annual meeting yielded ‘only one day of fern hunting, a horsed gehicle was 224 generally chartered for the party, and was put up at some country hostelry while the members botanized- — Some very happy and profitable days were spent in this way, and some notable finds were made. I remember one occasion some twenty years ago when, while driving through Long Sleddale, Westmorland, almost the whole party noticed a wall covered with a form of Asplenum tvichomanes which had a peculiar ‘‘combed”’ appearance. — We all dismounted and collected plants. Mr. Smithies — secured one which seemed better than the rest and, as his plant had two crowns, he kindly shared it with me. I still have my plant and it has turned out quite con- stant, and is a very pretty variety which I call sevvato- constrvictum, Smithies. The pinna are narrow and toothed and all turn upwards almost parallel with the rachis, giving the frond, especially in its upper half, a very slender and pointed character. The variety is abun- dantly fertile and comes true from spores. That was an occasion upon which the horse ‘‘had the pull” over the motor vehicle, inasmuch as the latter would probably have travelled too swiftly for a trvichomanes to have been noticed from the car. Nevertheless, the car has points of superiority over the horsed vehicle, not the least of which is that it is independent of any hostelry, and can be left for hours, if necessary, in any out-of-the-way place in the charge of a boy or a wounded soldier, or even without any attention if care be taken to make it temporarily incapable of travelling, which can generally be arranged without much difficulty. Should the happy days ever come when the younger members will be home from the war, and the elder ones will have time and opportunity for travelling, I trust our annual meet- ings may be resumed in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. I hope also that a motor-car may be available at least for the elders of the party. May the time soon arrive. Amen. IE. Woe ro. So aoe British Fern | Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. December, 1917. EDITED BY F. W. STANSFIELD, M.D. PUBLISHED BY _ THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Hon. Sec. and Hon. Treasurer, W. B. Cranfield, East Lodge, Enfield Chase, 4 Middlesex). KENDAL, WESTMORLAND. Ps < cs t | | “ ' t | f j e —_ 4 - » ele , t ‘ ‘ : m1 > . ‘ , ¥ ‘ ’ . ’ a > 4 - " ‘ P -_ 7 . vee ‘” J oe , ’ a) ae ’ = . q j ’ - i, : 2 4 ' ~ 4 <4 7] : ‘ + e . ¢ j ' - ¢ 4 & ad * ¢ . / 4 oO, a : ‘ “dl * “ . > . *% 2. : * ' ‘ - , ’ j ‘ ‘ . . ' . ' ‘ - ’ ‘ : - ‘ - *. 5 7 i ’ ¥ be ® b . . . . , : ‘ » . r ss é . 7 | 8 : == oO — A 7, =< op) Sa) A ‘e) > a — ZA — = a) J — aa — = em) (op) 2) —— oy ] ~ — = a) = © 4 — M _ > —_ es ea ow < ea ‘2 O Zi — a rod ee ‘ AAS we 4 Y al F ; A . ad a THE BRITISH FERN So... |. DECEMBER, 1917. No. 34. 4 CONTENTS. bap Epiroriat Norss ss... an is sd a ry xs 225 Our FRONTISPIECE (P. angulare divisilobum plumosum Baldwinii) rn sals she oe de Na 226 THE Jones-Fox (AND a) ANGULARE PuuMosE-Dtvist1- LOBES (F'.W.S.) .. “ae an 227 EMorns ON ATHYRIUM F-r. Kanoranrx (Mr. H. Stansfield) 232 _ British Ferns (Rev. E. H. Hawkins) ... ‘i 235 THE PRopUcTION OF APOSPORY BY Exvinowmaiwr IN ex: F. F. UNCO-GLOMERATUM (reprinted from the Linnean Society’s Journal, 1899) res ae toy oi 237 Winter GrowtH (Chas, T. Druery) ne ae pe oF 244 _ Rockwork on Stopes (Chas. T. Druery) as es Pe 246 EDITORIAL NOTES. In taking up the duties of conducting the GAzETTE the _ Editor begs to say that he has accepted. the responsibility (for the time being) with the greatest diffidence and with considerable reluctance. The position is one which he has not sought, but would much prefer to avoid, and will be _ only too glad to relinquish upon the smallest hint. In - addition to the severe handicap necessarily involved in the - succession to an experienced literary man like the late _ Mr. Druery, the new Editor is weighted by the duties of a _ busy professional life which leave him little leisure for other work, even in peace time, and still less in the confusion and stress caused by the world war. He hopes, therefore, that the readers of the Gazrerre will grant him their kind _ indulgence as a beginner at the work of editorship and that the members will afford him all the assistance in their power _ by literary, photographic, and other contributions, without _ which the work cannot long be carried on, He expresses 226 his warm thanks to those members (only too few at present) who have already promised him their support, and trusts that the remainder will rise to the occasion and make the GAZETTE what it should be, 7.e., a real medium of communi- cation for fern lovers all over the English-speaking world. Contributions and material for the GAZETTE may be sent to Dr. Stansfield, 120, Oxford Road, Reading. The subscriptions for 1917-18 being due in advance, the Hon. Secretary (pro tem.) would be much obliged by a remittance of 5s. by return post to Mr. W. B. Cranfield, Kast Lodge, Enfield Chase, Middlesex. OUR FRONTISPIECE. P,. ANGULARE DIVISILOBUM PLUMOSUM BALDWINII, JONES AND Fox. The frond from which this photograph was taken is one sent to the Editor by the late Mr. E. J. Lowe, F.R.S., some 25 years ago, when the original (then the only existing) plant was in Mr. Lowe’s possession. The exceedingly fine sub-division of the pinnules is well shown, but it is possible that the resulting slenderness of the ultimate segments has been slightly exaggerated by the drying process to which the frond has been subjected. It is doubtful whether any one of the seedling plants now in existence is quite equal to the original in refinement, although two or three of them undoubtedly approach it very nearly. Most of them are in the collection of Mr. Cranfield, but Mr. T. E. Henwood and the Rev. E. J. Hawkins each possess a plant and the writer has also a small one—a bulbil from Mr, Henwood's plant. . + a Cg . ie 227 THE JONES-FOX (AND OTHER) ANGULARE PLUMOSE-DIVISILOBES. These beautiful ferns made a great sensation among fern lovers when they were first exhibited to the world some thirty odd years ago. They are still among the very best and most telling of British ferns, the admired alike of the connoisseur and the raw beginner. ‘This one fact is eloquent testimony to their transcendent merits as decorative plants. Their grace of form, exquisite finish, and perfect symmetry, all tend to make them appeal strongly even to the most untutored eye, while the more one knows of ferns and their capabilities the more one appreciates the tremendous advance which these ferns made upon anything previously known. The exact origin of this section has never been published and has been the subject of some discussion and of more speculation. It is known that they were raised by the collaboration of the late Col. A. M. Jones and the late Mr. Edwin F. Fox. What part each played and what was the material upon which they worked, how- ever, is a matter which it was no one’s particular business to record and it was only after both men were dead that the history began to be more exactly inquired into. Many people (myself among the number) had been told that they were raised from ‘‘ decompositum splendens.”’ But what is decompositum splendens ? This name had been given, in Col. Jones’s time, to at least three different varieties of angulare one of which (decomp. splendens Moly) is still in existence as a living plant in the collection of Mr. Cranfield, while of another (d. s. Williams) a dried frond, given to me by Col. Jones, is in my possession. There is no doubt that Mr. Moly was under the impression that his find was the parent of the plumose divisilobes and this belief, in extreme old age, he confided to Mr. Cranfield with great pride. 228 The probability is that he had heard vaguely of a decom- positum splendens as the parent and afterwards jumped to the conclusion that it must be his own find of this name. Both Mr. Cranfield and the late Mr. Druery tried to test. the matter by sowing again spores from Moly’s find. Both — raised a large number of seedlings but in neither case was anything produced which at all resembled a plumose divisilobe. The present writer has in his possession a letter from Col. Jones in which he refers to ‘‘ My decom- positum splendens’’ as the parent. Now Col. Jones found a number of decomposite forms of angulare and it was at one time a standing joke that whenever he went fern-hunting with Moly or Wills or Padley he ‘‘ always found a decom- positum.”’ Now it is not difficult to find a decompositum during a day’s hunting in Somerset or Dorset or Devon, and probably most of these finds were afterwards discarded, but it is more than likely that he would keep the best and sow from it. There is evidence that he actually did so, for I find in my old note-book an extract copied at the time (September 20th, 1889) from a letter of Mr. Fox (in reply to a special inquiry) which states that ‘‘ decompositum grande was found at Torquay, 1870-72; decompositum splendens was a seedling raised at Iona House, Clifton, by Col. Jones from a wild find of his own.’ It is thus established that Col. Jones himself found wild the grand- parent of his plumose divisilobes and also himself raised from that plant the immediate parent. Mr. Fox’s part in the work was that he actually raised the plumose divisilobes from spores given to him for the purpose by Col. Jones. The Colonel and the ‘‘ doctor’’ (Mr. Fox was a medical man but did not call himself Dr.) shared the plants between them and wished equally to share the credit, or rather— like the perfect gentlemen they both were—each wished oo 229 the other to have the principal part of it. Both, early, gave me plants of /axum and densum, but it was not until later that Col. Jones sent me robustwm, which has always been less bulbiferous than the other two. These three forms were in the original batch and were considered the gems of the lot. With them were raised a number of plumose and foliose forms, including plumosum grande Jones, a very fine thing, and frondosum Jones, of both of which I possess fronds. The only identifiable plant of p. grande is now in the possession of Mr. T. E. Henwood. Frondosum has recently given rise to developments of which more anon. Baldwinit, which turned out to be the best of the whole batch, was given as a small plant to Mr. J. Loraine Baldwin and it was only under his culture that it showed its superb development. It is said to have been a bulbil from denswm and if so it was a bud sport. In view of its very distinct character and the extreme rarity of bud sports among angulares I am inclined to suspect that it was ‘* a promising seedling ”’ and was given away, as so many promising seedlings have been, by their raisers, with more generosity than discretion. The three original Jones-Fox plumose divisilobes then are laxwm, densum and robustum. They are very similar in general character, their differences being sufficiently indicated by their names. Baldwinii originated later and is much finer in cutting than any of the others. It is certainly the most beautiful of the lot. Many other forms have been raised from the originals, and from their unnamed collateral relatives, by Mr. H. Stansfield and others. Of these may be mentioned div. pl. foliosum, frondosum, imbricatum, and incisum—all exceedingly fine things, and there are doubtless many others to which no special names have been given. ‘‘ Densuwm superbum,” of Perry, I have not yet seen. The type is still evolving 230 ¢ and comparatively recently gave rise to the ‘‘ pellucidum ”’ section, a distinct break, which includes some lovely gems. Another race of plumose divisilobes of quite independent origin is the Pearson strain raised by Mr. Pearson of Chilwell from a multilobum form of his own finding. The best of these in my judgment is more refined than lawwm, densum or robustum, and runs Baldwini rather close in the race for supremacy. ” , hegre jtaf™ 4 ¢ en i ; - nadit xb a eM aetypepe® Sg Ge y ? 4 i TNO rcs, “lings tonse™ a : smn Lh xh MB és i : ecail 0 ; ei Aires Niy a § Sy ot ri Ae? a him, y : a A Ceo &, = 7 LN aN , 3 SS ‘SX Ee . me vp A a a va “ee - 2 Te a y % : Ret {IF F oe EN ro ¥ mr ue te y 2 3 “gs . al : id eo 4 ys POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE LINEARE “ HIRONDELLE” (WILLS). bagi BRITISH FERN GAZETTE. oe 3. MARCH, 1918. No. 35. CONTENTS. pian EDITORIAL NOTES ead ont ee at Are ian Ged 249 Our FRONTISPIECE ... Me or Aik in a one 250 My EXPERIENCE IN PROPAGATING FERNS FROM BULBILS (Rev. Canon H. Kingsmill Moore, D.D.) “3 251 FERNERY CONSTRUCTION AND FERN CULTURE (Mr. H. Stansfield) 256 FERNS IN FLANDERS (Captain T’. Stansfield, R.A.M.C.) oe 261 _ A TRIPENNATE FERN—BLECHNUM SP. PARADOXUM (F. W. S&S.) 263 THe Errects oF Frost oN Ferns (Mr. H. Stansfield) oe 265 POLYDACTYLISM IN PoLysticHums (I*. W. 8.) ... i ae 269 EDITORIAL NOTES. The war continues its weary and disastrous course ‘* dragging at each remove a lengthening chain ”’ of horror, and has already taken its toll of life and health in some one dear to every member of the Society. Probably every one of us has some near relative engaged in the Titanic struggle for decency and humanity. All the sons of our President and of our Hon. Secretary are in the war and each of these members has had at least one son severely weunded. The Rev. E. H. Hawkins is another member whose sons have all answered the call, one of them having already given his life for the cause, while another (Captain Gerald Hawkins) is home on leave with his FourTH wound stripe. Of actual members of the Society engaged in the war we know of Captain J. R. Roberts, Captain S. P. Rowlands, R.A.M.C., and Captain T. Stansfield, R.A.M.C., all of whom are, or have been, contributors to the GAZETTE. ‘There are probably others whose names have not been brought to our notice. The names of Captain Gerald Hawkins and Captain T. Stansfield (probably also inter alia) have been ‘‘ mentioned jn despatches.”’ 950 Lieut. Walter Stansfield, R.A.M.C., of Sale, who has recently gone to the front, is the only son of our contributor Mr. H. Stansfield. Doubtless we elders, who are compelled to stay behind, are all doing something, directly or indirectly, to support the cause of honour and good faith. We are indebted to our member Mr. T. Brown, J.P., of | Belfast, for a cutting from the Belfast Newsletter announ- cing the death, in her 95th year of Mrs. Frisell, of Belfast, formerly of Castle Kevin, Co. Wicklow. This lady was the first finder of Athyrium f.f. Frisellig in 1857, which event she survived for 60 years, thus probably creating a record in longevity in the history of fern-hunting. We hope this record may be surpassed by some of our present members, several of whom are already octogenarians and still hale and hearty. Fern hunting has been called ** an old man’s hobby,’’ but there is no reason why we should not, at all events, BEGIN young. Some of us did. OUR FRONTISPIECE. POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE LINEARE ‘‘ HIRONDELLE ”’ (Wills). This fern, found by Mr. Moly, was considered by him to be one of his greatest prizes. So much did he think of it that he would never part with a plant until he disposed of his whole collection to Mr. Cranfield shortly before his death. We are indebted therefore to Mr. Cranfield for the rescue of this beautiful thing, with many others, from extinction and oblivion. It is certainly by far the most refined form among the numerous finds of the luneare type. Like many other highly finished varieties, however, it will only give its best development when in good health and in full maturity. Young plants, especially seedlings, pass fT a ie a or a: . i Sto er Wye ee 251 through a stage of imperfection during which they may be almost normal, although generally showing something of the lineare character. The perfect state, however, is well worth waiting and working for. Unfortunately when it is attained the plant seems to lose the vigour which charac- terises it in the larval state (if we may use the expression) and is apt, upon small provocation, to fall into a condition of feeble health from which it recovers with difficulty and only after much coaxing. The name “ hirondelle,” given by Dr. Wills, is French for swallow, and the resemblance of a pair of opposite pinnules to a flying swallow is suffi- ciently striking. Itis not so clear why the French language should have been selected instead of the usual classical tongues. Perhaps the French form was considered more euphonious than the corresponding Latin Hirundo or its adjectival form hirundinum. Chelidon (Greek) would probably be thought too obscure. Let us be thankful it was not Schwalbe. The illustration is taken from a portion of a frond accidentally broken from a seedling plant kindly sent to the Editor some years ago by Mr. Cranfield. It is evident that the variety is capable of coming tiue from spores. FOV: MY EXPERIENCE IN PROPAGATING FERNS FROM BULBILS. As lam innosensea botanist, but merely a grower of plants, it will be my object in this paper to avoid using technical terms, and to describe, in the simplest language I can , command, how I have raised Ferns from bulbils. In certain classes of Ferns, I refer particularly to Poly- stichums, and especially to the plumose varieties of Poly- stichum angulare, the grower notices from time to time a 252 certain thickening of the central rib or stem of the frond. This thickening is always towards the lower end of the frond, and is often confined to the part beneath the lowest pinne. At first it is little more than an unevenness of the — stem, then it develops into a kind of wart-like growth, which gradually swells until rather like a very small tumour, paler in colour on the upper side. There are two radically different ways of treating these growths, or bulbils, for such they are,— (1) The whole frond may be removed and pegged care- fully down in a seed pan. When this method is followed success will largely depend upon fixing the frond firmly, and keeping the whole of it, except the part where the bulbils appear, carefully covered with very finely powdered compost. When the frond has been fixed in position in a carefully drained pan, glass should be placed on top, and careful watering should be given. The pan should then be put ina shady place, where it will be free from any possibility of disturbance. Whenever water is wanted it should be given, and fresh compost should be powdered over if for any cause it should become necessary. | By this means it is possible to raise young fernlets from the bulbils, which throw roots downwards into the com- post, and gradually form little ferns. It is the only process available if a fertile frond breaks off from the parent plant, or if a frond with bulbils comes from a friend. I have, however, found the method tedious and uncertain, and I should never dream of attempting it when the second means which I am now about to describe was available. (2) Thesurer and, in my opinion, simpler means of pro- pagating from bulbils consists in pegging down the fertile (2.e., bulbiferous) fronds. When I notice that bulbils have been formed or are in process of formation I lay underneath 253 the frond sufficient good leaf mould to form a medium which the little roots, when they develop, will be able to penetrate easily. Any light compost would I believe serve the purpose, but I think that leaf mould is the best. The cushion of leaf mould so formed should be deep enough to allow the stem of the frond to become half embedded. When the cushion is ready I press the frond gently downwards and peg it firmly to the ground. At first I used wooden pegs, but these are not always easy to get, they are seldom quite easy tc insert, and they very easily rot or break. For these reasons I now always use hairpins, sometimes one and sometimes two, as may be necessary to ensure the frond being pegged so that it cannot move. Wherever it is possible, which is nearly always the case, I insert the hairpins further from the base than the bulbil or bulbils, for there are sometimes more than one. The pressure of the pins, placed otherwise, might interfere with the free flow of nourishment, and rust, which comes before long, might be injurious. Once the pin or pins are inserted the main part of the operation is complete. I generally end by cutting off the outer half of the frond ; this diminishes the risk of disturb- ance and allows a fuller supply of nutriment for the swelling bulbils. When the operation has been thus completed the plant may be left to itself, and little doubt need be enter- tained that the bulbils so secured will in time develop into little ferns. The only additional precaution which I have found necessary is to make sure from time to time that the pegs hold firm. If from any cause they fail to maintain their grip in the ground, the pegging must be done over again, using either larger pins or more pins. For success the essentials are that the fronds should be fixed firmly in compost properly adapted for the formation of roots. 254 After some months (I shall give details as to dates later) the grower will be gladdened by seeing tiny fronds beginning to uncoil and develop. When the plant is sufficiently matured the time has come for the final process, viz.: the separation of the young fern, for such it now is, from its parent. I commence by cutting the stem of the old frond, upon which the little fern is now growing, with a sharp knife. The closer this is done to the central stock or caudex the better. I next carefully draw the hairpin or hairpins ; and finally with the blade of a knife or better with a strong wooden label I carefully liftthe whole. The next step is the planting of the young fern, or ferns, if there are more bulbils than one, in pots. In doing this I leave sufficient of the old stem to enable me to anchor it by means of two small hairpins placed. one on each side of the little fern, and firmly fixed in the compost. The details as to potting, draining and proper compost are such as rule in all fern potting, the only special point is to ensure here, as in previous stages, that the plantisimmovable. Ifthe plant is sufficiently matured and proper roots have been formed when the potting takes place the future success is assured. It remains to give some hints as to the dates upon which the operations already described are possible and desirable. The causes which léad to the formation of bulbils are, so far as I am aware, obscure. Some species (and varieties) yield bulbils at an early age, while others take a long time, and, of course, there are many that do not yield them at all. I got my first plant of P.A. plumosum laxum Fox in 1897, its first bulbil was formed in 1903; I got my first plant of P.A. plumosum Esplan in 1908, and its first bulbilin 1910. Once the plant begins bearing it is likely to continue at any rate for some years, | To’? OO ee a ae ve < “ : ° ’ . ag J) 955 From the Esplan plumosum first mentioned I took 14 bulbils in 1911, 24in 1912, 13i1n 1913, 3in 1914, 7in 1915. This year the plant ceased bearing and it has been in a feeble condition ever since. To avoid wearying readers I do not give similar particu- lars with reference to Fox’s plumosum. It bore well for a number of years and then died. My first grandchild of the Esplan plumosum came in 1915 from a bulbil which I had taken in 1912, and which was therefore three years old. Other bulbils have been much slower in coming into bearing; three years is the shortest time in my experience. The time for formation of bulbils is commonly the winter months, from December to February. Ido not think any- thing is gained by pegging a frond at a very early stage of the formation ; the right time is when there is some prospect of the bulbils beginning to make rootlets. Similarly with reference to what I have called taking the bulbils, that is severing it from the parent stock, it is a mistake to hasten this process. Ifthe bulbilis pegged in December or January it will begin to develop its little fronds about April or May, but the rootlets in my experience are very feeble at first. A bulbil taken with rootlets only just beginning may be coaxed into a flourishing state by care, but the process is slow. If on the other hand the bulbil is not taken until the rootlets are well formed, the subsequent process is made easier and more rapid. A great many of my bulbils pegged the previous winter are taken in July ; and sometimes, when the formation of _ the parent fern encourages it, 2.e., when the developing fernlet is not likely to suffer any damage, I rather like leaving the bulbil untaken for nearly 12 months. In concluding these notes on the growth of ferns from 256 bulbils I desire to emphasise that all I have set down is my own experience. If I have seemed at times to dogmatise, this has been owing solely to a wish to avoid using unneces- sary words. Iam quite sure there are many others in the Society who can usefully supplement what I have said, and whose experiences have been more successful than mine. I believe that if artificial heat or close treatment were employed, the processes I have described would be very greatly hastened. My account deals solely with an amateur’s experiences of growing from bulbils in a simple way in the open air. H. Kinesmi~tt Moore. Cedar Mount, Dundrum, Co. Dublin. FERNERY CONSTRUCTION AND FERN CULTURE. Ferneries are of two kinds, outdoor and indoor, and although they have many points in common, it may be useful to describe both. The fernery requiring a minimum of attention is the outdoor fernery on dry sandy scil, and it is surprising what a number of species and varieties can be successfully grown on any land that will grow potatoes. The fundamental principles to be observed are pretty much the same as regards the general treatment of the land, whether we are growing ferns, flowers, or vegetables— that is, the land must be first of all deeply trenched and thoroughly pulverised. Assuming that the subsoil is sand it will be advisable to work up and incorporate a few inches of this sandy bottom every time the land is planted, and cow manure should be used at the time of planting, at the rate of 25 tons per acre. A good dressing of this 257 manure will keep the soil moist and in good growing con- dition for several years, in which time the ferns will be thoroughly established and able to take care of themselves during the longest spel!s of drought, with the assistance of frequent hoeings. The land must be kept well cultivated and thoroughly aerated all through the dry weather, and a dust blanket of 3 or 4 inches must be always maintained. This dust blanket imprisons the moisture in the soil, leaving it available for the use of the plants. Without this dust blanket the moisture would be quickly lost by evaporation. The hoe should therefore be used once a week, whenever the land is dry encugh to tread. If the ferns appear to be languishing because of the long delayed rain, give the land an extra hoeing. Plants don’t know the difference between H. O. E. and H,O, and the use of the former is more efficacious than artificial applications of the latter during spells of drought in the outdoor fernery. A soil that cracks in dry weather, denoting the presence of clay, is unsuitable for ferns and requires the addition of much sand. A sandy, fluffy, peaty soil is the best for general purposes. Sandy soils seldom crack and are never dry 6 inches below the surface provided the hoe is in constant use. Every shower of rain in hot weather closes up the pores of the soil either wholly or partially, leaving a sort of impervious crust on the top when dry. It is the duty of the cultivator to break up this crust imme- diately it is formed, and to work it up into a dust blanket. If this is not promptly attended to, the ground rapidly loses its moisture by evaporation, and there is a look of silent suffering about the ferns which is very pathetic. A few small and medium sized trees planted among the ferns will provide the necessary shade and shelter from winds. 258 An ideal spot for a moist fernery would be a sloping hillside at a moderate altitude above surrounding ground. I have such a spot on the North-West side of Cader Idris, and about half the distance from the summit, in my mind’s eye. Here there is ample air drainage and there would be a total absence of late spring frosts which often prove so disastrous in low-lying districts. The ground is always wet, never even approaching dryness, and cool summer conditions prevail. The matter of water drainage is usually overdone and we are al] apt to err on the side of too much drainage. A wet sloping bank or hillside would require no drainage, gravity would do all that is necessary in the way of removing surface water. Your readers will observe that in a permanently wet outdoor fernery no hoeing can be done, and it is in fact here unnecessary. The use of the hoe is to keep the land moist, and if this can be effected without labour, so much the better. As regards the under-glass fernery : A fernery requiring constant artificial watering is rather a nuisance, and watered ferns are seldom permanently happy, therefore the fernery site should be so moist that all watering is unnecessary and the watering can ought to be banished from the fernery. I am assuming, of course, that your readers have discarded pot culture, and have adopted the more commonsense method of planting out. The main difficulty in establishing a wet non-drained fernery on a wet bottom is that of maintaining the soil in a light and open condition. The soil in which the ferns are to be planted should be introduced in a perfectly dry state at the time of planting, and should be spread out on the wet boggy land above described, to a depth of 9 to 12 inches, according to the size of the plants to be dealt with. As regards the growing medium ferns are not very fastidious 259 provided the soil rests on permanently wet mud or floating bog, and is, and can be maintained, in an open and porous condition. A mixture of garden soil with an equal bulk of peat moss litter, or cocoanut refuse, leaf mould, street sweepings, shoddy, decayed sphagnum, sand, anything, in fact, that will keep the soil open and porous will grow all but the most delicate ferns. Sand and soil alone would not be quite light enough for ferns under glass. The soil should be spongy and elastic as well as light, and a mixture of quarter soil, quarter sand and half moss litter or any of the substitutes aforesaid would make an ideal com- post. I use leaf mould, street sweepings and decayed packing moss as a lightening medium, these being close at hand and readily procurable, but should prefer peat moss litter, shoddy and horse droppings as being more springy and elastic, if they could be procured locally and econo- mically. The object is to have the soil dry at the top but very wet at the bottom, and as light at the time of planting as newly fallen snow. The hoe should also here be used whenever the surface is dry enough, and the arrangement of the beds such as will enable the cultivator to do all necessary work such as weeding and replanting without treading the soil, as treading would tend to deprive the soil of its porosity. If we water the plants from above, we clog up the pores of the soil and destroy our dust blanket, therefore all water must reach the plants from below, and watering must be as far as possible self-acting. But your readers will say: ‘‘ How about ferns in the open air ? Nature usually supplies water from the clouds and not from the bowels of the harmless earth.”’ Very true. The fact that nature usually dispenses her supplies of moisture from above has not escaped my notice, but we are now 260 treating of ferns under glass, where no rain can penetrate, and nature is not catering exclusively for the benefit of our ferns ; if also we can improve upon or assist nature in any way, so much the better. After planting, the lower roots will quickly penetrate the watery zone below, and there remain permanently immersed, whilst the upper or breath- ing roots will find their proper level in the drier strata above, and the plants will quickly adapt themselves to the prevailing conditions. Such delicate subjects as A.f.f. Kalothrix and A.f.f. Gurdle- stonew are at their best when planted only two or three inches above the waterline, and P. ang. Pateyu and P. ang. acrocladon, as well as many other kinds which are usually supposed to require much humouring, are equally aquatic in their requirements. A very thin shading of limewash should be applied to the glass internally about April, and the same externally two months later. This outer application ought to have been oradually washed off by the rain, leaving the glass exter- nally almost clean by September. The internal shading, if not too thickly applied, will have almost disappeared by the end of October. | Another great advantage in connection with the wet fernery is the total absence cf O. sulcatus, that béte noir of the fern lover. My own bog fernery under glass has not been watered for twelve years and during the whole of that time [ have not seen a trace of the common enemy, although the place is packed with ferns to which the vermin are very partial. Whether the larve are drowned in winter, when the land is usually covered with more or less water for long periods, or whether the perfect insect is drowned in summer in the numerous water holes from which plants have been lifted, 261 or whether they fall a prey to the colonies of frogs infesting the place, | am at present unable to say. I notice the beetles drown in less than an hour, but the larve can stand four days’ total immersion and still come up smiling and hungry. A fernery constructed on the above lines is not such a tax on the time of the cultivator. The ferns take care of themselves and can partake of liquid refreshment at any time without having to ask for it, and beyond careful weed- ing require little attention. The owner can take his annual holiday or attend to his general business with an easy mind, ‘*‘ wrapped in measureless content’”’ in the knowledge that his treasures are in the care of nature herself, the best of all nurses. Sale. H. STANSFIELD. [Our correspondent’s views on culture are apparently somewhat heterodox, but he has given abundant evidence that he can grow ferns as well as most pecple. The con- ditions which he describes—on the one hand a naturally dry soil with sandy subsoil, on the other a quagmire with water below—are neither of them ideal and are widely divergent from each other, yet the same ferns are per- suaded to flourish in both. It is clear that the methods which will suit one position will not suit the other. Moral: Let each cultivator study the conditions of his situation and adapt his measures thereto. The secret will perhaps be found in the maintenance of a soil which is at once Moist and well aérated.—EDITOR. | FERNS IN FLANDERS. The man who rides a hobby bas always the pull over the dull pedestrian, and especially so when the lines of both are cast in places not of the pleasantest. Life with our 262 infantry in Flanders is characterised by monotony, varied by periods of excitement provided gratis by the Hun, and no condition could bring out more forcibly the value of an enthusiasm, be it for horses, fishing, botany or what not, as a preventive against boredom. To one in whom fern hunting is a hereditary disease, ferns of any sort, anywhere, cannot fail to provide entertainment, although it must be confessed that in Flanders the material is very limited and the results of many months of desultory hunting have been precisely nil, as regards varieties of decorative value. Luckily the pleasure of the pursuit is not dependent solely on the discovery of the very occasional ‘* good thing.’ ‘‘ Where there are ferns there is always a chance ” and at least there are always those forms of minor variation which are interesting botanically, though useless for the garden, to say nothing of the beauty of the normal ferns themselves. Polystichums are fairly generally distributed over cur Army area, though their numbers are few, and they are all of the extreme aculeatum type, not a single angulare or intermediate form being found, nor any varieties. _ Lastreas are fairly abundant, dilatata, spynulosa and fiiz-mas especially so. Pseudo-mas is not so common, though it does occur. Montana was not found. Polypodium vulgare is plentiful on that curious group of isolated sandy hills which rise abruptly from the plain on the Franco-Belgian borders. Much hunting was done on one of these, formerly a valuable cbservation post over- locking the old German lines, and still under occasional shell fire frem the high-velocity naval gun, vulgarly known as ‘* Percy.” A few sub-varieties were found, e.g., semt- lacerum, bifidum and acutuwm, one of the last, with long tapering pinne, being almost worth ‘‘ bagging.”’ — 263 Athyriums are plentiful on the same hill, and generally in suitable locations. Of Asplenia, Adiantum-nigrumwas found most abundantly near a base hospital on the Channel coast and the plants were of a character distinctly more acute than the British average. Aspleniwmtrichomanes is not generally distributed but was found in profusion in one village occupied during a period of training, decorating every suitable wall with its delicate tracery, in company with Asplenvwm ruta-muraria, which is much more generally abundant. An attempt at cresting was the only variety noticed. Near this same village were chalky hills which made a famous hunting ground for Orchids, of which, the season being June, many interesting species were found. It seems a pity that no fern variety could be found, to serve as a War souvenir, more attractive than the stereo- typed shell-case, Hun weapon, etc., but possibly the luck may yet turn. T. STANSFIELD. Empire Hospital, London, W., December, 1917. A TRIPENNATE FERN. Blechnum sp. paradoxum (Jones) was found by Mr. G. Whitwell in Bannisdale, Westmorland, in 1877. It was an absolutely unique plant, no fern with this three-winged character having been recorded in any species so far as the writer knows. The frond was, at first sight, somewhat of the strictuwm character with toothed and abbreviated pinne, but along the middle of its upper surface was an upright ridge like the crest on the back of the male newt. The ridge was, however, divided into lobes, corresponding to 264 pinne, and the frond was consequently described as having “three rows of pinne,’”’ viz., the two normal lateral rows and, in addition, the vertical pinnate ridge. The upright row had no lower surface but both sides had glossy epithe- lium similar to that of the upper face of the normal frond. Col. Jones had an opportunity of seeing the plant shortly after it was found and was much interested, having been, quite naturally, sceptical of the existence of such a fern until he saw it with his own eyes. He named it paradoxum and suggested that it should be handed over to Mr. Barnes to develop, as that gentleman was very successful as a grower of Blechnums. The suggestion was adopted, Mr. Whitwell receiving a choice montana in exchange with a promise of the first division of the Blechnum. The plant became established and developed over twenty fronds of some three inches in length. It was at this stage that I saw the plant (probably in 1878) in Mr. Barnes’s garden, and marvelled at its remarkable and unique character. Unfortunately for everyone, Mr. Barnes was too anxious to redeem his promise to send back a plant to the finder— the plant was divided with a knife (alas ! the fatal knife), the result being that one of the pieces perished entirely while the other was all but killed. Mr. Barnes’s half was, with some difficulty, coaxed back to life and remained with him until his death, when the plant came again into the finder’s possessicn. It never, however, became robust and never shewed any fertile fronds, but eventually died without progeny more than thirty years after its discovery. I saw it an extremis some three or four years ago (I think) when there were, in one pot, three tiny pieces, each of which could have been covered by a shilling, but all still showing the three-winged character quite distinctly. The extinc- tion of this fern was a greater disaster to the fern world 265 than the loss of many more beautiful things. Its decora- tive value was very small but as an example of variation it took first rank inasmuch as it was the only example of its kind. Centuries may elapse before another such fern is found, but what nature has done once she can do again, and it may be that some even of the present generation may re-discover this extraordinary type in this, or in some other, species. Unfortunately no frond, photograph, or drawing of this fern exists but, in order that its memory may not be lost, | have here set down its history in greater detail than it has yet been given. F.W.S. THE EFFECT OF FROST ON FERNS. Much misconception exists in the popular mind as to the effect of severe frost on ferns. With the exception of Asplenium marinum, Ad. capillus-Veneris, and perhaps Trichomanes radicans. the whole of our native ferns (the strong growing and deep rooting species at any rate) derive considerable benefit from spells of severe frost during winter, provided the plants are not in pots. [An important qualification.—ED. | A good old-fashioned winter with frost and snow extend- ing towards the end of April, augurs well for a magnificent display of fern foliage later on. The conditions to be dreaded are these periods of com- paratively warm weather which are sometimes sandwiched between periods of severe frost. If these mild warm days occur later than February, there is danger of the ferns being excited into premature erowth, and they do not obtain that complete rest which is so necessary a prelude to the serious business of life. 266 Kerns require winter weather of a very decided kind, such as we experienced during the winter ending May, 1917. Then we had a mild autumn followed by protracted spells of frost, with an average night temperature of 25 degrees Fahrenheit. These conditions prevailed until towards the end of May. Asplenium marinum and Ad. capillus- Veneris in cold houses were mostly killed, but among ferns in the open ground, such as Athyriwms, large Polystichums, Lastreas and Osmundas, the deaths were nil. Small late transplanted plants of shallow rooting varieties of P. angu- lare died to the extent of perhaps 5 per cent. in the open ground, but under glass all were uninjured. If we could have the weather to order, that best suited to ferns would be: Autumn with occasional slight frosts such as we are now experiencing (1917), then a cold but frostless January, then a moderate fall of snow with cold frosty sub-arctic weather until mid May. Such conditions are conducive to thorough rest, with that refreshing dream- less slumber which is so essential to a vigorous and uniform start in spring. After mild winters the ferns will often begin to move during the second week in April, and the first crop of fronds, which ought to be the best, is bound to suffer from the effects of the frosts which will inevitably occur a month later. If on the other hand the weather in March and April is very mixed, the crowns are liable to issue their contents in serial fashion instead of all the fronds marching together. Ferns cannot be disturbed during March without hasten- ing the start. This is a matter of no consequence provided we get a frostless May. Unfortunately, however, May has rather a bad character, and we rarely get a frostless May. For this reason antumn planting is most desirable, whilst 267 the ferns are having their beauty sleep. If we wake them too soon, they will slumber again, but if disturbed towards the end of March, like Macbeth, they will ‘‘ sleep no more,”’ but will start into growth two weeks earlier than would have been the case had they been undisturbed. : Some of the so-called hardy exotic ferns are less immune from the effects of severe frost than are our native ferns. In the cold fernery under glass the crowns of large 5 feet specimens of Lomaria Magellanica, which for 20 years have come safely through the winter, have this (16/17) winter been killed, but the underground rhizomes have survived and have produced quite a thicket of strong sturdy plants 2 feet high. Dennstadtia punctilobula and Pteris scaberula although in great measure killed, have just managed to pull through. Asplenium monanthemum perished. Polystichum Ilicifoium and Lastrea Standishii although badly punished, are still alive. The N. American Osmundas are hardier than our own O. regalis, and are quite happy with a zero temperature during winter. The Brazilian O. palustris, although usually reckoned hardy, has suc- cumbed to the frost although under glass and otherwise slightly protected. Polystichum setosum and P. Braunii are both early risers. They are uninjured by the most severe frosts in winter, but nothing can induce them to remain in bed until all danger of frost is at an end. The proverbial wisdom does not appear to accompany early rising in this case. It may be possible by a process of . selection, to breed a race of sluggards who can be persuaded to remain in bed till ‘‘ somewhat nearer to the stroke of noon’ (June 21st). Until then we may expect to see these lovely ferns cut down by the frosts of May. bears a 268 One of the ill effects of a succession of alternate frosts and thaws is the lifting of small and unestablished plants out of the ground, where they are liable to remain high and dry until killed by drought. If an inquest could be held on the mortal remains of these plants, it would probably be found that death was caused by drought and not by frost per se. In rhubarb forcing the universal practice is to lift the roots out of the ground and leave them exposed ‘‘ all thin and naked to the numb-cold night ’’ or, more correctly, to the frost, for 3 weeks before transferring them to the warm steamy atmosphere of the forcing house. The more thorough the freezing, the quicker and stronger the growth after their removal! to the forcing house. The late Mr. Tyldsley who was one of our most successful fern growers here in the north, and whose cold glass fernery excited the envy and admiration of all, thought he could enhance the general interest by installing a heating appara- tus, so as to exclude the frost during winter. The result was quite satisfactory so far as the winter was concerned. The evergreen and sub-evergreen ferns retained their fresh- ness of foliage until long after Christmas, bat the growth in spring left much to be desired. The crowns broke feebly and unevenly as though the long night of winter had been spent in riot and dissipation. There was also an air of general debility about the ferns which contrasted very unfavourably with their former robust health. Frost in winter, although so detestable to elderly people, certainly has its good points, and is very serviceable as a soil pulverizer. A good hard frost after the land has been roughly dug is the very best possible preparation for the summer drought, as it leaves the soil in that light and powdery condition which is so essential to the well being ae 269 of ferns in the open air fernery, and which condition is almost impossible of attainment by any other means. H. STANSFIELD. Sale, December, 1917. [Asplenium lanceolatum microdon, although under double glass protection, was killed outright in Reading by the frost of the winter of 1916-17, as the species had been by a previous severe winter. This species (lanceolatum) appears with us to be almost, but not quite, as tender as A. marinum. Many choice varieties of Polystichum angulare, grown im pots, suffered severely, while those planted out, whether in the open ground or in frames, were practically uninjured — EDITOR. | POLYDACTYLISM IN POLYSTICHUMS. Every raiser of Polystechums (especially of P. angulare) from spores must have been struck by the increasing ten- dency of late years for polydactylous forms to appear among the seedlings. Unfortunately the polydactylism is invariably more or less irregular, being greater in some pinne than in others, while it is always missing from a few of them. This want of thoroughness is a defect in the polydactylous forms inasmuch as it causes the fronds to be more or less unsymmetrical. Occasionally a frond will appear which has all the pinne affected, but no one has yet succeeded in raising a form which was constant throughout, 2.€., in which ALL the pinne of ALL the fronds showed this character. The first polydactylum recorded was found in Tipperary in 1857, named by the late Mr. Thomas Moore, and distributed by Mr. R. Sim, of Foots Cray. It was a poor thing, being a small grower with a tendency to 270 irregularity in the development of the pinne as well as in the amount of fingering which they bere; it is doubtful whether it is now in existence and its loss need not be regretted. In 1862 the Rev. C. Padley found his Vale of — Avoca polydactylum, which was a fine grower with sym- metrical fronds so far as the general cutline was concerned, but exceedingly unreliable as to the amount of fingering prodaced—some fronds being fairly well hung with fingered pinne, while others were normal or almost so. Col. Jones greatly admired this type and from Padley’s find he raised his polydactylum splendens—a great advance upon the — parent and certainly one of the best purely polydactylous forms produced up to the present. He was very ambitious of finding a good polydactylum himself, and in 1875, while fern hunting in South Hampshire, he was day-dreaming of this. To quote his own words: ‘‘!I was just thinking what I should like to find—it was to be a polydactylum, and the best polydacitylum ever found—when suddenly there it was before my eyes.’ This was the history of his famous Hants polydactylum, which he afterwards sowed sc _ per- sistently and endeavoured to cross with almost every uncrested form of angulare, thus laying the foundation of the compound polydactylous angulares now in almost every collection—indeed the difficulty now is to avoid them. He even tried to introduce polydactylum blood into his beautiful plumose divisilobes. When he told me of this I remarked, ‘‘What a mercy it was that you did not succeed.’ Since his time, however, the plumose ~ divisilobes have become infected with polydactylism and it must bs admitted that the results are, in some cases and at some times, exceedingly beautiful. Among them are P.ang.dw. pl. polydactylum H. Stansfield, div. pl. dissechum and, perhaps most striking of all, the form which I call 4 ’ 271 cupressoides, also raised by the same grower. In this form there seems to be a minute infusion of lineare blood which gives a peculiar sharpness of cutting to the ultimate seg- ments. The fronds are rather narrow and erect and the suggestion of a Cypress is, in some conditions, very striking. None of these forms, however, can be relied upon to produce two fronds alike, owing to the exceeding variableness of the polydactylous character. This character has even invaded the pulcherrimum section, and, oddly enough, this was in the first pulcherrimum ever raised from spores—my own pulcherrimum polydactylum. In 1888 Col. Jones sent me a large collection of spores for sowing, among which was a mixed packet of decompositum grande polydactylum and deorso-pinnatum (both of Jones). The ferns raised from this packet included one which I early recognised as a pulcherrimum. The polydactylous character was not noticeable for some time but appeared when the fronds were 9 or 10 inches long, somewhat to my disappointment even then, for I was very anxious to raise a pulcherrimum pure and simple. [| still have this plant and it is a very interesting but somewhat tantalizing form. Every new year it seems to make good resolutions and starts the spring growth with a set of fronds of most refined and exquisite pulcherrumum character, generally with just a touch of polydactylism here and there, but fronds are sometimes produced of almost pure pulcherriumum type. These fronds are thin in texture and lacking in timber in the footstalks, so that they are apt to drop after a month or two of life. During the summer, however, the polydactylum blood seems to get the upper hand and the later fronds gradually become coarser in cutting, thicker in texture, and more polydactylous, until in the late autumn but little of the pulcherrimum character is to be seen. The polydactylum 272 blood appears to confer vigour and has prcbably been the main cause of the preservation of the variety, which would otherwise not have survived the vicissitudes to which it has been exposed. The feature of polydactylism has also crossed over from P. angulare to P. aculeatum, this being first effected by a deliberate and purposive sowing on the part of Mr. E. F. Fox. A later example is the manifesta- tion in P. aculeatum pulcherromum of an imperfectly poly- dactylous form, this being a seedling raised by Mr. Cran- field. This form at times seems to promise well but as a rule the fingered character is too irregular and fugitive to be considered anything other than a defect from the ornamen- tal point of view. Nevertheless the plant is interesting biologically because it was not the result of an intenticnal cress at all and it may possibly be a manifestation of simple ‘* sporting ’’ on the part of the parent pulcherramum. Other cases have given rise to the suspicion that there may be an inherent tendency in the Polystichums, and especially in the more complex forms to put on this character when propagated from spores. A sowing of my own, in which the polydactylcous strain was carefully avoided, rather supports this view, but it must be confessed that this kind - of sporting—if sporting it be—was absolutely unknown in these species until intenticnal crosses had been effected. d) [Z'o be continued.| No. 36:0 | : ome... British Fern Gazette. PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. June, 1918. EDITED BY F. W. STANSFIELD, M.D. PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY | (Hon. Sec. and Hon. Treasurer, W. B. Cranfield, East Lodge, Enfield Chase, . 4 Middlesex). KENDAL, WESTMORLAND. Cries? Blew en, + ven ee Bee a ALEXANDER COWAN, Esq. President of Ghe ‘Brilish Pteridological Society. f ee ae RK PR a | A NRA Or ere. P. ANGULARE DIVISILOBUM FALCATUM, MOLY. ee a (eee i TPE BRITISH FERN GAZETTE, ie. 3. JUNE, 1918. oe 36. CONTENTS. Sea EpiroRiaL Notes ... : 273 THE Lars Mr. W. B. Borp ion J. i M. an alec, B.D.) 276 Our FRONTISPIECE (P. angulare divisilobum faleatum, Moly)... 278 POLYDACTYLISM IN PoLysTicHuMs (concluded For March Gazette) ... 5 Fey Ee an 279 THE TENDER CONSCIENCE (Mr. H. *etaniaticld) se =, 279 FERNERY CONSTRUCTION AND FERN CULTURE (Mr. C. B. Green) 285 SUPRASORIFERATION (Mr. H. Stansfield) ... aa nee a 287 NEw Ferns (F. W.S.) _... das a jae os sae 292 List OF MEMBERS ss... ee ca aids died oe es 293 EDITORIAL NOTES. As the present issue will complete the third volume of the GAZETTE, we have pleasure in presenting, asa frontispiece, a portrait, from a photograph taken some years ago, of our President, Mr. Alexander Cowan, of Penicuik, who has worthily presided over the fortunes of the Society for the last ten years. We trust he may long continue to occupy that position. Our readers will learn with the deepest sorrow that Mr. Cowan has lost his eldest son, Captain Charles J. A. Cowan, of the Royal Scots, aged 25, who died on March 25th from wounds sustained while fighting for his” country in France on March 23rd; Mr. Cowan’s second son lost a leg in the war last year, while the third is now suffering from severe shell shock. Our deepest sympathies go to our President and his family as to all who are similarly bereaved. We regret also to announce the death of our member, Captain Harry Sanderson (acting Major), of Galashiels, which has only just come to our knowledge although it occurred aslong ago as Apri! 23rd, 1917, when he was killed in 274 action near Arras. Mr. Sanderson enlisted in August, 1914, as a private in the Inverness-shire Horse Artillery, from which he obtained a commission in the R.F.A. He rapidly rose to the rank of Captain. He commanded his battery in the battle of the Somme, in which he was wounded, and in the end of 1916 he returned to France. Captain Sanderson took an active part in the public life of his native town of Galashiels, where he was a partner in the firm of P. & R. Sanderson, cloth manufacturers. He was a keen horti- culturist and botanist and had a fine collection of rock plants. He was one of the most active members of the Scottish Alpine Botanical Club, having a keen eye for a fern as well as for a flowering Alpine plant. So far as we knew Captain Sanderson is the first actual member of our Society who has died for his country in the war as he was also one of the first tc offer himself. He leaves a widow and three children to whom we offer our profound sympathy. It is with deep regret that we announce the death, on March 16th, of our honoured Vice-President, Mr. W. B. Boyd, in his 88th year. His death was mercifully sudden, as we understand he was in his garden on the previous day and the Editor received from him a letter, written in his usual neat and firm hand, dated March 15th and bearing the Melrose postmark of March 16th. In it he says: “‘l have been in the doctor’s bands lately, but am now feeling a good deal better.’ Mr. Boyd was regarded with esteem and affection by all who came in contact with him on the Society’s excursions, in which he frequently joined. He attended the very last meeting in Eskdale in Augast, 1914, and was then successful in finding a very promising and vigorous plumose form of Lastrea montana. He had many years previously found another plumose form of this species and a sub-plaumose form of ZL. dilatata alpina. He was also 275 the discoverer of an imbricate variety of Polystichum lonchitis and a congested form of the rarely varying Allo- sorus crispus. Another interesting find of his was his Loch Lomond Lastrea, at first supposed to be a hybrid between L. filix-mas and L. spinulosa or L. dilatata. As, however, it comes readily from spores it is probable that it will turn out to be a botanical variety of L. dilaiata with which it certainly has affinities. The seedlings still await develop- ment and investigation. The Revd. J.J. M. L. Aiken, who knew him well, has contributed the biographical sketch of our venerable friend which appears upon another page. The completion of our third volume affords a convenient opportunity for the Society to re-consider whether the GAZETTE shall still be continued or shal! be suspended for theduration ofthe war. In view ofhismany preoccupations the Editor would welcome the latter solution (which is also suggested by such considerations as the scarcity of paper and labour), but he will be glad to fall in with the wishes of the members as to what may be considered the best interests of the Society. Our membership has naturally decreased during the war, though perhaps to a less extent than might have been anticipated from the nature of the conflagration which is devastating the world. A list of members is published in the present issue. We trust our readers will continue loyally to endeavour to obtain new recruits to take the place of those members who are being lost tous. Contributions, both literary and pictorial, as well as fronds for comment, will be welcomed by the Editor, and should be sent to Dr. Stansfield, 120, Oxford Road, Reading. Business communications and subscriptions (5s. annually) should be sent to the Hon. Secretary, Mr. W. B. Cranfield, East Lodge, Enfield Chase, Middlesex. 276 WILLIAM BRACK BOYD, OF FALDONSIDE. By the death of Mr. W. B. Boyd, on Saturday, 16th March, the Pteridological Society lost a genial and devoted member who, if precluded from taking part in its annual meetings through advancing years, retained a keen and loyal interest in its objects of pursuit. Mr. Boyd was born in 1831 at Cherrytrees, Yetholm, at the base of the Chevicts, being the youngest of three sons of Mr. Adam Brack Boyd, who succeeded to that property from his maternal uncle. He was educated at The Grange, Sunderland, a scholastic establishment presided over by Dr. James Cowan, in which a number of Border youths in those days received the rudiments of learning. On entering on the active business of life, he tenanted the farm of Hetton Hall, Northumberland) ua afterwards removed to Ormiston, Roxburghshire. Having married in 1862 Elizabeth Bell, only daughter of Mr. James Wilson, of Otterburn and Buchtrig, who as one of two co-heiresses succeeded to the estate of Faldonside upon the death of Mr. Nicol Milne, her uncle, he took up residence — there, cultivating a portion of the inherited property. ‘Three children were born to him, the elder son, Major A. Boyd Wilson, who succeeded to Otterburn, and held a commission in a cavalry regiment; the younger, Captain James W. Boyd, who was appointed estate agent to Lord. Allendale, but at the outset of hostilities volunteered for service in France, where he was killed in action ; and an only daughter, her father’s constant companion for many years, who has survived him and succeeded to the property. Living quietly the life of a country gentleman engaged in aericultural pursuits, Mr. Boyd devoted a large part of his leisure to the study and propagation of plants, and through his extensive knowledge and successful cultivation of them ee Se So Se ee ~~ —- A Sd ‘7 er aaa i} >s j 271 established himself as an authority to whom florists and students of botany gladly bad recourse for information and guidance. Instinctively a collector, he wandered far and wide at home and on the Continent in search of specimens, and with such success that his rock-garden at Faldonside attracted many a flower lover to view the wonderful assort- ment of Alpines and Ferns which his practical knowledge enabled him to grow to perfection. His eminence as a botanist was duly recognised by his appointment as Presi- dent of the Edinburgh Botanical Society, of the Berwick- shire Naturalists’ Club on two separate occasions, and of the Scottish Alpine Club, of which he was till his death the soul and trusty guide. The Pteridological Society also did him honour in electing him to be a Vice-President. A man of simpie tastes and marked individuality, he proved a delightful companion, his enthusiasm being un- flacging and contagious. A day in his company on hillside, seashore, or among his rock plants at home was one of insight, exhilaration and lasting profit. As one of like proclivities, who knew him well and often journeyed with him on his botanical rambles has testified, ‘‘ Duplicates of such men are rarely forthcoming.” It is matter for regret that with him has passed away an accumulated store of valuable information, as he was disinclined to commit his thoughts to writing; but in his occasional contributions to scientific publications, and particularly in his Presidential Address to the members of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club in 1905, he bas afforded no little proof of his intimate acquaintance with the habits and stations of many of the less common plants of our own and of foreign countries. Happily his name is pre- served to science, as by his discovery on the Grampian Range of a hybrid Willow and an inconspicuous Pearlwort, 278 he has added two species to our native flora, namely, Salix Boydu and Sagina Boydit (Bach., White). His remains were interred in the family burying ground within the precincts of Melrose Abbey. OUR FRONTISPIECE. POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE DIVISILOBUM FALCATUM, Moty. The illustration is from a frond grown while the plant was stillin Mr. Moly’s possession, about 1886. The sab-varietal name of laxum was originally given by Mr. Wollaston to this form but Mr. Moly was always dissatisfied with that name and, when he sent the plant to me, he asked that it should be re-named. The sweeping sickle-shaped pinne and pinnules being by far the most prominent and noticeable character I called it divisilobum falcatum, by which title it has ever since been known. Unfortunately when the plant left Dorsetshire it failed to keep up the falcate character so far as the pinne were concerned, although retaining it fully in the pinnules. As grown by Mr. Moly it was one of the most striking of British ferns, surpassing even P. aculea- tum pulcherrimum in the magnificent upward sweep of the pinne. Probably a return to the genial and bracing air ofits native climate would result in its reversion to its original character. In any case it is one of the most beautiful divisilobes ever found. The original plant is now in the possession of Mr. Smithies. Many seedlings have been distributed. I suspect that Mr. Cranfield’s falcato-decom- positum, obtained from Mr, Moly, is a seedling from this. BF. W. 3 279 POLYDACTYLISM IN POLYSTICHUMS. (Concluded from March Gazrrre.) Another polydactylous form of a different type is Wollaston’s North Somerset find. The previously men- tioned forms when in their best character, although the pinne are fingered, have the apices of the fronds undivided. It is true that, in the young state, the fronds frequently carry large ramulose heads, but this is merely the exuber- ance of youth and, as maturity is reached, the apices of the fronds usually become single and pointed. Wollaston’s form, however, always carries a crested head in whatever stage of life, and is really as much a cristatum as a poly- dactylum. It is distinguished by the sharply pointed tips cf the fingers and of the ultimate divisions of the apical crest and is also much more thorough in its polydactylism than any of the others. I suspect that this is one of the parents of Mr. Edwards’s P. ang. lineare cristatum. Mr. Wills also found a polydactylous form which, however, is irregular and not worth growing. The same may be said of a find of my own made in 1914—probably the most recent find in this section. TOW oS. THE TENDER CONSCIENCE. A TRAGIC INCIDENT IN A NORTHERN FERN NURSERY. Quarters for filmy ferns were being arranged on scientific lines. A hot water pipe was led through a tank of cold water at the bottom of a close glazed inner frame about 40 ft. long, with a view to the production of a saturated atmosphere, so that the foliage would be perpetually ** dewy with nature’s teardrops,” ‘‘a consummation devoutly to be wished ” in filmy fern culture. 280 There being little or no apparent deposition of moisture, the scientific member of our staff observed that it was not the amount of moisture held in the atmosphere that deter- mined its suitability for filmy culture, but the amount that the atmosphere could be induced or compelled to part with in the shape of condensed moisture. ** What we want” remarked our tame scientist, ‘‘is a current of cold air to come in contact with this warm moisture laden atmosphere. We should then get artificial rain on a small scale inside this case all the year round, provided the stoker did his duty. The stoker compels evaporation and the current of cold air would compel condensation.” But how are we to acquire a current of cold air in this torrid weather, and had we not better ‘‘ draw out leviathan with a hook and loose the bands of Orion,” ‘‘ to leave no rubs nor botches in the work ?’”’ Queried our irreverent stoker who was on his dignity. ‘‘ If we make an opening, our carefully imprisoned moisture will escape and be ab- sorbed in the dry outer air.” ‘“ What we must have,” continued our scientist, ignoring the stoker’s ill-timed levity, “‘is a current of permanently cold air, and to insure its being uniformly cold, it ought to travel some distance underground. Why not utilise that old drain which formerly carried off the rainwater from the roof? It is close at hand, and the drain being untrapped, the flow of water dewn the drain will! displace a correspond- ing volume of air, and thus compel a constant upward current of air from the main sewer if we break into this upright shaft. It will only mean removing a few bricks which are our own property and on our own premises.” ‘* Alas! How oft the sight of means to do ill-deeds makes ill-deeds done.”’ 7 Spee ad Ps 281 Our timekeeper here begged to remind us that ‘‘ much fearful communing was leaden servitor to dull delay, that delay leads impotent and snail-paced beggary,” and that the infusion of a modicum of fiery expedition into the proceedings would not be considered inopportune at the present juncture. ** Halt!” yelled our Conscientious Objecter, ‘‘ Don’t you see that the resulting cold current would be the property of the Urban District Council, and that unscrupulously and surreptitiously to lay violent hands on this current, whose very helplessness ought to appeal to us trumpet-tongued, and to divert its feeble energies towards the furtherance of cur own nefarious schemes for self-aggrandisement, would be nothing less than larceny, naked and unashamed ? ”’ If we were prepared to enter into negotiations with the _U.D.C. in a legitimate and straightforward manner for the acquisition of the current, then he saw no reason why he should object, but deliberately to steal the current because we happened to want it, that was a horse of another colour. We might just as reasonably tap the gas and water supply. These operations would present no difficulty, and we should derive considerable financial benefits. It was opportunity that made the thief. A reasonable distinction should always be preserved be- tween meum and twum, in spite of any pecuniary advantages which might accrue from a confusion of these matters. He had never entertained a very high opinion of the moral qualities of his co-workers, but he literally stood aghast at the enormity of such ‘‘ naked villainy’ as was now in contemplation, and his feelings on finding himself associated with such an unscrupulous gang of conscienceless despera- does were wonderfully akin to those of the lady in the poem (Miss Kilmansegg) who dreamt she had married the devil. 282 He wished therefore to enter a most emphatic protest against, and to utterly dissociate himself from, any such predatory and disreputable proceeding. ‘* Shall we sell the mighty space of our large honours, for so much trash as may be grasped upon ?”’ Such conduet would be ‘‘ most heathenish and most gross,’’ and would put us on the same level with the Germans. As a sop to Cerberus, and to overcome the absurd scruples of our C.O., a consultation cf officers was immediately called, and it was resolved, and carried with only one dissentient :— (a) That the current having not as yet embarked upon its career of iniquity, it would be manifestly absurd to discuss the hypothetical claims of the U.D.C. to pre-natal property which had as yet no separate existence. : (6) That it was not proposed to lead the current into captivity and exile against its own wishes and inclinations after the manner of the Germans with the civil population of Belgium, but to extend its sphere cf influence, broaden its intellectual horizon, and to enlarge the scope of its voluntary operations. (c) That the current was vagrant, homeless, and without any visible means of subsistence, yet notwithstanding its humble origin, we were willing to accord to it that full and complete measure of liberty, freedom and justice which was its birthright, and that its freedom and liberty would be augmented rather than restricted or curtailed. (d) That the end would justify the means, seeing that the world could ill afford to jeopardise the existence of these priceless gems of the vegetable kingdom. i Renn 4 283 They were landmarks on the path of progress, beacons “* lighting for us the way to dusty death.” (e) That by harnessing the current we should succeed in replenishing our depleted exchequer, without the disquieting reflection that the plundered party would be left ‘‘ poor indeed.” (f) That our aspirations did not soar to those inacces- sible heights of unctuous moral rectitude claimed by our C.O. and that to call to our assistance the blind forces of nature could not be considered (except by a crank) as an indication of natural depravity, but rather as a sagacious and praiseworthy application of the first law of nature. (g) That the U.D.C. having neither a body to be kicked nor a soul to be saved, might, with the strictest propriety, be safely and permanently consigned to perdition in the general interests of science. (h) That the distorted mental vision and intellectual obliquity of our unfortunate C.O. were melancholy facts in nature which we deeply deplored, and for which we must make due allowance, and that the prayers of this congregation be earnestly desired for his speedy and complete return to sanity. ‘*'Then quietly to steal we stole,” our C.O. having been completely pulverised and reduced to incoherence by the logic of our irrefragable arguments. The bricks were removed and an opening made. The current responded with commendable alacrity, and frisked and gambolled to and fro, hugging itself in blissful and ecstatic appreciation of its newly acquired liberty, which was in such marked contrast to its former ‘‘ cribbed, cabined and confined’’ condition. Nature’s teardrops 284 were cluly shed in copious showers, ‘‘ larding the lean earth ”’ in most approved fashion. The foliage was drenched with condensed moisture, and every omen seemed propitious. Our ©.Q. appeared mollified by (if not completely reconciled to) the arrangement, and even ccndescended to ‘* damn it with faint praise.” In course of time it was reported that H. pulcherrimum which had latterly been advancing by leaps and bounds, had now a ‘* lean and hungry look,” and that the general appearance of the rest of the ferns impressed one with the conviction that ‘‘ sin, death and hell had set their mark upon them.” Could it be the sewer gas that was exercising such a baneful influence, or did the absence of the natural resting season in this artificially arranged structure account for the rapid and all-round deterioration of the plants ? A consultation was immediately called, and a thorough investigation made, when it transpired that both these hypotheses were incorrect. The place had been invaded by a colony of rats which had gnawed off many thousands of fronds in order to construct nests which would be high and dry above the water line. The tenants were evicted in summary fashion and wire netting fixed over the aperture to the airshaft. There could be nothing ‘better calculated to unchain all the latent ferocity in one’s nature than to witness such a scene of devastation as then presented itself. Forests of fronds from alJ the choicest filmies on earth remorselessly butchered, not ‘* tc make a Roman holiday ” but to con- struct shelter for the above-mentioned vermin. ‘* It’s worse than the sack of Louvain,’ groaned our scientist. Wh it. ‘* Had I but died an hour before this chanced, Id lived a blessed time,’ sobbed our timekeeper. 285 ** For Banquo’s issue have I ’filed my mind, For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered, Put rancours in the vessel of my peace Only for them, and mine eternal jewel, Given o’er to th’ common enemy of man.” wailed our C.O. with his customary Cassandra-like lugubriosity. Our stoker excommunicated the rats with a vigour and impartiality worthy of a Grand Inquisitor. We heard muttered maledictions in which the rodents’ sanguinary fluids and. visual organs were mysteriously involved. His peroration, however, was lucid, fluent and forcible, but is unfortunately unfit for reproduction, being too redolent of the sulphurous atmosphere and lurid light of the stokehole, to which haven of refuge we gently assisted him. H. STANSFIELD. FERNERY CONSTRUCTION AND FERN CULTURE. Mr. H. Stansfield’s article on the above subject contains some strange and remarkable, not to say ‘‘ Bolsnevik ”’ philesophy. Doubtless it will appeal to Fern cultivators in different degrees. Apart, however, from his extreme views—for such they will appear to many—his style is bold and fascinating. Personally I am much obliged to him, for I think many of us may be adhering too closely to what he would call our ** antiquated ’’ methods. Still there are one or two things which seem to require some further explanation. That Ferns will grow under extreme conditicns naturally, I haye often noted; but shade and moisture doubtless 286 produce the best results. Anyhow water is a sine qud non, whether the application be from the top cr bottom. As, however, I am rather more concerned just now with under- glass conditions and the abolition of the watering-pot! I shall confine my remarks to that phase of Fern Culture. I can, therefore, quite agree that ‘‘ constant artificial water- — q g ing is rather a nuisance,” buthow tc avoid thisin an ordinary construction passes my comprehension. All the same the desire exists, for the older one gets the less inclined one is to perform any werk which savours of Supererogation. On the other hand how is it passible to have a dry top-soil and a wet bottom-soil? The two conditions seem to be antagonistic. Uf the bottom is boggy will not the moisture therefrom rise to the surface by the process known as “‘ cavillary attraction ?’’ If this be so then these two extreme conditions cannot remain permanent. Pulverisation cf the suriace soil, which is insisted on, will increase this action, and, of course, render humidity more uniform. The absorbent power of some soils is much sreater than others, and thus, the more finely commuinuted the soil is, the greater the degree of capillarity. Again, drainage is always considered a most important item even in the culture of Ferns; a saturated soil being detrimental to the health of most cultivated plants. That the ‘* commen sense ’’—or less troublesome—way of dealing with Ferns is to plant them out, goes without saying. This in itself is a labour-saving arrangement, besides giving additional vigour to the plants and otherwise operating to the advantage of the cultivator. But not- withstanding all this there is, I think, a special charm about pot-plants which ground-culture cannot claim. In my own little Fernery—which is all too small—I cannot find sufficient room for planting out, even with my limited 987 collecticn ; and so I have an open shelf, 7.e., inch-square pieces of wood tied crosswise, ranning round the house, to accommodate those troublesome things in pots ; the object being to admit as much light as possible to the Ferns below. These pot-plants, however, are thirsty subjects in the summer time, and require, if not ‘‘ perpetual motion,” something akin to it, to keep them supplied with H,O! But ‘* the labour we delight in physics pain.” Still, | am convinced, that for sale (or Sale) purposes, it is much more economical to plant them out. Concerning the usual methods of cultivation, that. 1s, keeping the soil sweet by aération, etc., top-dressing with suitable material, and so on, I am glad to be in accord with Mr. Stansfield’s recommendations. As to the effects of frost, too, on our favourite subjects, IT am also at one with him, for | always subject Athyriums especially to a cold spell before packing them away for the winter. Unfortunately the winter of 1916-17 did destroy several other choice things which I would not have lost for the proverbial ‘‘ king’s ransom.” That Mr. Stansfield succeeds with Ferns I have ample evidence, and so L have come to the conelusion that he who ean do this in however ‘‘ heterodox ”’ a manner, is entitled to the respect and esteem of all Fern lovers. C. B. GREEN. Swanage, March, 1918. SUPRASORIFERATION. Not the least interesting fact in connection with fern development is the arrangement and general behaviour of the sori. In the major portion of fern genera, the sori are developed on the under sides of ordinary fronds. In others, 288 such as Struthiopteris, Onoclea, Osmunda cinnamomea and Lomaria Magellanica, they are borne on special non- foliaceous fronds, which in the case of O. cinnamomea and other early ripening kinds, die off and practically disappear soon after the spores are shed. In Struthiopteris Orientalis and other late ripening kinds on the other hand, the fertile fronds persist until long after the barren ones have dis- appeared. | Ferns are, however, not so much the slaves to precedent as might be imagined, and it is not unusual to find them leaving the beaten track and striking out a line of conduct more in harmony with the local conditions. In a huge bed of Struthiopteris here, I have unique opportunities for noting any departure from the normal method of fructification, and have frequently noticed spores produced on fronds of normal (or barren) cutline instead of being confined to one type of fertile frond as is usually the case. I have also noticed stray sporangia trespassing on otherwise barren fronds of O. cinnamomea instead of being confined te one central non-foliaceous fertile frond. Perhaps the most singular recently acquired habit is that of suprasoriferation in Scols, and to a lesser extent in Polypods. For countless ages these plants have been content to produce their spores on the under surfaces of the fronds. With the introduction of the marginate and muricate varieties, however, it was soon seen that the sori showed a strange tendency to make their appearance on the edges cf the fronds, and some even went so far as to produce the greater portion on the upper surface. It is evident that nature has no insuperable objection to suprasoriferation, otherwise she would never adopt it. She managed to rub along pretty comfortably from the dawn © fl i 289 of life until the latter half of last century without leaving any traces of suprasoriferation, although it must have been a possibility all along, and does not appear to be much of a handicap in the struggle for existence. We now see occasional traces of suprasoriferation in almost every fertile variety of Scolopendrium. These traces could be accentu- ated and perpetuated indefinitely by a process of selection, if such a thing were desirable. | I know nothing more fascinating than to watch the gradual ripening of the spores in a bed of suprasoriferous Scols. The spores being in great measure on the upper surface, are nearly al! visible from above, and the gradual changes in colour, from white to black, and lastly to brown, are a perpetual feast. As to the reason for this gradual migration of the sori from the under to the upper suriace, there is nothing definitely known, and we can only surmise. The most reasonable hypothesis as to why spores should usually be produced on the undersides of the fronds is: that since the upper surface is always harder and more leathery than the under, it would require a lesser effort to develop the sori through the softer and more yielding uncer surface, than through the glazed, tougher and more leathery upper surface. On the under surface also the spores would be kept drier and in better condition for germination, and would also be more quickly and effectually evacuated and distributed. Any advantage, however slight, possessed by any plant would tend to be reproduced in succeeding generations, and would tell in the long run, in the struggle for existence. In the narrow marginate forms, the tissues all the length of the frond are contracted into a sort of ridge or tidal wave, to produce the marginate character. In order to form this 290 ridge there will be a general thinning down of the adjacent tissues. Where this thin stratum occurs, the plant will probably encounter much less than the average amount of resistance, and may feel disposed to make use of this easier outlet for the development of sori. The fact that the sorl in the marginate section are often confined to one long continuous narrow line stretching the whole length of the frond on each side of the midrib, instead of being arranged in the usual double set of transverse lines, lends a certain amount of plausibility to this hypothesis. There appears to be much difference in the times ot ripening and shedding of spores. In many instances we may be able to gather ripe spores almost anytime from June until December. There is, however, at least one notable exception in Osmunda japonica and its varieties. The time of ripening and consequent shedding of spores oi this species comes like a thief in the night. As the critical time approaches I have tapped and examined the fertile fronds several times a day without being able to extract any ripe spores. At the next examination, in perhaps half-an- — hour, | have found every shell practically empty and the spores all shed. The only safe plan is to place a large sheet of white paper under the plant to catch the spores, and examine it periodically. The muricate section of Scolopendrium has, next to the marginate, given us the greatest number of examples of suprasorieration. Examined through a microscope, the upper surface of a muricate Scol appears to be pitted with shell craters like a miniature representation of the battle fieldin France. Where these craters are deepest, the hollows will be softer and more tender than the upper surface in normal types. The sori will be pushed out along the lines of least resistance, and in the roughened Scols the least * —” eS le ea ra Vis 291 resistance will be frequently encountered from above, because of the uneven deposition of the fern tissue. Bulbils, it will be noticed, are sometimes produced on the upper surface as in W. Orientalis and sometimes on the under surface as in C. bulbifera, and on the rachis as in Polystichum. We may reasonably infer that it is entirely a matter of convenience as to where the sori are produced, and that a reasonable amount of latitude is allowed to ferns in general and that they are at liberty to make use of either the front or the back door according to circum- stances. | Most of the marginate, muricate and fleshy Scols are bulbiferous under close moist culture, and these bulbils almost invariably occur on the upper surface, possibly because of the greater amount of light on the upper as compared with the under surface. Thereisalso some subtle connection between sori and bulbils,as is seen from the number of instances in which immature sori can by abnormal atmospheric conditions be transformed into bulbils, e.g., A-f£. _plumosum elegans, p. Druery, p. divaricatum, Cyst. sem- pervirens and several others. Scolopendrium bulbils in their earliest stages occur in small brownish white patches, and look uncommonly like immature sori, as are best seen on abortive fronds of A.f.f. plumosum elegans, when what would eventually be developed into hundreds of spores seem by some inexplicable process of fusion to develop into one bulbil. It is not improbable that when in this mobile half- and-half condition, they might if taken in hand just at the psychological moment, be persuaded to alter the programme and develop into sori instead of bulbils. Just as in the instances above cited the reverse cperation is known to take place. If then, Scolopendriums find it most convenient to emit 4 292 bulbils and occasionally sori from the upper surface, we may conclude that the restraining influence tending te the production of sori en the under surface 1s not very great, and that any slight additional inducement in a contrary direction would be sufficient to 6vercome the general habit. H. STANSFIELD. NEW FERNS. From the Revd. Canon Moore comes Athyrum f.f. Victoriw nanum, one of his seedlings. As its name implies itis a dwarf form of Victorwe. Itis very neat in make with particularly fine fringe-like crests, large in proportion to the length of the fronds. It differs from Vectorie gracile (raised many years ago by Mr. James McNab and after- wards, independently, by Mr. E. J. Lowe) in being dwarfer and having finer crests. It has some resemblance also te cruciato—coronans, Carbonell, but it is also dwarfer than that variety and the cruciation is more perfect and thorough. From Mr. W. Askew comes P. angulare productum cristatum, a promising thing which looks like a cross between P. ang. divisilobum productum, Fox, and one of the per- cristatums. 'The frond sent was, however, from a plant not yet mature ; we should be pleased to see another frond when the plant has reached full development. Mr. Walton, of Richmond, sent a large parcel of fronds to the Hon. Secretary, but, owing to Mr. Cranfield’s illness and absence from home, the parcel went astray and was not recovered until the fronds were almost beyond recognition. We hope to have another opportunity of seeing some of them. FF. W.S. sy tall er 293 LIST OF MEMBERS. (WITH ADDRESSES. ) Apktn, F. N., Westwood, Oaklands Road, Bromley, Kent. AIKEN, Rey. J. J. M. L., Manse of Ayton, Berwickshire. AIKMAN, Mrs. Dawson, Ferneyside, Gilmerton, Midlothian. Autcatn, IF. A., Tredadwell, Fowey, Cornwall. AskEw, W. F., Junior, Fern Nursery, Grange, Keswick. ATKInson, F., The Bungalow, Staveley, Newby Bridge, Ulverston. BaLMAIN, Miss, Woodland, Dumfries. BarkeEr, W. A., The Glen, Backbarrow, nr. Ulverston. BARREL, Mons. M. B., 10, Avenue d’Iena, Paris. Barton, H. D. M., The Bush, Antrim. Bett, W., Maryville, Crosslands, Furness Abbey. BENeEDICcT, R. C., Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, New York, U.S.A. BicknHaM, S. H., F.L.S., Underdown, Ledbury. Botton, H., Stoneycroft, Warton, Carnforth. Botton, R., Holly Bank, Warton, Carnforth. Bo.ton, T., Fern Cottage, Warton, Carnforth. Bow tes, E., Waltham Cross. Bowman, J. H., Greenham Common, Newbury, Berks. -BROADBENT, J., Thornlee Fern Nursery, Grotton, Oldham. Brown, J. C., 25, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. Brown, T., J. P., lona, Antrim Road, Belfast. Bucuan-Hepsurn, Sir A., Bart., Smeaton Hepbura, Prestonkirk, E. Lothian. Bunyarp, G., V.M.H., The Crossways, Mereworth, Kent. Burton, F., Roughetts, Hildenborough, Kent. Byers, H. 8., Cleator, Cumberland. CAMPBELL, A., 68, George Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire. CARTER, PAGE & Co., 53, London Wall, E.C. CuapMAN, A., The Gardens, Weston Birt, Tetbury. Cony, JAmzEs, Ardeen, Larne, Co. Antrim. Corprey, C., 151, Bedfont Lane, Feltham. Cowan, A., Valleyfield House, Penicuik, Midlothian. CRANFIELD, W. B., East Lodge, Eafield Chase, Middlesex. CrisP, Sir Frank, Bart., Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames. 204. Davipson, J., Sommerville House, Dumfries. Day, Miss C. R., 16, Burgoyne Road, Harringay, N. Day, Miss M. A., Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. Dempster, R., 165, High Street, Dumfries. DitwortH, R., Dalegarth, Ulverston. DowELL, P., Port Richmond, New York, U.S.A. Dtuxiav & Co., Lrp., 37, Soho Square, W. EpWARDS, J. F., Fern Holme, Oak Bank Avenue, Moston, Manchester. Eton, C., 3, Sterling Road, Enfield, Middlesex. Fietcueir, E., 38, Stanley Street, Heaton Park, Manchester. Francis, J., 3, Glan Aber Park, Chester. FRASER, G., Ucluelet, British Columbia. GEORGE, En warp, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas, British West Indiés. Gorpon, W., Victoria Road, Maxwelltown, Dumfries. GREEN, C. B., Linden Villa, Argyle Road, Swanage. Greacs, Mrs., The Palace, Kilkenny, Ireland. Groves, Mrs., 6, The Avenue, Brondesbury. - Hawkins, The Rev. E. H., Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud. Hawkins, Miss, Kingston-on-Soar, Derby. HENwoop. C., 12, Clarendon Gardens, Maida Vale, W. Hernwoop, T. K., 16, Hamilton Road, Reading. HeEwarp, Miss M. E., The White House, Warham, nr. Wells, Norfolk. Hrynss, J., Cofton Richards, Barnt Green, Birmingham. HosFrorp, 8S. R., Rose Bank, Magazine Road, Cork. Kirpy, A., 2, Llandough Street, Cathays Park, Cardiff. Kwnox-Gore, Miss A., Cill Alaithe, Killaloo, Co. Mayo. Laung, G. F., Laurel Villa, Kenmure Avenue, Bishopbriggs, N.B. Lawson, G. C., Mayfield House, nr. Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Lurt, Rev. Canon H. W., Aghaderg Rectory, Loughbrickland, Co. Down. Love, W., 28, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow. Maracery, Mrs., Chartham Park, East Grinstead, Sussex. MARKENDALE, R. §., Ashfield House, Boston Spa, Yorks. MaruineG, 8. 8., Stanley Park, Stroud. MarsH, Miss §. A., Glenlyon, Holywood, Co. Down. 295 MarRSHALL, H. C., 8, Bryansburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down. Marsnaty, W., V.M.H., Auchinraith, Bexley, Kent. McCieery, J. O., Ava House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast. McKenprick, J. G., M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.. Maxieburn, Stonehaven, N.B. Mitton, Enwarp, The Bungalow, East Heath Avenue, Wokingham, Moore, Sir F. W., V.M.H., Glasnevin, Dublin. Moore, Rev. Principal H. Kiyasmutir, D.D., Cedar Mount, Dundrum, Dublin. Morrison, W. T., Bowerswell Road, Bridgend, Perth. Morray, J. CAMPBELL, J.P., Hagges Castle, Glasgow. Murray, R., National Bank House, Bathgate. Muscuamp, R., Myrtle Cottage, Radcliffe, Lancashire. Naytor, E., Corner Garth, Leadhall Lane, Leeds Road, Harrogate. NEtson, T.. Muirbank, Rutherglen, N.B. O’Brien, W., 4, Kildare Street, Dublin. Opp, A. A., Fairways, West Street, Sutton. OrmEROD, G. F., Ashgrove, Elland, Brighouse. Patn, F., Chase Ridings, Enfield Chase. Parsons, J. §., 235, Cowbridge Road, Cardiff. Patrick, J., 247, West George Street, Glasgow. Pattison, C., Linwood, nr. Paisley. Perry, A., Nurseries, Enfield. Perry, S. L., Dykelands, Ulverston, Lancashire. Puiiuies, C., Bank House, Bracknell, Berks. Puitiips, W. H., Lemonfield, Holywood, Co. Down. PickaRD, A., 2, Snow Hill View, Wakerield. Pooty, Mrs. B., Road Mancr, Bath. Rariton, G. §., Senior Council School, Tewkesbury. RascuEn, H. H., 84, Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport. Retton, H., Tya-y-Rheol, Whitchurch, nr. Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. Rrxon, R. W., 27, Ernest Street, West Norwood. Roserts, Captain W. R., Monkwood Cottage, Baldwyn’s Hill, Loughton, Essex. Roacerson, Miss B. §., Rokeby, Dunblane, Perthshire. RowLAnvs, Captain S. P., R.A.M.C., 151, Abbeville Read, Clapham. Rvuae, H. G., Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.A. Rvuemay, J. C., Plusterwine, Woolaston, nr. Lydney, Glos, 296 Scorr, W., Tallubole Castle, Fossoway, Kinross-shire. Scott, W. D. T.; The Gardens, Government House, Buluwayo, Rhodesia, South Africa. SHELDON, uv. J., Brightside, Churchfields, 8. Woodford, Essex. sinva, F. , Coram Tower, Lyme Regis, eee SMALL, Mics A d., Brookland, D.C., U.S.A. Smitu, J. L., Fairbank, 286, i cham Road, South Shore, Blackpoct!. Smits, T., Daisy Hill Nursery, Newry, Ireland. ree. J. J.,. Boundary Bank, Kendal. STANSFIELD, Dr. F. W., 120, Oxford Road, Reading. STANSFIELD, H., Fera eee Sale, Manchester. STANSFIELD, Coren T., R.A.M.C., 9, St, George’s Terrace, Taunton. STaRtT, F., East Lodge Conae. Enfield Chase. Taxact, M., Broadway Court, Broadway, Westminster, S.W. I. THATCHER, Mrs. E. J., The Manor House, Chew Magna, Somerset. THorP, W., Sorrentoville, Dalkey, Co. Dublin. THORRINGTON, F. W., Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hornchurch. Tucker, J. W., Fernecroft, Woodah Road, St. Thomas, Exeter. TURNER, T. H., Lynwood, Caversham, Reading. Watpote, J. E., Highbury, Whitby, nr. Chester. Watton, J. W., Finkle Street, Richmond, Yorkshire. WaRDILL, C. H., Field Villas, 4, Quay Road, Bridlington. Ware, R. A., 246, Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. Wess, S., 9, Waterloo Crescent, Dover. Wuiie, W. L. Satussury, Birstall, nr. Leicester. Waits, K., 7, Victoria Street, 8S.W. WuitEey, T. L., 206, St. Leonards Road, Bradford. WuHitTEsip#, R., 8, Borrowdale Road, Lancaster. Wuirtton, J., V.M.H., Bellahouston House, Glasgow. WHITWELL, G., Serpentine Cottage, Kendal. ; WituiAMs, J. C., Caerhays Castle, St. Austell, Cornwall. Wii1ams, W. M. H., Clontarf, Cardigan. Wiison, W., 7, Ferney Green, Kendal. Wiper, E., 50, Government Street, Victoria, B.C. WIPER, J. eee, View Ranch, Malakwa, British Cohn Woop, J. » Walthouse, Torphichen, N.B. Woo a J., 52, Churehfield Road, Acton, W. WRIGHT, J. ye ees Rosemount Road, Acton, W. . — EE) ee maa INDEX TO VOLUME Apospory, Production of, by Environment Athyrium f.f. kalothrix, Notes on August Meeting, The Balance Sheet Beautiful Fern Group, ag Blechnum Spicant Ma » Paradoxum » Revolvens Boyd, The late Mr. W. B. British and Exotic Ferns » Heras Chlerophyll... Pe Cranfield Riliveticn, The Difficulties of an Amateur, Some Druery, The late Mr. C. T. Editorial Notes Evergreen Hardy Ferns ... Fern Fringes is . Habitats, Ideal ,» Hunting » Mysteries ,, Pest, A Serious ,» Propagation by Spores ,» selection, Results of > Sports , structure : » Variation in Great Britain. Fernery Construction and Fern Cilbars Fernery Weeds Ferns and Weevils » British - » Abroad w . at Acton a , of the Future » Dwarf ; ,, for Beginners oC one ie Befant da » Hardy,in Winter ... ,» Horned and Thoined » in Flanders... 5, 75, 99 . 147,235 1, 25, 49, 73, 97, 121, 153, 177, 204, 225, 1. 256,285 . 165,206 PAGES 237 232 205 63 78 263 101 276 214 70 10, 55 . 137,156 201 249, 273 210 167 219 93,116 125 182 161 58 172 81,112 190 85 . 147,235 38 76, LOL 35 67, 90 31 130 28 261 Ferns, Mysterious... see AN Aye ce Filmy Ferns Flanders, Ferns in.. Fragrance in Polepodinm ale steuien Fronds and Leaves : Frost, Effect of, on Ferns Hartstongue Fern, The Hour, A Delightful Lastrea montana formosa retain » filix-mas, Three Species of » dilatata and its Allies » thelypteris grandiceps ... Members, List of . i : Motor-car in Fern fim bine The Oak and Beech Ferns, Origin of Names Obituary Plumose- dea cichee, The a ones Fos ae ee Polydactylism in Polystichums ... Polypodium calcareum, Fragrance in dryopteris plumosum he vulgare cornubiense : Polystichum aculeatum gracillimum, Crnceld aculeatum pulcherrimum, Druery 99 “de cs angulare divisilobum falcatum, Moly > A a plumosum, Baldwinii * As lineare ‘‘ Hirondelle” ... revolvens eens Sete Ferns from Bulbils Recent Acquisitions Rockwork on BIEe: Ue Romance of Lady ‘‘ Cle imiae y Pinko Species and Varieties Spring Treatment of British Rens Suprasoriferation ... : Surgical Birth, A, and its Sonnets Tender Conscience, The Tripennate Fern, A Variation, Its Starting Bobet : The Cause of . Wild Finds, Some Bedent Winter Growth PAGES .. BTat 32,141, 292 187 261 15 142 265 ee 42 . 118,123 . 178,208 20 104 51 293 929 68 96,201,276 227 . 269, 279 15 3,26 one 154 123 278 226 250 75 251 48 246 ; 45 . 159,178 174 287 16 279 263 18,26 63 209 244 > ue 7 ; / ay” P , * + - H. B. MAY & SONS wish to call attention to their unrivalled Collection of Exotic, Hardy Exotic, and British Ferns, of which last they have a large and select collection. Their Exhibits at the great London and other Shows have gained some of the highest awards obtain- able in this country. | At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic speci- mens; inspection of which at all times is cordially invited. ss oe stove, Greenhouse, and other Plants . . . ate also largely grown, . . ed Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free upon application to— H. B. MAY & SONS, | THE FERN SPECIALISTS, THE NURSERIES, Upper Enmonton.

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