n

. . . Zhc . . .

JSntieb fcvn
(5a5ette»

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

VOL. 2. Nos. 13—24.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., EL.S.

{Hon. Secretary, 71, Shaa Road, Acton, London, IV.)

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

1913-1915.

Dr. F. W. STANSFIELD,

One of our highest authorities on British Ferns and Their Varieties, and
the chief surviving link with tic ol J Pioneers to whom we owe so much.

g Uiyi y^

VOL. 2. No. 13.

. . . XLbe . . .

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

September, 1912.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

(^on. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

ScoL. V. I'lumosum (Stansfikld).

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

SEPTEMBER, 1912.

No. 13.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

The August Meeting

Cell Growth

ScoL. V. Plumosum (Frontispiece)

P. Ang. Plumosissimum and Pellucidum

Our Common Ferns (The Lady Fern)

A Serious Fern Pest (The Rev. Kingsmill Moore)

Fern "Genesis"

Inconstant Ferns ..

British Ferns at the Royal International Hort

cultural Exhibition..
New Ferns

page
I
2

6

ID

II

12

14

17
21

22
23

I

EDITORIAL NOTES.

It is with extreme pleasure that the Editor enters upon
the compilation of the second volume of the "Gazette,"
thus creating a record as regards a continued publication
confined to our British Ferns and their varieties. As the
Report which follows of the Annual Meeting at Arnsideshews,
we have now a very respectable contingent of members, but
we want more, to enable the " Gazette " to be more freely
illustrated and its matter extended. The annual subscrip-
tion from August to August is only 5s., moderate enough
surely, considering the good fellowship which it facilitates
between so many fern lovers and the information the
" Gazette" imparts in the four issues which are embraced
in the subscription.

The subscription for 1912-13 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,
London, W.

A copy of the " Gazette " will be sent gratis to any one
contemplating joining the Society, and for the benefit of
the members generally, the Editor reminds them that he
has available a small number of neatly bound copies of
Vol. I. (with a portrait of tfie Editor) at 3s. gd., post free,
for which early application is recommended. Contribu-
tions of MSS. of a really practical character are also
solicited by the Editor, who would remind the members
that an ''Exchange Column" can only be started when
material for it is sent in. The Editor will be happy to name
fronds, for which postage should be paid if their return be
desired. The Editor.

THE AUGUST MEETING.

The annual meeting of the Society was held this year at
the Albion Hotel, Arnside, Westmoreland, on August 5th,
when a good number of members were present, Mr. Alex.
Cowan, of Penicuik, as President, taking the chair.
Many of the members assembled on the Friday preceding
the meeting in order to arrange some Fern hunting expedi-
tions in the vicinity, but owing to the distance which it
was necessary to travel to reach good ground, and still
more to the terribly cold and wet weather which prevailed
during their stay, no "finds" of any special note can be
recorded. Subsequently, in view of the first drawback, it
was resolved that Devon or Dorset should constitute the
area for hunting on the occasion of the next meeting, since
not only are the species there far more numerous than in
the north, but ferns generally are far and away more
abundant. At the meeting the Hon. Secretary, Mr. Chas.
T. Druery, reported that the Society was now represented
by no less than 150 members, and that as a consequence
the funds were in a very satisfactory position, fully justifying
the establishment under his Editorship of the " British
Fern Gazette," the illustrated quarterly issued to members,
the first volume of which, representing three years' issues,
having just been completed. It was acknowledged on all
hands that this " Gazette," which now represented the

first permanent serial publication devoted entirely to our
British Ferns and their Varieties, and was contributed to
by the Editor and many of the members, was a very
practical, valuable, and up-to-date contribution to the
standard literature of the cult. A vote of thanks to the
President and officers, who were re-elected en masse, was
supplemented by a special one to the Editor, together with
a testimonial in recognition of the services rendered by
him to the Society, and to such Fern lovers as contributed
thereto. x\ large number of fronds of very beautiful Ferns,
some new finds and some improved raised varieties, were
exhibited, and displayed, in many cases, some most extra-
ordinary advances in the development of those varietal
charms, which in our Native ferns far and away excel all
exotics in diversity and rival the best in beauty.

Among the material shewm by Mr. Cowan, those of
special interest were fronds of Osmunda regalis cvisiata, a
very good form found wild by Mr. R. L. Praeger in
Ireland; a thoroughbred and very handsome P, ang.
aciitilohum percristatuin, raised by Mr. Cowan ; a magni-
ficent wide fronded P. ang. lineare, with pinnae three inches
wide and very finely cut, which was named P. ang.
lineare latifolinni; a very finely dissected Athyrium of
setigerum origin, A. ff. setigevuin dissectuin; a delicate
divisilobe plumose P. angnlave of great promise, and a con-
siderable number of fine forms of L. montana and other
species, including a variegated seedling of L. filix mas.
Mr. W. B. Cranfield exhibited a number of fronds from
his fine collection, including some of the resuscitated Moly
finds. Mr. Eley exhibited a plant of L. pseudo mas. cristata
[1 filix mas,, as the plant was young), as found by him in
Little Langdale in igio ; and also an indubitable P. lonchitis,
found by Mr. Sargeant at the very low elevation of 300 or
400 feet in a wood at Whitbarrow Scar, Westmoreland, a
record find for this species as regards elevation, its
ordinary habitats being above 2,000 feet, though the Editor
has found it in quantity at 1,100.

Minutes of the 2ist Annual I^Ieeting of the British
Pteridological Society, held at the ' Albion ' Hotel, Arn-
side, at lo a.m. on August 5th, 1912, with 12 members
present as per signatures on opposite page. Mr. Alex.
Cowan, as President, taking the chair.
The Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. T. Druery, read the minutes
of the last meeting of 191 1, which were confirmed unani-
mously and signed by the President.

Mr. W. B. Cranfield, as Hon. Treasurer, then produced
the Balance Sheet as appended to these minutes, shewing
an increase of ^^13 5 7 in the Society's funds, and duly
audited by Mr. J. J. Smithies, and the same was approved
and accepted unanimously.

The election of President and Officers for the ensuing
year was then effected, Mr. Alexander Cowan being unani-
mously re-elected as President, while the rest of the officers
were re-elected en masse, no change being necessary. The
officers for the year are therefore : —

President : Mr. A. Cowan, Penicuik.

Vice-Pyesidents.
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.

Treasurer : Mr. W. B. Cranfield, Enfield Chase.

Auditor: Mr. J. J. Smithies.

Committee :
Mr. T. Bolton, Warton. Mr. T. G. H. Eley, Furness Abbey.

,, J. J. Smithies, Kendal. ,, W. Bell, Furness Abbey.

,, R. Whiteside, Lancaster. ,, G. Whitwell, Kendal.

,, W. E. Farrer, Lancaster. „ W. Wilson, Kendal.

Together with the I'residcnt and Vice-Presidents as :nem\)ers cx-officio.

It was also unanimously resolved that Mr. Chas.T. Druery
should continue to act as Editor of "The British Fern
Gazette," which he consented to do, it being resolved
that such " Gazette" be continued as a permanent publi-
cation of the Society.

It was proposed and carried unanimously that a sum not
exceeding ^4 be allocated each year for expenses of

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vehicles in connection with the Fern-hunting excursions
at the annual meetings, and the provision of a room for
such meetings.

It was proposed and carried unanimously that the 17 new
members who have joined since the last meeting, and whose
names and addresses appear on the page preceding the sig-
natures of those present, be elected.

It was proposed and carried that next year's meeting be
held in Devonshire or Dorset, at a place to be previously
determined by a visit undertaken by Mr. W. B. Cranfield
and the Hon. Secretary, and that the expenses of the latter
in such connection be paid by the Society.

It was resolved that a permanent record be kept of
typical varieties of British Ferns found, raised or grown by
the ^Members, and which they are requested to send for that
purpose to the Annual ^Meeting in good condition for judging
and preservation, and that the Committee shall determine
such forms as shall be handed to ^Ir. G. Whitwell for pre-
servation in the Society's Herbarium.

A vote of thanks to the officers was unanimously ac-
corded.

On the motion of 'Sir. T. E. Henwood, it was unani-
mously agreed to award the sum of ^10 los. from the funds
of the Society to the Editor of the " Gazette," as a token of
its appreciation of the large amount of work he has under-
taken during the past three years, to which the present
fljurishing state of the Society, both financially and other-
wise, is largely due.

CELL GROWTH,

To anyone who devotes a little study and thought to the
matter the fact must appeal with reverential forcefulness
that every living thing we see, whether plant or animal,
jnicroscopically minute or comparatively gigantically large.

* By permission of the Gardeners' Maga::ine.

not only commences its existence as a tiny liitle sac, con-
taining a tiny quantity of liquid, which sacs are practically
indistinguishable as to form and composition, but is also
eventually constructed entirely by a succession of such
cells. From the bacterium to the whale or the colossal
redwood trees of Colorado is this the case, as well as with
all the infinitely diverse forms of life which lie between
these dimensional extremes as plants or animals. Further,
more, if we take intelligent stock of our surroundings we
shall find that the vast majority of the substances with
which we deal are derived from organic sources, and hence
have been built up at some period, remote or recent, by the
operation of these little constructive sacs or cells.

Probably, to the lay observer, the fern spore presents
one of the easiest objects by means of which we may be
better enabled to grasp from start to finish the nature of
the work of which a simple cell is capable. The spore is
merely such a cell protected by a shell, and with a micro-
scope of moderate power it is fairly easy to watch its
operations from the moment when, under the influence of
moisture and warmth, it swells and bursts this shell and
emerges to the light. No sooner does this occur than a
very wonderful process begins, to understand which we
must for a minute or two consider that no mere sac of
jelly could do anything at all, unless within it were con-
tained some impulsive and directing power. Neither the
skin or the jelly possesses such power, but within the latter
there is always, in a living, active cell, a truly wonderful
little body, a bundle of fibres, called the nucleus, and it is
in this that the life principle lies which eventually deter-
mines, guides, and controls all the future operations which
result in the production of a new organism. Such a
" nucleus " is in the cell enclosed in the spore husk, and it
is this which, on the liberation of the cell, immediately
sets to work to perform its functions. The observation of
this stage is probably beyond the scope of the lay or
unscientific observer, but it may be taken for granted as

8

being of the following nature. The "nucleus" in the
primary spore cell consists, as we have said, of a minute
fibrous bundle. This unravels itself, so to speak, and its
component fibres split up and arrange themselves into two
p^roups. These two groups separate themselves, and
between them, by some inconceivably subtle influence a
thin wall is formed, dividing the cell into practically two,
each one now with a nucleus of its own. The second cell
thus engendered increases in size, and again the nucleus
divides, another dividing wall is created, and so on, until a
little chain of cells is seen with the spore husk at one end.

No building can continue without building materials;
and it will soon be seen that from the tiny chain of cells,
minute hair-like rootlets have protruded, anchoring the
incipient " prothallus " to the soil, and providing it with
material from that soil in the shape of water and earthy
salts, while the green portion is absorbing the carbonic
gas of the air as further material for construction. Under
the influence of light, from the issue of the first cell from
the spore husk, there has been engendered within the cell
walls a number of tiny green bodies, known as " chloro-
phyll," or leaf green, and it is this chlorophyll which alone
in this world is capable of being so influenced by light that
it can break up the earthy salts of the sap provided by
the roots, decompose the carbonic acid gas into its com-
ponents of carbon and oxygen, throw off the oxygen, and
utilise the solid carbon to form starchy and innumerable
other substances for constructive or other purposes.

With the aid, therefore, of this marvellous substance,
the cell-work now goes actively on, and the designing
work ordained by the parental influences which have been
incorporated from the first in the " nucleus" of the spore
cell, now commences to be apparent. The mere chain
formation of the first cells is abandoned in favour of
lateral multiplication on definite lines, until presently we
see a heart-shaped green scale, perhaps a quarter of an
inch across when completed. We may now loosen such a

scale from the soil, reverse it, and place it on the field of
our microscope for further investigation. We now find
that it was attached firmly to the soil by a bunch of many
hair-like roots, and that where the heart is indented is
clearly much thicker than elsewhere, forming a sort of
cushion. On this cushion, close to the indentation, is a
little cluster of teat-like bodies, the " archegonia " or
female parts of the prothallus, at the base of each of
which is an embryo seed. Elsewhere, scattered irregu-
larly among the root-hairs, is a number of short, round
pimple-like bodies, the antheridia, or male portions, and
from these, if water be present, we may see issue little
swarms of antherozoid? (each one an animated cell) which
swim actively about in the water, and eventually reach the
" archegonia," penetrate them, and fertilise the embedded
seeds beneath them. Now to form a fair parallel to all
this wonderful cell-work, we must imagine a vitalised brick
being laid on a clear space of ground, and, all by itself,
breaking up into other bricks which spontaneously
arrange themselves, construct laboratories in which com-
plex materials of other kinds are chemically fabricated,
make little chambers, and engender living organisms to
oci:upy them, and in short do an infinity of wonderful
things until a colossal edifice is erected (the adult fern),
which is endowed with the faculty of scattering broadcast
a few millions of equally gifted bricks, each one capable
of doing the like if called upon.

All this, and far more, can be partly seen and partly
conceived by anyone who will take the trouble to sow a
pinch of fern spores, and follow through these perform-
ances with the aid of a microscope and an intelligent
imagination. Having done this, and thereby gripped to a
slight degree a sense of the marvels of cell growth, look
around, as suggested at the outset, and study the work
accomplished by the cell in other directions. Leaving
unsophisticated Nature on one side, study the contents of
every shop we see, save those of metal ware, jewellery,

lO

and other inorganic products, and a little thought will
show us that all such contents are, or have been, primarily
the work of busy cells, while the infinite diversity of such
work is all determined at the outset by invisible and incon.
ceivably subtle potencies innate in that minute bundle of
vital fibres in the cell which we term the nucleus, the
absolute embodiment of all vitality. Then we may go a
step further, and consider that our own appreciation of all
these wonders is solely due to the action of the innumer-
able brain cells which, as the writer of these lines pro-
gresses, are working up his memories, and simultaneously
actuating the mechanism which drives his pen and enables
him to transfer his intangible ideas into words for his

readers.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

SCOLOPENDRIUM V. PLUMOSUM {Frontispiece).

I send a photograph of a plant of the above which was
raised by Mr. H. Stansfield, of Sale. It is believed to be
a cross between 5. v. crispnm diversifrons and S. v. lacerafum.
When in good health and character it is much finer than
either of the parents, but, like many other cross-bred ferns,
it is dimorphic, sometimes one, sometimes the other,
parental character predominating, although there are
generally traces, more or less distinct, of both. The new
fronds, which have succeeded those shown in the photo-
graph, are much more like S. laccratumi but the icfiuence of
the other parent is still visible in the "tooling" of the
upper surface which characterizes 5. cvispnm diver si Jvons.
In the autumn possibly the crispum character may once
more gain the upper hand.

F. W. Stansfield.

Reading.

1 1

POLYSTICHUM ANG. PLUMOSISSIMUM
STANSFIELD, AND PELLUCIDUM

STANSFIELD.

I was interested in Mr. Edwards's note on the above
ferns in No. 12 of the " Gazette." I had an opportunity of
seeing the plants in fine condition last autumn, and have
been favoured with a bulbil from one of each type. Both,
I believe, have sprung from a plant of the plumose
divisilobe section, and both have the broad deltoid outline
of the true plumose divisilobes, differing in this respect
from plumosissimum Birkenhead, which has a narrower and
more lanceolate outline. With this exception the new
plumosissimum strongly resembles plnmosissiiniun Birken-
head at its best, but is more mossy than that fine
form has ever shown itself under similar conditions (i.e.
when grown in a cold house). The original plant of
Birkenhead's form when photographed, was, I believe,
growing in a close, moist house with some artificial heat.
The condition there shown has probably never been
equalled by any- of the plant's offspring, though it has been
at times fairly closely approached even by plants grown
under cool conditions. It is not to be expected, however,
that these aposporous or semi-aposporous developments
can be produced without a permanently moist atmosphere
and rarely, if ever, without glass protection.

If the plumosissimums are fine the pellucidums are, to
my mind, finer still, inasmuch as the whole frond has a sea-
weed-like semitranslucent texture. In the young frond
this character is very noticeable, and it remains, to a certain
extent, in the fully developed condition, although, with age,
the texture gradually becomes more opaque. One plant,
now in the possession of Mr. Henvvood, is suggestive of
Todea siiperha, both in texture and cutting — at all events,
during the growing state.

Reading. F. W. Stansfield.

12

OUR COMMON FERNS.

The Lady Fern {Athyviiini filix focmina).

The Lady Fern is one ot our commonest species
wherever fairly damp soil conditions prevail in conjunction
with shade. Although a robust grower by nature, its
fronds are too delicate in texture to enable it to stand wind
and drought, but in moist, shady habitats in woods and
glens, and especially in the vicinity of water, we may find
it growing in huge shoulder-high clumps. Where the rain-
fall is pretty plentiful we may also see it lining the roadside
ditches in quantity, and here we shall, if we examine the
specimens closely, find that it is by no means an easy task
to describe the normal form precisely. In a general way,
however, we may describe it as having a tripinnate or
thrice-divided frond of a broad lance shape, commencing
with a short succulent stalk of varying colour, green as a
rule, but reddish occasionally. These fronds spring from
a substantial caudex of the crown persuasion, in a some-
what irregular manner, not forming a definite circlet like
the Male or Shield Ferns, though when they rise the
unfolding tips form hooks a la Alale Fern, but a little more
twisted, so that they do not imitate croziers very closely.
The amount of dissection, or fine cutting, varies greatly,
and depends very much on the environment, and in general
detail the species is so variable that it is often difficult, or
even impossible, to match the fronds of any two plants
even where they may be growing in rows along the road-
side ditches. The fructification, or the way the spore heaps
are borne on the backs of the fronds, is also indefinite,
consisting of small, roundish patches of a more or less
horseshoe shape with a tiny ragged indusium, or spore
cover, in the indentation. Indefinite, however, as this is,
it renders it easily distinguishable from Lastreas or
Polystichums, since in these cases the cover is round, or
kidney-shaped, and not ragged at all.

Some botanists have allocated the Lady Fern to the

^3

spleenworts, but this is one, unhappily, of the many cases
where naming has taken place in defiance of obvious family
characters, habits, and habitats entirely opposed to the
relaiionship implied. Hardly a more glaring case of this
kind than the Athyrium can be imagined. The Spleen-
worts, or Asplenia, are tough-fronded evergreen ferns,
adapted for dry habitats in walls or rocks, with well defined
linear spore heaps covered with perfect smooth-edged
indusia, and they are little liable to variation. The
Athyrium, on the other hand, is a fragile-fronded, perfectly
deciduous species, only adapted for moist habitats in the
soil proper, has a ragged horseshoe-like indusium, and
ranks amongst the most variable of all ferns, and yet all
these differences are ignored and it is ranked with the
Asplenia because of a fancied resemblance between the
indusia, i.e. between a horseshoe and a straight line.
Despite its delicacy of structure, no fern is easier to grow
than the Lady Fern, provided a little consideration is given
to its need for moisture. Given a little shade and shelter
it will thrive in any garden, while, as we have said, its
variability is such that a large garden might be filled with
beautiful variants, with which, however, it is not our
province to deal in this article on the mere raw material,
beautiful as it is in itself, which Nature provides so lavishly
in ferny districts. Special note should, however, be
made that, as a truly deciduous fern, whether normal or
varietal, its fronds become discoloured and peiish in the
autumn entirely, so that the plant is only represented
throughout the winter by a brown stump or caudex,
protected, of course, normally by the debris of the perished
fronds. Under glass these can safely be removed, but in
the open it is best to let them remain.

As a native fern the Lady Fern is, of course, perfectly
hardy, and can therefore hold its own with impunity both
in the open and in a cold conservatory. In the latter,
however, watering must be attended to sufficiently to
prevent entire drying out, since, dead as the plant may

14

look, it is entirely alive, and apt, therefore, to shrivel and
perish if no water at all be supplied for months. Well
established plants, i.e. such as have filled their pots with
roots, will, indeed, be all the safer if they stand in
saucers in which water is supplied as absorbed.

C. T. D.

A SERIOUS FERN PEST.

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. But a
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. Un-
happily the 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 dis-
covery has been made. The whole collection has been found
to be infested with a white grub which forms the larva of a
\veevil. 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

15

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 careful
examination wherever established 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 Scolopcvdvinms ; the Athyvinms and the,
Lastveas seem likely to escape, and no inroad has been
made upon the Polypodiums. I have ascertained that the
name of the insect is Syagvius ivtfudens,

H. KiNGSMILL 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
is a Weevil of Australian origin, which has found admission
to this country doubtless with imported plants, and has
proved terribly destructive to Ferns in the Glasneven
Gardens at Dublin. The insect is very fully described in
a paper by J. Mangan, B.A., etc., in the *' Journal of
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 Polystichnm angnJave, 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 Rev. H. K, Moore confirms this having visited the collec-
tion, which was grown entirely in the open.

i6

The Weevil is named Syagvlus intvudens, and is very much
smaller than the Vine Weevil, Otiovhynchits sulcattis, 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 laminae
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
no burrowings in its vicinity, though the single grub we
found was entangled in the scales of the frond bases
{Polysticlmm). 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 W^eevil, 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 w^here 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

17

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 aflected
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 propaga-
tion is possible, even when the plant is seemingly quite
destroyed. (Vide also " A Resuscitated Collection," Vol. I.,

p. 251.}

The Editor.

FERN "GENESIS."

Taking a thoughtful stroll recently among my Ferns, and
particularly taking note of those which I have raised myself
from spores, I could not help reflecting upon the marvels
their genesis embodied. Foremost among these are the
huge specimens, now many years old, of the wonderful
" superbum " strain of plumose Lady Ferns. Towering
above most of the others are two examples of the Druery
plumosum, A. ff. pUimosiim Druery (or amongst the cog-
noscenti plain P. D.), nearly five feet high from the soil,
and considerably more across, while here and there are
specimens almost as large of the numerous members of the
crested section of the same strain, which arose simul-
taneously as sister plants from their common in one sense
but very uncommon in another sense, parent the original
" superbum," which I call ''the mother of the Gracchi."
This was the granddaughter of the wild Axminster plu-
mosum. My eye next falls on a perfect specimen of the

i8

plumose Polystichums which I raised from the unique
" Baldwinii," and which bears a circle of eight yard-long
fronds of most delicate and upheaped dissection, rivalling
even its incomparable parent in fine cutting and eclipsing ail
its other relatives in its rare faculty of perfecting its tips
under glass, which the secticn to which it belongs, viz. the
Jones and Fox divisilobes, are terribly prone to fail in doing.

The next most prominent specimens, and in some respects
the most remarkable of all, are of the new "gracillimum "
type raised from P. acideatum pttlchevviimim, particulars of
which I need not repeat, as they have already been detailed
in the " Gazette." Now the particular point which strikes
me in these several connections, and more particularly in
the first and third, is the enormous contrast between these
results and their commencement as spores. It must be
remembered that these results in my own Fernery repre-
sents but a very small proportion of the actual ones, which
now exist in other collections as well, since they have
become so widely distributed, particularly the " superbum "
Lady Ferns, both by division and by subsequent sowings*
that no collection of note is without specimens.

Now carrying my memory back, I see myself sitting years
ago at my microscope, surveying a small glass slip, with a
somewhat clouded surface, a mere brownish smear as it
were to the naked eye, but which under the lens resolves
itself into a scattered host of tiny oval bodies, which cannot
be individually distinguished without such aid. That is
all, a breath and they are blown away, and the finger tip
could wipe them all off and hardly show a stain. The
parent from which these spores have been gathered is of
course "a good thing" or we should not sow it, but our
object is merely to multiply it as such with a recognised
possibility of some improvements chancing to crop up, but
never a dream of what really does arise. They are sown
with the usual precautions against disturbance and strays,
and in course of time the young plants appear and com-
mence to show character. But what character ? Treating

^9

of the Lady Fern sowing, we seek in vain for a long time
for the plain uncrested feathery form of the parent. Every
one shows evident cresting, which becomes more and more
marked as new and larger fronds arise, and presently we
manage to detect two which are plain and promise to repeat
the parent form, and in the end only these two do so. All
the others, about too, are beautifully tasselled throughout.
Presently, however, to our disgust, defects begin to appear,
the fronds seem to have taken too heavy a task upon them-
selves, and gaps and depauperations shew in all directions,
reducing the number of really eligible crested ones eventually
to two only. These two, however, continue to be perfect, but
one far and away excels the other in its plumose and tasselled
character. This one, therefore, is chosen and, being care-
fully potted up and brought on, yields in the second year a
few spores which the microscope shows to be perfect, and
which of course are sown immediately with, if possible,
extra care. The immediate parent of this plant, as also its
grandparent, the wild Axminster find, are, it will be remem-
bered, without the faintest trace of ta^selling, the first wonder
therefore of the batch in which it originated is that only two
plants were devoid of crests. Naturally, therefore, when
these spores, i,e. of the now christened " superbam," were
sown a batch of crested ones alone were looked for, but
instead of this that wonderful little brown smear in this case
broke into two quite distinct sections, one absolutely
devoid of a trace of cresting or even forking, the other a
series of highly refined and perfect cristate forms such as
had never been seen before, the symmetrical tasselling
extending in several cases even to the fourth degree " per
cristatum," the ultimate divisions being fanned at their tips,
and all the major divisions more or less heavily tasselled.
There were no rogues or defective plants at all.

Several of the uncrested sections were obviously refined
reversions to the Axminster type, but the finest of all
the "plumosums" par excellence, the said P.D., so far tran-
scended all the others in size and development as to stand

20

absolutely alone as an exemplification of what the Lady
Fern can do if given a chance, while at least a dozen
others were distinct and varied greatly in density and mode
of cutting. In the other two cases the "tiny smear"
commencement, the primary germs so to speak of the
new acquisitions, was even more insignificant in appear-
ance than were the starting points of the Lady Ferns.
There the spore heaps on the original frond were abundant
and provided with an indusium on normal lines, and it
was only necessary to lay a tiny piece so provided on the
glass slip to obtain an abundant, though insignificant
looking, provision of spores for sowing. With both
Baldwinii and P. ac. pulcherrimnm, however, the lens had
to be used to detect the spore capsules, which only
appeared singly as minute black spots, the spores in which
when gathered and shed on the glass slip were absolutely
imperceptible without the lens. Here then one sowed the
practically invisible and the " wonder " which inspires this
article, viz. the attribution of huge specimens four or five
feet across to such minute and unpromising beginnings is
in these cases even enhanced. In the first and third cases
cited there is the additional and most striking marvel of
all, that incorporated within those tiny spores there must
have been as many different potencies or new structural
impulses as were eventually developed in the plants they
yielded, and all this w^ithout any crossing being concerned
to account for these alterations of plan and adoption of
new and original characters. Curiously enough, sowings
of the " superbum " parent have been made by others
more than once, with the like results of tasselled progeny,
but in every case the defects prevailed throughout the

brood and rendered it worthless.

C. T. D.

21

INCONSTANT FERNS.

Although Ferns which are inconstant, that is, which do
not retain their varietal character, must occupy a back seat
in collections of the elite, they form a very interesting
study from the biological point of view, and in some cases
this defect is so far overborne by associated characters,
that they cannot be ignored. Thus we may mention that
otherwise beautiful fern Polypodhim vtilgave elegantisshmm
{covmihiense) as a prominent example. This variety bears
fronds of three distinct types, viz. normal, very slenderly
dissected, and more coarsely dissected, and these three
forms appear in the most wayward fashion, a single frond
shewing perhaps all three at once in varied degrees, a
single normal pinna appearing on a frond of the best de-
scription, or a finely dissected pinna on an otherwise quite
normal frond. This peculiarity is so inherent in the plant,
that although it has been raised by the thousand from its
spores, no one has succeeded in breeding out the fault, and
although improved plants, i.e. plants almost entirely formed
of the most finely dissected fronds {P. v. tvichomanoides), have
been obtained by root selection, even these revert more or
less to the normal and can only be kept true by elimi-
nating the normal or partly normal fronds as they appear.
Furthermore, it has been used as a factor in hybridizing
and crossing. Mr. Schneider succeeded in hybridizing it
with the large tender exotic Polypodium P. glaucnvi, produ-
cing huge plants of elegantissimuin type, and nearly hardy,
but still with precisely the same form of inconstancy ;
while Mr.Clapham successfully crossed it with a crested form,
with the curious result that its inconstancy produced, instead
of the three types of frond above described thus crested,
half a dozen types, some of the three bearing no crests.

When we consider that all Ferns grow by development
of cells at the tips of their fronds and segments, it is seen
that in this case the mother or primary cells must be
constantly as it were altering their minds, so that a frond

22

may start as a normal one and produce normal growth
as it unfolds for, say, half its length and then change and
become dissected, or perhaps one side or one division only
will be dissected, then the normal be resumed again.
Another inconstant fern is that beautiful Athyvium A. ff.
Kalothrix. This is very apt to produce not normal fronds,
but a very good plumose form, and this perhaps only in
segments or it may be entire fronds. Furthermore, we
may gather spores frcm a perfect frond, and amongst a
batch of youngsters of the true Kalothrix type a percentage
of the plumose form may appear which, however, are
usually constant and are known as ^ . ff. pliunosuiii Stans-
field. A. ff. KalotJivix lineave a.nd foliosuin, raised from Kalo-
thrix, also revert in the same partial fashion, while our own
accidental raising oi A. ff. K. cristatum has the same defects,
a fair proof that mysterious as was its origin it is of true
Kalothrix descent.

In some Ferns it is clear that an inconstant factor is
latent, though it never appears in the plants themselves,
but when their spores are sown, it comes out in the shape
of diverse progeny. Thus, in the beautiful form of P.
aquilina pevcristata, we always get a percentage P. aq. grandi-
ceps all alike and all perfectly barren, and very different
indeed from the very robust parent. To get grandiceps,
therefore, by spores, we must always sow the parent.

{To be continued.)

BRITISH FERNS AT THE ROYAL

INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL

EXHIBITION AT CHELSEA.

One of the main exhibits at this great Show was that
of Ferns by Messrs. H. B. May & Sons, of Edmonton, who
allotted nearly one third of their ample space to British
Ferns and their varieties, a considerable number of the
finest forms holding their own triumphantly in competition

23

with the beautiful Exotics forming the rest ot tde exhibits.
Our member and Hon. Treasurer, Mr. W. B. Cranfield,
as an amateur shewed about seventy superbly grown
specimens in five classes, which represented in every
case the absolute elite of the species of Polystichuni,
Lastvea, Athyrium and Scolopendritun^ with the result
that each class obtained a first class award of silver
cup or medal as the case might be. Space precludes a
full list of the exhibits, but we may specially mention
various specimens of the incomparable superbum plu-
mosums, including A. ff. plumosum Druevy and superbum
percristatum Druery, several plants of P. acul. pulch.
gracillimnm (Druery) and P. ac, p. plumosum (Green's)^
together with the parent form and a number of other
choice Polystichums. Possibly, however, it was the
splendidly grown group of Scolopendriums, mainly of the
*' crispum " section, which attracted most attention, em-
bracing as it did S. v. c. rohustum (Moly), spUndens (Moly)
Grande (Wills), Saggitatum (Moly), Vaviegatum (Moly), and
plicatum (Stansfield), in company with some of the finest
cristate and grandiceps forms. Considering that most of
the plants exhibited were lifted from the open in the third
week in May, their development was remarkable, though
to the expert eye it was obvious that fine as they were,
they would be still finer later on. It was, indeed, too
early in the year to do justice to all the species and
P. vulgave was not even scheduled, presumably for this
reason. Mr. Cranfield may be congratulated on a
veritable triumph. C. T. D.

NEW FERNS.

Subsequent to the Arnside meeting I extended my tour
to visit some Scotch friends, and had the good fortune to
come across two very fine quite new varieties— one as a
personal wild find, the other also as a wild find, but by a
lady in Aberfeldy, who discovered it near the Moness Falls

24

and transported it to her garden, in which it attracted my
attention as I passed. The varieties are —

Lastrea filix mas plumosa.
This I found as a large clump of several crowns in a
considerable normal colony of the same species lining the
road from Closeburn to Kirkland, near Dumfries. It is a
robust dark green very foliose form, with somewhat wide
and imbricate pinnae and slightly crispy, wide and serrate
pinnules, the general effect being very handsome. I have
named it " plumosa," as all the fronds are perfectly barren,
and inasmuch as L. /. m. Bollandur, the only known
plumose form of the species, is very defective in make,
while this find, which is otherwise very distinct, is quite
perfect, I am naturally highly gratified with such a
thoroughbred acquisition.

P. aculeatum revolvens.
In a garden in Aberfeldy I noticed a very fine
" revolvens " form of P. acukatiim, in which species, so
far as I can ascertain, no such type had hitherto been
found. On enquiry I learnt that the owner had found it
in the woods near the Moness Falls, and with some
persuasion I became the possessor, by way of exchange,
of a strong crown. The fronds weie all but tubular and
the pinnae strongly recurved convexly, the effects being
precisely the same as the best types of "revolvens"
in P. angulare. I thus had the pleasure of adding, though
indirectly, another new and unsophisticated wild find to
my collection, this, and the one above described, amply
recouping me for the lack of success at Arnside.

P. aculeatum gracillimum Druery.
It may interest some of our members to know that
established plants of this beautiful and unique Fern, of
which several illustrations have appeared in the " Gazette,"
Nos. I to lo, are now being distributed by Messrs. H. B.
]May & Sons, Dyson's Lane, Edmonton.

C. T. D.

^^ BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR

VARIETIES/'

By Charles T. Dvuery, V.M.H., F.L.S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in exUnso, In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
I OS. 6d. net.

It will interest the members to know that by the
enterprise of Messrs. George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., the
author has been enabled to realize one of the pet ambitions
of his life, viz. the production, on practically untrammelled
lines, of a thoroughly up-to-date and well illustrated record
of our native ferns in their specific and varietal forms,
together with such information as to their history, culture
and biological peculiarities as will render the work a
thorough compendium of knowledge for the amateur's
reference plus indications of sources of knowledge
valuable to those who take an interest on the scientific
side. The addition of an appendix consisting of ninety-six
of the choicest of the late Col. Jones' nature prints,
accompanied by his contemporary notes, which the author
has been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use as a supple-
ment, renders this book an absolutely unique one, apart
from its comprehensive and practical character in other
directions. Certainly no British Fern lover or Botanical
Library should be without it as the standard work on the
subject, and it would be an advantage to the author (the
Editor of the Gazette and secretary of the British
Pteridological Society) if orders for it were sent to him
personally to his address as given elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

R 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 obtainable in this
country*

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited*

* ¥ *

itovi, 6riint)on$t. and otDcr Plants
. . .are also laraeip grown. . . .

* * ¥

Catalogaes of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
apon application to—

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 14.

♦ ♦ ♦ wDv ♦ ♦ ♦

(5a3ette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

2)ecember, 1912

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

"m^:

i^'*:\>'- "'

^mi

M

m^.

^

»^

^«

w^

l^M;

Blechnum Spicant.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2

DECEMBER, 1912.

No. 14.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Note

Our Frontispiece (Blechndm Spicant)

Dwarf Ferns. .

Inconstant Ferns {continued)

Antherozoids

Polydactylous Polystichums

Lastrea Bases

Botanists and Fern Fanciers

Lastrea Montana Cristata

How Fern Sports are Found

PiNN.E, Pinnules, and Pinnulets

Fern Propagation in Bottles, etc.

New Ferns

PAGE

25
26
27
30
32
34
35
36

39
40

43
46

49

EDITORIAL NOTE.

Although this period of the year will be regarded as the
nominally dead season as regards British Ferns, since the
deciduous species are conspicuous by their absence, the
evergreens are taking a rest, and even spore and other
cultures proceed but slowly or not at all, there is still
under glass judicious watering to be attended to, and a
walk round is ever worth while to the real enthusiast.
Interesting correspondence still reaches us, and as will be
seen, by our reference to " New Ferns," fresh records are
still being made in more senses than one. New members,
too, are still coming in, thanks mainly to friendly Press
notices as well as the efforts of some of our old members,
and it is precisely in this direction that the Editor desires,
to use a common expression, to *' put the screw " on all to
use their influence with their fern-loving friends to swell
the number of his supporters. Considering that by
becoming a member, at the small fee of 5s. per annum

X

26

(August to August), not only does he or she (for we have
a number of lady members), as the case may be, have a
fund of information at their command through the Gazette
or its Editor, but they are brought into immediate touch,
if so desired, with the whole body of co-members, thus
permitting of that personal interchange of visits and views,
which is so dear to every hobbyist. The "British Fern
Gazette " is issued quarterly, and a free copy is willingly
sent by the Editor to any one desirous of joining the
Society.

The subscription for 1912-13 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

Blechnum Spicant.

This perfectly evergreen species is distinguished by its
bearing two distinct forms of fronds, viz. barren pinnate
ones forming a lax rosette and erect much narrower and
longer ones which bear the spore heaps in lines covered
with an indusium springing from within the margin and
independent of it. The foliage is very hard, whence the
popular name of Hard Fern. It has sported freely, pro-
ducing, as will be seen, some very pretty and distinct
varieties.

1. Normal form ii. trinervio coronans

2. polydactylum 12. lineare Barnes

3. imhricato cristatum 13. coiicinnum Uruery

4. ramosum Kinahan 14, congestum

5. trinervium Hodgson 15. serratum Airey No. 2

6. ramo-cristatum 16. sub-piumosum Phillips

7. glomeratum Maunderii 17. imbricatum Snell

8. ramo-cristatum robustum 18. serratum Airey No. i

9. Aitkinianum ig. contractum
10. cladophorum

. 27

DWARF FERNS.

By permission of the Gardencvs' Magazine we reproduce
the following correspondence in this connection which will
interest our readers : —

Mr. C. Pattison, Linwood, near Paisley, writes: "As a
regular reader of the Gavdencvs' Magazine for not less than
thirty years, I read with great interest your report of the
Glasgow and West of Scotland Exhibition. The report
was excellent in every respect save one, and I take
exception to the paragraph concerning dwarf British ferns,
wherein your reporter says that my set ' could scarcely,
however, be considered truly dwarf.' I am afraid your
reporter must have seen the ferns after dinner, and so
possibly everything then appeared larger than it really
was. Anyway, I submit to you the following names, and
would ask your expert writer on ferns, Mr. C. T. Druery>
to say, through your columns, whether the varieties are
dwarf or not. I exhibited : Lastrea pseudo-iiias cvispa
cvistata angustata, Polystichum angidave congestiim gvandiceps,
Polypodiuvi vulgare ivichomanoides cristatuni, Blechimm spicant
servato-raino-cvistatiim, Asplenmm tvichomanes incistim, and
Scolopendvmm spivale covymbifenim. One of the competing
sets was not, I considered, of dwarf ferns, but, of course,
there is some difficulty in securing judges sufficiently
acquainted with British ferns to tell which are dwarf
varieties and which only small plants of tall sorts. I may
say that the show was a grand one, but the weather about
the worst possible for such a function." — We understand
that our representative was well nigh washed out of the
exhibition at Glasgow, and that the authorities closed a
part of the exhibition for some time because they feared
the canvas roofing would not stand the bad weather
experienced. Under the circumstances, and knowing that
every minute was precious, as we go to press Wednesday
evening, we feel sure Mr. F^attison will acquit our repre-
sentative of any intentional error. It is just possible, also,
that the class cards were misplaced. However, we now

28

wait Mr. Druery's opinion as to whether the varieties of
ferns named are really dwarf, and also as to where the line
is drawn between dwarf and tall or medium.

Dwarf British Ferns at Glasgow.
With reference to the question raised by Mr. C. Pattison
in our issue of September 28th, Mr. C. T. Druery writes : —
" In reply to Mr. C. Pattison's enquiry in your issue of
September 28th, the only varieties to which the term
' dwarf ' is properly applicable are those of particularly
small dimensions when full grown as compared with the
normal, and not such species as are normally small. As
regards the several varieties referred to, Lastrea pseiido-
mas cvispa cvistata angtistata, Polystichiim angnlave congestum
grandiceps, and Scolopendriuui vtdgave spivale covymhiferum
are the only ones properly belonging to the dwarf section ;
the others, Polypodinm vulgare tvlchomanoides cvistaUim, Blech-
mun spicant sevYatum ramo-cvistaUiin, and Asplcnmm tyichomanes
mcisum, should not rank as dwarfs. I know of no truly
dwarf Polypody, except a very small-growing normal which
I have found in Wigtonshire, which persistently dies under
cultivation, and all the varieties tvichomanoides, or rather,
covniihiense, with which I am acquainted, under favourable
circumstances attain fair normal size. Asplenmm tvichomancs
inciswn assumes full size under like conditions, and so does
Blechnnm spicant. True dwarf varieties are comparatively
rare. The best ones are Lastrea pseudo-mas above cited,
raised by Messrs. Sang of Kirkcaldy, and often called, for
brevity's sake, SangL In the same sub-species we have
L. p. m. cvispo-gvacile, Lyelli, and vamulosissiumni, all very
dwarf and good. In Blechnnm, a true dwarf form is B. s.
cYispissimum Hartley, only three or four inches high ; in
Scolopendvinm we have several spivale forms with very
small leathery fronds and twisted habit ; also 5. v. Kehvayi
densum, like a ball of moss ; and the several conglomerate
forms Kelwayi, Coolingi, Baxtcvi and iVardi, may legiti-
mately be included in the section. A number of INIr.

29

Lowe's crossed forms only attain very small dimensions,
but few of them are fit for exhibition purposes, being far
more curious than pretty. From Mr. H. Stansfield we
have recently received a very dwarf 5. v. cvispum and a
gvandiceps form of same. In the Polystichums we have but
few true dwarfs belonging to the congestuni section ;
pavvissiunun, despite its name, often forms foot-high fronds >
but could scarcely be considered ineligible on account of
its name and compact habit. In the Lady Ferns there
are some very beautiful true dwarf forms, A. f.f. congestum
minus, A. f.f. c. m. cvistatuui, and gvandiceps are charming
forms, rarely exceeding six or seven inches. Messrs. May
have recently raised a particularly pretty crispy form from
that section. A. f.f. crispuni is a dwarf rambling form,
very distinct, and there are several forms of stipatum which
are very dense, imbricate, and compact, which dwarfs
them considerably and brings them fairly within the line.
The above list comprises certainly the best of the
'dwarfs.' In conclusion, I must 'emphasise the principle
that small-growing normal species, like some of the
spleenworts, if introduced into a group specified as dwarfs,
would inevitably disqualify it if judged by experts."

" [We are much obliged to Mr. Druery for his reply to
the question, although we are not at all inclined to agree
with him in his definition of ' dwarf ' British ferns, and
we think that but few of our readers will readily accept it.
Evidently, if an expert like Mr. Druery would exclude the
spleenworts from a collection of dwarf British ferns, the
time has come when the British Pteridological Society
should make definite regulations for governing such
competitions. — Ed. * G.IM.'] "

To the above we replied as follows, but it was not
inserted : —

" May I beg a line or two to justify my definition of
dwarfs as given in your * Answers to Correspondents ' of
October 5th. If a plant, say, of Asplenium tvicJio manes, be

B

30

included in a group scheduled as a 'dwarf one, what
answer could an expert give if asked whether the said
plant, viz. Aspleniiim tvichomancs, was a dwarf, knowin^^ as
he would do that under favourable conditions, as exist in
some parts of Great Britain, its fronds might be a foot or
more long ? Obviously he could only give a negative
reply, and that would equally obviously disqualify it.
Otherwise the whole group might consist of stunted plants
ot large growing species. If small growing species are
admissible, they should be so-called in the schedule, but
so long as there are true 'dwarf varieties in existence,
as in the case in question, an expert judge has no option
but to accept the definition given, viz. that a plant to be
properly termed ' dwarf,' must be abnormally small
when grown to its full size. The word * dwarf,' in short,
implies abnormality as regards size. An ordinary baby is
not called a dwarf, but Tom Thumb was so-called because
he was abnormally small when adult — C. T. D."

INCONSTANT FERNS {continued).
What, however, must we say of that peculiar Polystichiim
iinguhve which we found near Seaton Junction, in Dorset ?
Found as a mutilated plant with two robust leathery
aculeatum-like fronds, tripinnate or thrice divided, and with
truncate and thorned terminals to fronds and pinnae, it
had, when dug up, six withered perfectly common angulare
fronds attached from the previous season, and when
planted, has been a perfectly common form ever since.
Spores, however, sown from the truncate fronds have
yielded several heavily-crested plants, only one of which,
however, promises to remain so, the others having some
normal fronds mingled with heavily crested ones. It is
impossible to impute these to other parentage, as we have
nothing like them, and stray Polystichum seedlings occur
very rarely. Here we have a case of a plant assuming
several marked characters, apparently for one season only,
and then producing from its spores a batch of a quite

31

different character to itself, truncation being in fact the
very opposite of cresting. Another curious instance is
seen in a very good form of P. angulare, known as P. ang.
decomposituui Pcavson. This, when sown from, yields three
distinct varieties, viz. the parental, a very beautiful
phiinosum {P. ang. pi. Peavson), and an entirely different
type, a gvandidens, in which all the segments are shortened
and toothed irregularly, forming curious yet pretty narrowed
fronds with rounded tips, as different as possible from the
parent. Col. A. W. Jones, one of our most noted pioneers
in the Fern cult, found no less than seventeen separate
plants of a beautifully frilled Hartstongue in one lane, all
perfectly barren of spores, and these he could only assume
as the progeny of some apparently normal plant in the
vicinity, which had the innate faculty of producing such
progeny. Such innate but entirely hidden faculty must
exist in otherwise normal plants in all cases where such
perfectly barren forms have been found, as the numerous
finds of the cambricum section oi Polypodium vulgavcr' We
have now, however, got rather outside our theme of incon-
stant ferns, since all these are constant enough, they imply,
however, an element of inconstancy in their parents which
justifies their mention. Many other cases might be cited,
but we have said enough to demonstrate the curious fact
that in some occult way tendencies arise in the blood, so
to speak, of normal plants, which must have truly repro-
duced the normal specific character for ages, and yet,
without any appreciable reason, eventually produce off-
spring of a very different character, or even individually
diverse in character, which then appear as "sports" or
"mutations" to gladden the heart and swell the collection
of the assiduous Fern-hunter. C. T. D.

■-"In this connection it is interesting to note that at the Arnside
meeting a plant of a semilacerum form of P. vul^are wa-^ exhibited,
from which a single perfectly true cambricum frond had arisen in the
midst of the mass of rhizome, an indication that the barren plumose
varieties may arise by bud-sports instead of by spores.

32

ANTHEROZOIDS.

There are few people outside the scientific world, and
even among fern cultivators, who know enough of the inner
mysteries of Fern reproduction to imagine that on the
underside of the little green scale or prothallus, which is the
first product of the spore, there are generated an immense
number of tiny living bodies, like long-tailed microscopic
tadpoles, whose function it is to perform the parts of pollen
in flowering plants, and thus contribute to the reproduction
of the fern concerned. We are so accustomed to dissociate
free locomotion and evidence of will power from plant life,
that it is hard to conceive the existence of entities, so like
animals as are these wonderful little bodies, and still
harder to believe that such minute creatures can possess a
will of their own, and determine their movements in
response to certain tastes or smells which appeal to them,
and yet this is certainly the case.

So soon as the little scale or prothallus assumes the
familiar heart-shape a considerable number of little
pimple-like excrescences (antheridia) may be discerned by a
lens among the roothairs which anchor it to the soil, and,
at the proper period, when the lower surface is bathed in
the dew-like moisture which, under congenial conditions
is deposited thereupon, these pimples, as we have
actually seen for ourselves, burst, and from each one there
issues a crowd of extremely tiny organisms consisting of a
minute knob, a spirally twisted tail, and several cilia or
microscopic hairs, by the motion of which they steer them-
selves about in the water aforesaid. Locomotion is thus
clearly established, since the water is of course absolutely
still, and any movement from place to place must perforce
be due entirely to volition or will-power, particularly as
they are quite immersed in the w^ater, and not floating on
its surface. Furthermore, as regards the direction of this
will-power as determined by taste or smell, it has been
proved by experimental botanists, that if a tiny portion of
malic acid, the same acid as we find in the apple [Pyrus

1

3

mains) be placed anywhere in their vicinity they will at
once steer towards it unmistakably, so that either taste or
smell is fairly established as existing in these minute
creatures. Failing, however, such extraneous attraction,
there is another and a normal one, which produces the
same effect. Beneath the scale, and therefore in close
proximity to the swimming antherozoids we have de-
scribed, there is produced a little cluster of excrescences of
another kind. These consist of larger cylindrical teat-like
hollow projections, and in the thickened cushion formed in
the prothallus at the indentation of the heart, and upon
which cushion these projections are formed, there lies
embedded at the base of each what is practically an
embryo seed. The cavity in the hollow projection or arche-
gonium is open down to this embryo, and when the time
for fertilization comes a minute exudation of precisely this
malic acid aforesaid occurs, and as a result the little swarm
of antherozoids make their way in that direction, cluster
round the archegonia, and sooner or later one of them finds
its way down the tube to the embryo seed, fuses with it,
and the fertilization is effected. The fertilized cell then
proceeds to break up into many on definite constructive
lines and in a short time a root and primary frond are
produced and the young fern is fairly launched into
existence.

A remarkable feature as distinguishing ferns from
flowering plants is that while in the latter the antherozoid
is transformed into a fertilizing cell which the pollen
grain, after adhering to the stigma, carries down by means
of a tube to the unfertilized seed in the distant ovary,
the motile and sentient antherozoid cannot be dis-
tinguished from the spermatozoid of the animal world
which performs the same function. Both equally consist
of a minute reproductive cell to which is attached a tail
and cilia as a means of locomotion. No one who has been
fortunate enough to witness the evolution and actions of
a swarm of fern antherozoids can fail to be deeply

34

impressed with the amount of active life which is produced
by the apparently inert Fern prothallus and to regard
the whole phenomenon as one of the innumerable wonders
of nature. As we have spoken of a cluster of archegonia,
each with its embedded embryo seed, and each of
these has of course its attendant crowd of suitors, so to
speak, it would be assumed that each prothallus should
produce a cluster of Ferns. As a rule, however, only one
is produced, the green prothallus itself evidently adopting
the vole of foster-mother to the first or most robust of
the possible offspring, the rest then perishing, but if the
cluster be divided by a razor, several may survive, and
even without this in one case, in our own cultures, no
less than seven plants were produced on one prothallus,-
six of which survived the necessary surgical separation,

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

POLYDACTYLOUS POLYSTICHUMS.

A very large proportion of otherwise fine Polystichum
angulaves which are brought under the Society's notice for
expert opinion are found to belong to the defective class
of the P. ang. polydactylnm, which were found many years
ago by Col. A. M. Jones. This plant is distinguished by
the fact that it is only irregularly polydactylous, non-
polydactylous pinn?e invariably occurring in every frond,
while the tips of the fronds vary from plain points to
irregularly ramose ones. Unfortunately, this fern has
evidently a most Don Juan like character, since
innumerable good forms of practically all types have
become crossed by it, and produced offspring shewing
their own particular character marred by the imperfections
and vagaries of the other erratic progenitor. In this way,
too, an immense number of seedlings have got about, and
these would appear to be endowed also with the pre-
potent and gay Lotharian proclivities of Col. Jones'
original find. Now in these days of abundance of thorough-
breds, and the consequent strictness of selection thereby

35

imposed upon those who aim at better and better and
perfect types, this fault wherever found is ruled as an
absolute disqualification ; and the object of this note is to
bring the nature of such disqualification home to our
members, and to ask them to discard, as far as possible
from their collections, all Polystichwns marred as described,
instead of, as is often the case, allotting much valuable
space to them by reason of their other merits. In this way we
may in time eliminate the culprits as " rogues," and thus
materially raise the average standard of fine forms.
Recently a large batch of immense and splendidly grown
fronds was sent to us by a member for naming, and so
large a percentage of them showed these defects, that it
was really painful to us to have to condemn them, and we
are sure that the disappointment felt by the sender on
receipt of our verdict must have been equally sore, while
in some cases, it may possibly be even resented. Never-
theless, as the object of the Society have been made quite
plain, viz. the encouragement of the cultivation of only
perfect and constant forms, it is clear that no other course
is open as an expert adviser to — The Editor.

LASTREA FILIX & PSEUDO MAS BASES.

It will be new, probably, to many of our members that
the bases of the decayed fronds of this species and sub-
species are capable of producing plants if pulled away from
the caudex, inserted in soil just sufficiently to keep them
upright, and then kept close under a glass slip. These
bases from an old plant are nearly as thick as one's little
finger, and about 2 to 2^ inches long. If the plant be
lifted a considerable number of these can be pulled away
from the lower part of the caudex, without detriment to
the plant. They are very fleshy, and internally, even when
some years old, of a very pale green, though nearly black
externally. Each has its original fascicle of roots
attached, most of which, if not all, are dead and may be
cut away, as should any decayed upper part. The bases

36

may then be washed clean and inserted upright about half
an inch in soil, fairly close together in a shallow pan, so
that they can be covered with a glass slip. Each base is
capable of developing an embryo bud beneath the skin of
the outer side.* This embryo bud, under normal circum-
stances, only pushes through in a few cases, or not at all,
and forms the means by which the lateral offsets are
produced. When detached, however, as described, the
energy of the fleshy portion is concentrated on the buried
bud, which in time breaks through the skin and, emerging
as a fairly strong plant, emits its bundle of roots into the
soil and establishes itself, partly by virtue of these roots
and partly by absorption of the material left in the base.
This phenomenon represents one of the many modes in
which nature provides for reproduction when the normal
axis of growth is damaged or destroyed. Such or similar
buds, as we know in the case of the Hartstongue, may be
developed without the prior existence of dormant ones,
but in the species we treat of, the dormant or lateral bud is
really a normal feature, although as a rule the plants only
profit by it under more or less abnormal circumstances of
damage or check, to which the production of lateral offsets
is largely due. C. T. D.

BOTANISTS AND FERN FANCIERS.

To the outsider the Fern fancier or specialist is
generally regarded as at any rate something of a botanist,
and so he must be to the extent of knowing the difference
between one species of fern and another, but so soon as he
devotes his study to the varietal form of these species, he
at once finds a very material gulf between the two classes,

♦ I distinctly remember seeing in a very old book on Ferns, which
untortunately I cannot retrace, an illustration of a section of a base of
L. /. mas shewing this bud clearly within, but minus any external
evidence, as a constant feature of the species, but on making such a
section myself I failed to detect its presence. None the less, three out
of thirty, which I have now under culture, have formed external buds,
hence this note. — C.T.D.

11

viz. himself and the botanist proper. This is due to the
fact that, up to a very recent period, all departures from the
normal specific form were regarded by botanists as more
or less monstrous and to that extent unworthy of study, and
so great was the consequent ignorance that the abnormal
or varietal types were generally termed " garden forms,"
quite ignoring the fact that many of them were found under
absolutely wild conditions and were purely natural sports
or mutations, all the types indeed originating in this way
,while the rest of the varieties were raised from these. As
it is a recognised fact that once a plant has " sported " its
spores or seeds are apt to vary in two directions, i.e. in the
direction of reversion or approach to the normal and in
that of further development of the " sport " characteristic,
it is clear that by selection the wild types could be
improved or enhanced in their varietal features, but
inasmuch as this faculty was implanted in the original find
under natural conditions, it is also clear that the eventual
developments were not due to culture, so that even the
secondary results of selections are not properly termed
"garden" forms, as implying that they have necessarily
arisen by garden influence.

One result of this ignorance of the varietal capacity of
Ferns in their wild state has recently come before us in
the shape of several forms of Poly podium vulgave found in
Canada, and which came to us named as distinct species,
presumably because the fronds when discovered were
submitted to botanists who, on comparing them with
herbarium specimens of P. vulgave^ found them to disagree
more or less markedly from the type. Immediately, how-
ever, that we received fronds of these *' species " (?) we were
enabled to match the fronds extremely closely with forms
in our own collection, and as the only difference was in the
form of the frond and all the other characters agreed
exactly with those of the normal P. vulgave, we bad no
hesitation in renaming them P. vulgare variety so and so,
and actually returned the fronds sent together with their

3«

varietal counterparts to prove our case. None the less, we
have no doubt whatever that the Polypodiuin genus will
continue to be swollen by these varietal forms of one and
the same species, since all attempts to remove such anoma-
lies from scientific botanical records are usually if not
invariably vain, because the varietal expert is regarded as a
mere amateur for the reasons mentioned above.

We have one glaring instance of this adherence to wrong
names in our common Hard Fern, Blechmim spicant,
which in the Kew List, and consequently in most scientific
publications, is called Lomavia spicant, although in the self-
same literature on Ferns, which is recognized by these high
authorities, the marked and well-defined difference between
the two genera is not only described but illustrated, so that
it is only necessary to collect a fertile frond of each genus
to note the distingviishing character of the fructification
upon the form of which Fern classification is based. In
both genera the fertile fronds are distinguished from the
barren ones by being erect and contracted instead of more
or less lax and wide. The Blcchnum spore heaps, how-
ever, lie within the margin of the contracted frond, and
between this margin and the sorus or spore heap there is
a distinct membraneous cover or indusium. The
Lomavia, on the other hand, has its spore heaps at the
margin, and it is the margin itself which turns backward to
act as an indusium, a distinction quite clear to the naked
eye in both cases. This distinction determines even the
varietal capacity, since we have a not very rare form of
B. spicant {B. s. anomahun) in which the fertile fronds are as
wide as the barren ones and bear the spore heaps in the
middle next the midrib and far away from the margin, an
obvious impossibility in a Lomavia. None the less,
repeated protests fail to obtain botanical recognition of the
error, and Lomavia still figures in official literature and on
official labels as the botanical name of the Hard Fern.
This should not be ; any clearly demonstrable error of this
kind should at once be corrected by the authorities who

1

9

guide nomenclature and actually determine the distinctions
upon which It is based, but which they icjnore. We
further submit that in such cases as those of the Canadian
or American Polypodies, where the general character of a
well-known and widely-extended species are all maintained,
except the frond form, the varietal experts should be
consulted before a new species is made of what in all
probability is merely a variety. C. T. D.

LASTREA MONTANA CRISTATA (Moore).

This variety, found in i860 by Mr. Clarke of Glasgow,
is one of the oldest known varieties of the species and also
one of the most graceful, but in spite of this it does not
seem to have become very common. It is not bunch-
crested like Barnes's coronans and Garnett's corymbiferum
but is elegantly and regularly fingered, the fingers them-
selves being tipped by small crests. For this reason
Mr. Barnes and Mr. Lowe considered it to be a polydactyla
rather than a cvistata, but, when freely grown, it will be
found to be neatly crested both terminally and laterally ;
and when highly developed it is almost percristate, i.e.
most of the pinnules, as well as the fronds and pinnae,
are minutely crested. The minute glandules on the
rachis, which give to montana its peculiar and pleasant
odour, are especially conspicuous in this variety, and I
have been recently struck by the rich "old gold"
colour, almost suggestive of a Gymnogramma, given by
them to the stalks when the fronds are unfurling. Mr.
Druery's cristata-gracilis, found in 1888, comes very near
to this variety, but is perhaps more definitely percristate.

F. W. Stansfield.

P.S. — ScoL. V. Plumosum, H. Stansfield. I greatly
regret having sent an entirely inadequate representation
of the character of this fern for the frontispiece of the last
number of the Gazette. The development there shown
has since been altogether eclipsed by that of a plant in
Mr. Henwood's collection. In this latter plant the

40

characters of both parents are shown in an enormously
enhanced degree, and it is certainly one of the most
striking and beautiful forms known of the hartstongue
fern. F. W. S.

HOW FERN SPORTS ARE FOUND.

To the assiduous hunter for Fern sports it is interesting
to recall the circumstances uader which the precious
*' finds " have turned up, and several records in this line
have already appeared in the Gazette. Recalling
memory to one's aid, however, we can cite several other
cases than those mentioned, which may serve as an
encouragement to such as are anxious to shine in this
particular direction and so possibly add something new to
their collections and those of their friends. We have
already stated that whenever ferns are found there is a
chance of a ** sport" being amongst them. The first
essential to success, however, is that every plant, as far as
possible, be well examined, since the cases are rare in
which a merely superficial or casual glance reveals a
prize. One such, however, recurs to us. At Killarney,
passing through the Gap of Dunloe with some friends, a
very steep slope led to a rapid descent to the high road
below, but during the run down at a break-neck pace our
side eye lighted on a well-marked confluent form of
Blechum spicant B. s. conflucns, which certainly must
be reckoned as an absolute "fluke" as an acquisition.

At Sidmouth, again, our attention was attracted by a
huge plant of Scol. vulgare lohatum (the common fingered
form) in the roadside hedge, and stooping to examine this
something tickled our nose and distracted our attention
towards an apparent bunch of moss, which proved on closer
examination to be the tip of a very fme frond of S. V.
covymbifevwn, an independent plant altogether from the
lobatum which all but concealed it — a very good find,
indeed.

41

A. ff. cvistatitm Kilrushense, accepted as the finest wild
cristate Lady Fern yet discovered, constitutes another
** fluke.'' It was found in Ireland, where on a derelict
absentee estate, a long drain overgrown with brambles
and other rank vegetation was yet deep enough to permit
one to struggle along beneath the overgrowth at the
cost of a few scratches and nettle stings. The sides of
the drain were covered with Blechum spicant, and while
examining these a half audible remark by a youngster
who accompanied us, led to the parting of the brambles, etc.,
to hear what was said, and there on the outside, in the
very gap so made, was the " find," a small crushed plant,
probably by the youngster's feet, but finely tasselled through-
out. Lifted and cultivated for two years we regarded
it as a dwarf gem, but then it assumed full size and
character and yielded numerous true progeny and a
heavy grandiceps form in addition.

L. dilatata cvistata was found under peculiar circum-
stances in the Hobby drive at Clovelly. Wife and self
were standing in the road watching a small steamer
coming in to the little pier far below us. The slope in
front of us was covered with L. dilatata, and almost
immediately I detected, about twenty feet down, a large
crested plant. The whole place bristled with warnings
to Fern raiders and the plant was a huge one, a rather
tantalizing case. What could be done ? Closer inspec-
tion showed not only that the plant was a thoroughbred,
but that it was covered with ripe spores. The riddle
was solved, a single pinna was picked off, and wrapped
in paper ; the spores were sown, and at the present moment
among several of its progeny, one plant is a huge bush,
twice the size of the unattainable one, but fully as
characteristic.

B. s. concinniim Driiery, our first good find, a beautiful
narrow form, like strings of small scallop shells, only
betrayed its presence by a tiny tip projecting from a
bunch of normals in the crevice of a stone dyke in

42

Exmoor, which bunch when extracted was found to
contain a six-fronded plant of perfect concinnum type
throughout. Our guide, an experienced Fern hunter, who,
regardless of etiquette went first, happily overlooked the
tiny tip aforesaid and was very much chagrined at the
oversight. Where seedlings are plentiful, it should be borne
in mind that the youngsters are just as likely to afford
sports as full grown-plants, though of course requiring
closer inspection.

Near Torquay, when walking with a friend on a much
frequented road, we came to a very high old wall, in which,
at first sight, not a fern was visible ; due undoubtedly to the
raids of fern-loving (?) visitors. A tiny hartstongue, just
visible in a deep chink, however, attracted attention by a
fan-shaped frondlet, which inspection showed to be accom-
panied by two smaller ones of similarly unusual shape, a
threepenny-piece would have easily covered the whole
plant. Despite a jesting remark from our companion
anent Fern maniacs, this little waif was carefully picked
out and wrapped in damp moss, and proved to be a quite
constant branched form, every frond being double or
triple. It figures in our collection as the " Babbacombe
Baby " {or S. v. ramosujii), though its infancy is now a
thing of the past.

Our own ideal hunting ground is indeed a place where
stone dykes, old walls and rough ground, dotted here and
there with Ferns, prevail, rather than places which permit
of such rampant growth as to constitute veritable Fern
jungles. The ferns in the former case are more easily seen,
and- in the latter there is little doubt that as the varieties
are, as a rule, smaller growers than the normals, "sports"
liave less chance of survival in the strui^gle for existence.
The motto, however, is always that " wherever there is a
Fern there is a chance." C. T. D.

43

PINNi^, PINNULES, AND PINNULETS.

It is a curious fact that although the fronds of all Ferns,
like the leaves of all flowering plants, perform the same
function, namely the provision of cellular surfaces adapted
to catch the light direct or diffused of the Sun, and by
virtue of the energy thence derived to absorb the carbonic
acid gas in the air, and in conjunction with the earthy
salts obtained through the root system, to build up the
plant and its various products, they have assumed an
extraordinary diversity of form. Thus in our com-
paratively few native species, we have examples of the
simplest kind in the Hartstongue, with its simple
undivided, smooth-edged, sword-shaped fronds, and at the
other end of the scale the much divided ones of the Lady
Fern with an almost incalculable number of sub-divisions.
For the purpose of indicating the grade of such sub-
divisions they have been named : (i) the pinna, or first
lateral outgrowth from the midrib ; (2) the pinnule, or
secondary division, which springs from the midribs of the
pinna; and (3) the pinnulet, which stands in the same
relation to the pinnule. In some of the more highly
developed abnormal plumose forms we arrive at even a
fourth stage, viz. divisions of the pinnulets, which may be
termed pinnuletines, farther than which it is needless to
go by way of diminutives.

On close examination it is seen that as a rule these
various grades of sub-division are really reductions of the
plan of the frond itself, each grade doing its best to assume
frond form on a smaller scale, the vein system always
pursuing the same plan and angles of growth. Hence
when, as has frequently occurred, a normally once-
divided species sports into more divided forms, the pinnae
tend more and more to assume the form of smaller fronds.
Our common Polypody P. vidgave, lor instance, has produced
several grades, viz. P. v. semilaceYiiui, which as a section
varies from merely saw-toothed pinnae to bipinnate ones,

44

while in P. v. pulchevvinum we arrive at a tripinnate form
bearing pinnae, pinnules and pinnulets.

On examining the vein system of such ferns we
perceive that the extra development must be due to the
simplicity of the vein arrangement. In the normal frond
each pinna contains a simple series of forking veins
springing from its midrib. Some of these stop short on
their way to the edge of the pinna, and form and feed the
spore heaps, the rest proceed straight to the margin and
terminate there evenly so as to form a regular and smooth
edge. In the saw-toothed variety some of these veins
push as it were beyond the edge, carrying the tissue with
them a little way and thus forming the serrate projections.
In the subdivided pinnae this process goes farther, but ff
would appear that as soon as the projected parts are so
far developed as to require a definite midrib of their own
for their support, the pinna-forming tendency asserts
itself and further division into pinnules or approaches
thereto is the result. In the Cambricum section of this
species, the tendency for some of the veins to terminate
en route to the margin and form spore heaps is entirely
lost, and the vital energy suppressed in this direction is
diverted to the formation of extra foliar tissue, the veins
continuing to lengthen and fork repeatedly, so that the
divisions are greatly lengthened and widened and a very
beautiful plumose or feathery type is the result.

The crispum or frilled Hartstongues owe their develop-
ment to a similar diversion of spore producing energyi
coupled with the fact that while in the plain flat strap the
vein system consists of an even succession of veins, each
of which starting singly, herring-bone fashion, from the
midrib, almost immediately forks into two, and continues
as a pair to the frond edge, in the crispums they fork
repeatedly, carrying tissue between them, and as a con-
sequence the length of the frond on the edges is very much
more than at the midrib and the frilling or folding is the
result. In some of the " projectum " varieties of this

45

protean species the veins carry the margin out irregularly,
forming long-pointed projections, in some cases doing this
so markedly as to indicate a strong tendency in the
Hartstongue to become pinnate or once divided like other
species. On the other hand, some of the normally divided
or pinnate species occasionally sport on "confluent"
lines, assuming more or less the undivided strap form ;
thus it is with Barnes' BlccJinum spicant lineavc, Stabler's
Asp. trick, confluens and others.

As a rule, as we have said, the pinnae, pinnules and
pinnulets are practically reduced editions of the frond
itself, and under normal conditions reproduce its peculi-
arities on a smaller scale, and this as a rule is also the
case when crested and tasselled forms occur, a heavily
tasselled frond terminal being correlated with smaller
tassels to the pinnie and possibly still smaller ones to the
pinnules, in which case we term the form " percristate,"
or crested throughout. The rule, however, has its ex-
ceptions, as in P. angulave gracile cvistatiiin Moly, in which
the pinnulets are very distinctly fanned ones, the pinnae
are but small crested, while the frond top is only just
tasselled at all. In some Lady Ferns bearing large bunch
crests, such as A. f.f. orbicnlare, gcuimatum, Caput nicdtism,
and others, the large tassels at tips of frond and pinnae
absorb, as it were, all the energy of the plant, and the
pinnulets are very small or all but aborted, while in such
forms as are termed " nudicaule '' the fronds consist of a
bare stalk, minus pinnae or pinnules, and only carrying
one dense bunch of tasselling. In fact there are many
varieties so abnormal that the original plan, together with
its vein system, are so affected that general rules do not
obviously apply at all. Thus in some Hartstongues the
primary simply forked vein system anastomoses, or forms
an irregular network, but wherever such network appears
it is always at the expense of symmetry of form. In many
exotic fern species a reticulated or netted variation is
specific, but in no case that we are aware of are Ferns thus

46

characterised found to sport on such symmetrical and
feathery lines as those with free veins are capable of doing.

C. T. D.

FERN PROPAGATION IN BOTTLES, ETC.

Although allusions have been made more than once in
the Gazette to this subject, they are of such a scattered
nature, and the subject is so important, that we think a
more definite treatment of the subject may be useful. It
has long been a recognised fact that if transparent, wide-
necked bottles or pickle jars are inserted an inch or two
into garden soil, even where ferns do not prevail, they are
very apt in course of time to become filled with ferns of
the more common species. This is due to two facts, viz.
that fern spores are very widely distributed by the wind,
and that the close conditions thus afforded are ideal ones
for spore germination and the subsequent development of
the plants thus produced. It is, indeed, a simple way on
a small scale of producing the conditions of a Wardian
case, which, invented early in the last century by Mr.
Ward, has perhaps contributed more than anything else
to facilitate the transport of tender exotic plants from one
part of the world to another, and the culture of such as
require very close and humid aerial conditions of growth,
like the Filmy Ferns and others.

A curious fact in this connection is that even the total
exclusion of fresh air appears to have no retarding effect on
growth, though the structure of the plant must be depend-
ent upon supplies of carbonic acid gas from some source
We have, for instance, still in our fernery a wide-mouthed
white glass pickle jar Into which, now at least eight years
ago, we introduced a tiny Hartstongue, simply laid upon
clean washed damp silver sand of little more than an inch
in depth. The mouth of the jar was closed by a glass
stopper rimmed with rubber and this was tied down with
copper wire to prevent removal. The Hartstongue grew
until it filled the jar and reached the stopper, renewing its

47

fronds for several seasons ; a mass of confervoid growth
had meanwhile covered the sand, and eventually two plants
of Lastvea filix mas., doubtless arising from stray spores on
the Hartstongue, appeared. The Hartstongue then died,
but both the Lastveas are still alive, though small, despite
the fact that absolutely no fresh water has been admitted
to the jar from the day of its installation and the stopper is
quite air-tight. How all the vegetation produced has been
engendered in an hermetically sealed jar about 8 inches by
3 inches is a puzzle, but the fact remains.

We may now come to our particular theme, viz. the
propagation of Ferns, which by reason of their infertility
as regards production of spores or offsets are difficult to
propagate, or for some reason have lost so much of their
vigour as to be practically moribund. Fern vitality is
usually very strong, and will assert itself if given a chance.
A Fern which by reason of old age first dwindles and then
apparently dies, does so usually owing to the dense
accumulation of old dead matter round the crown, and as
new fronds always establish themselves by means of an
independent bundle of roots which are emitted from these
bases, it is evident that these new roots become more and
more handicapped by the fact that it is more and more
difficult for them to reach fresh soil, especially if, as is
often the case, the old crown lifts and emerges further
and further from the soil. We will assume a plant of a
rare form of Polystichum angulare, which has gone so far
in this direction as to be to all intents and purposes a
mere frondless stump, and if we dig it up we find no
living roots. The natural impulse is to consign it to the
rubbish heap, but if before doing so we proceed to care-
fully pull away or cut away all the dead matter we shall
in all probability come to a central core which still
retain some living sap. This may be no bigger than a
walnut or even much less, but so long as any living
•material has survived we have a good chance of not
merely resuscitating the plant but also of obtaining a

48

number. We may do this either by means of stoppered
bottle or jar, or a tumbler. Into these receptacles we
place an inch or an inch and a-half depth of well-washed
silver sand, thoroughly damp but not swamped. Upon
this we place the thoroughly cleansed piece of core,
naturally damped by the washing it has received. We
then put in the stopper or bung, or with a tumbler cover
with a glass slip, and stand the receptacle in a well-
lighted but not sunny position and leave it severely alone.
In the course of a few weeks in the growing season we
shall perceive a number of little white pimple-like
excrescences on the piece of core, and these will gradually
develop into plants, which will produce fronds and roots
at the expense of the core's vitality until sufficiently
established to separate and bring on, at first under less
close culture, gradually hardening them off until they can
be potted up under normal conditions. To give an idea
of the time required, we may mention that at the present
moment there are three or four little plants with fronds
half an inch long on one of the pieces of a Polystichum
angulare sent us by the Rev. H. Kingsmill Moore, which,
as we mentioned in the last Gazette (p. 17), had been
all but destroyed by the Weevil described, and in addition
had been scalded by us on receipt to destroy any grubs
or eggs. They appeared thus in about a month.

The barren crispum Hartstongues, as indeed also
the fertile varieties, can be freely propagated on the same
lines, since every bit of the caudex or rootstock and every
old frond base which contributes to form it will produce
buds freely if detached, freed from all dead matter, includ-
ing the old roots, and merely laid loosely on the sand.
The Lastreas, mas. and pseudo, will yield plants by buds on
the old frond bases, and L. montana also in greater number.
The Lady Ferns are open to same treatment but with a
modification, the bulbils here are only formed at the
point where the old frond base is attached to the central
core, of which a little wedge must be cut away with a

49

sharp knife so as to remove the bud producinj^^ point
intact. In these last cases the frond bases should be
inserted about half an inch and upright. We do not
recommend this method of culture for spores, as they will
not germinate properly on clean sand and retjuire soil
which is almost sure to generate confervoid growth under
such close conditions. We have reason to believe that
this capacity of producing bulbil plants from rootstocks
which show no signs of their existence, even in embryo, is
far too much ignored in connection with many other Ferns
than these named. C. T. D.

NEW FERNS.

ScoL. v. coNCAVO-CAPiTATUM (Rev. KiugsmiU Moore).

A fern hunt in the neighbourhood of SchuU, co. Cork,
gave me this variety, which, with the approval of Mr.
Druery, I propose naming Concavo-capitatiim. Owing
to the steepness of many of the old roads in West Cork, it
is not uncommon to find that the roadside streams have
carved out deep beds for themselves. Where this occurs
ferns abound. Sometimes they are not easily reached,
owing to the depth of the cuttings and the way they get
thatched over with brambles. This was the case with the
cutting, where I got my Scolopcndviiim, its promise of
ferns, however, induced me to devote the necessary
patience to the exploration, with the result that in a spot
where scores of people pass daily, I obtained quite a
number of interesting forms. The little ravine, varying
from, say, 4 to 8 feet in depth, with a general width of
3 or 4 feet, proved in fact to contain quite a colony of
tasselled Hartstongues, and many of them show the concave
fronds which suggested the name. In cultivation this
feature has become more marked, so much so that some-
times the frond is creased and doubled exactly like a sheet
of notepaper, the heads are large and luxurious, very
finely carved and subdivided.

My discovery was made in January, 191 1, and on that
occasion I removed perhaps a dozen specimens, leaving a

c

50

much larger number in situ. In January 191 2, I again
visited the spot ; one or two more specimens had been
taken in the meanwhile by a friend to whom I revealed my
ftnd, but there was no more likelihood of anyone else,
taking a share, than in all the previous years. To my
surprise I could see only a single specimen remaining, and
this some five feet from the bottom. Puzzled for a
moment, I soon found the explanation in the bedraggled
appearance of the surface everywhere. There had
recently been terrific and unprecedented floods ; down the
hill, and through the roadside " ravine " the water had
rushed torrentially, sweeping the sides clean. My one
survivor had been just above flood level, all below had
disappeared. Whether they will ever reappear is doubt-
ful, for though the roots are not all likely to have been
swept clean away, any that remain are probably so over-
whelmed with debvis as to be unable to make growth
again. H. Kingsmill Moore, D.D.

Ceterach officinarum ramo-cristatum Kirby.
This is a very fine ramo-cristate form of the species
found in October this year by our new member, Mr. A.
Kirby, about 20 miles from Cardiff. It was a single
plant bearing about 15 well developed fronds, and, as
we understand, withstood removal well, and is thriving
in its new quarters in a removable wall pocket. Crested
forms have been found in Ireland, but this appears to far
surpass any of them in development.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE VAR. CRISPUM NOBILE.

This is undoubtedly the finest form of crispum yet
discovered, bearing bold well-frilled fronds nearly seven
inches across, a thoroughbred in every way. It was
found on Warton Crag by Carnforth, and came into the
possession of Mr. H. Bolton, of Warton. Our Treasurer,
Mr. W. B. Cranfield, acquired it on a visit after the
August meeting, and exhibited it at the R. H. S. meeting
of October 22nd. Its exceptionally fine character is
proved by the fact that the Floral Committee unanimously
gave it the exceptional award of a First Class certificate.
This must be classed as one of the finest acquisitions of
recent years.

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES "

By Charles T. Druevy^ V.M.H., F.L.S.^

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
IDS. 6d. net.

It will interest the members to know that by the
enterprise of Messrs. George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., the
author has been enabled to realize one of the pet ambitions
of his life, viz. the production, on practically untrammelled
lines, of a thoroughly up-to-date and well illustrated record
of our native ferns in their specific and varietal forms,
together with such information as to their history, culture
and biological peculiarities as will render the work a
thorough compendium of knowledge for the amateur's
reference plus indications of sources of knowledge
valuable to those who take an interest on the scientific
side. The addition of an appendix consisting of ninety-six
of the choicest of the late Col. Jones' nature prints,
accompanied by his contemporary notes, which the author
has been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use as a supple-
ment, renders this book an absolutely unique one, apart
from its comprehensive and practical character in other
directions. Certainly no British Fern lover or Botanical
Library should be without it as the standard work on the
subject, and it would be an advantage to the author (the
Editor of the Gazette and secretary of the British
Pteridological Society) if orders for it were sent to him
personally to his address as given elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

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 obtainable in this
country*

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

* * *

stove, 6recnl)ou$e, and oiDcr Plants
. . .are also largely grown. . . .

* * ¥

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
apon application to—

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 15.

. . . JLbc . . .

JSritieb ]fem

0a3ette*

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

fiDarcb, 1913.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

A. F.F. SUPERBUM PeDIGREB.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

MARCH, 1913.

No. 15.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Note

Odr Frontispiece (A. f.f. superbum pedigree)

Alpines and Ferns in Conjunction ..

Fern Hunting in Winter

Nature versus Culture in Fern Variation (Lecture)

Fern Variation

Induced Apospory in Ferns

British Fern Nomenclature

Variation, Some Observations on, by Rev. Principal

KiNGSMiLL Moore, D.D.
New Members

page
51
53

54
55
58
64

67
70

72

74

EDITORIAL NOTE.

As we are now entering upon the period when our
British Ferns are beginning literally " to stir their stumps "
at the commencement of a new seasonal campaign, we
may hope for the resumption of the interest which has
naturally been more or less dormant during the ''dead"
season. We also hope that it may be attended by the
acquisition of new forms, both by search for the wild and
by spore selection, which latter, now that we have such a
wealth of choice forms to sow from, should be all the more
successful (vide Mr. C. B. Green's " Lament and Moral "
in this issue). In this particular connection the Editor
cannot help expressing his regret that, with a membership
of over 150, and with the stimulus which he endeavours to
impart through the Gazette, so little of the correspondence
he receives points to activity in spore sowing on proper
selective lines and consequent resu'ts. Contributions to
the Gazette itself are also far too rare, though its columns
are open to all really practical matter, apart from the
information which the Editor is always ready to impart

X

52

privately. Most of the members presumably keep collec-
tions, and, like Mr. C. B. Green, Mr. W. B. Cranfield, the
Rev. Kingsmill Moore, Dr. Stansfield and others, could
certainly impart something of interest to our pages in such
connection. In short, the Editor begs the members
generally to follow such examples, and thus to help him
practically in this fashion. He asks them, also, to
keep the Society in mind when visited by Fern-loving
friends, to the end that the membership be increased and
the Gazette improved. Specimen copies will always be
sent on receipt of application from possible members, and
the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August to
August — entitling to four issues of the Gazette and all the
privileges of membership, should certainly not form an
obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1912-13 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

In this number the Editor has ventured to reproduce by
favour of the Gardeners' Magazine, to which he furnished
a copy at the time, a lecture entitled " Nature versus Culture
in Fern Variation," which he thinks may interest our
members, since, though it was delivered fifteen years ago,
his ideas then enunciated have still remained, not only
unaltered, but considerably strengthened by subsequent
experience, and it therefore may still be considered as '* up
to date." • The Editor.

P.S. — The Editor would remind those new members
who may have received but a portion of the Gazette issues
that he has only about half a dozen bound copies left of
Vol. I. (Nos. I to 12) for issue to members only at 3s. gd.,
post free, 304 pages, with contents, many illustrations, and
the Editor's portrait, a really presentable book, of which
no further issue is at all likely.

53

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

To give our members a vivid idea of the successive
improvement of which ferns are capable by spore selection,
we reproduce as our frontispiece a plate showing the first
four stages of evolution of the wonderful section of
" superbum " Lady Ferns, of which the history has been
given already in these pages (Vol. I., p. 269). The plate, as
representing drawings from parts of the original ferns
concerned, is itself remarkable for its fine and accurate
delineation. No. i represents a pinna of an ordinary
Lady Fern ; No. 2, one of the wild Axminster plumosum ;
No. 3, one of the improved Parsons type (A. f.f. plumosum
elegans Parsons) raised therefrom ; and No. 4, the extraordinary
"break," which was christened " superbum," and was des-
tined to be the mother of the " superbum " section generally,
which still remains altogether unequalled in refined beauty.
Spores from No. 4 yielded a considerable number of plants,
some far and away excelling the parent in fine cresting,
even to the fourth degree, i.e. with fanned out pinnulets.
These represented various grades, all perfect in m.ake and
cresting, while an equal number were entirely devoid of
crests, but so finely dissected and so robust as to constitute
a new section by themselves, of which the one named
A. f.f. plumosum Dvueryii stood, and still stands, head and
shoulders above all the plumose forms of the species, and
the first division of this was accepted by Queen Victoria.
It is now fairly well distributed, as, curiously enough,
despite its profuse frondage, it bears bulbils at the backs
of the fronds (an inheritance from AxminstevcnseitseM), which
reproduce it quite truly.

54

ALPINES AND FERNS IN CONJUNCTION.

The accompanying woodcut represents a very successful
arrangement which we adopted, now many years ago,
in a very exposed garden providing little or no proper
accommodation for ferns. As will be seen, it consists of a
low brick wall sunk in the soil and forming a back to a
sunken frame of any desired length, the bottom of which
was paved with large red tiles, while the lower side was
constructed of roofing slates or, alternatively, of similar
tiles set on end. Dimensions may be to taste or pocket,

the principle being grasped. The protecting lights were
hinged to the top of the wall, the lower edge resting on
the tiles, as shown. The frame faced the north, and
against the outside (southern) of the brick wall a bank of
soil was deposited, and formed a rockery, in which Alpines
did very well, getting the full benefit of the sun, which the
wall itself protected from reaching the ferns on the shady
side of it. In this frame at one time I had a batch of
small Todea supevba, which did well, a fair proof of its
fitness for small growing ferns.

C. T. D.

55

FERN HUNTING IN WINTER.

The recommendation given on page 4 of our first volume
in connection with the above has been responded to by the
writer on many occasions, and I am, therefore, prepared to
substantiate the advantages therein referred to.

The main advantage is, of course, the absence of all the
coarser forms of vegetation which are more or less of a
deciduous character.

Evergreen Ferns, therefore, in the winter season have
fewer competitors, so to speak, and thus are more con-
spicuous and much easier to detect — so much so, in fact,
that hedge banks and bushy places that appeared fernless
in the leafy days are now revelations of cryptogamic beauty.
To the lover, then, of ferny haunts there is no time when
his favourite pursuit may not be carried on, even though the
fronds may sometimes scintillate with dew or frost. More-
over, as the majority of British ferns are evergreen under
favourable conditions, the loss or absence of deciduous
species hardly calls for comment here, and so I must
reiterate that to the retired student of Nature — especially
fern nature — opportunities are always present, while to
those who take more than a passing interest in the subject,
but can only occasionally afford a week-end or a Christmas
holiday in the country, there is no pteridological reason
why — weather permitting — a ramble or a fern hunt should
not be indulged in.

Assuming, then, that the conditions are genial, that due
consideration is devoted to the " understandings," and
that the necessary outfit in the shape of, say, brown paper,
string, handfork or trowel, etc., be not ignored, then, with
such simple auxiliaries to success, success is more likely
to be assured. Fancy, on the other hand, coming across a
" good " thing and not having the wherewithal to remove
it, or, when removed, the facility of dispatch !

Recently I carried a big Hartstongue with twenty
18-inch fronds a distance of six miles; but what would

56

have happened without the aforesaid paper and string,
etc. ? — Why, another journey of twelve miles with the neces-
sary paraphernalia to secure the prize !

In hunting Ferns in the winter time, then, it is always
desirable to be well equipped, otherwise one cannot court
the bye-roads, the margins of woods, or the deep hollows
where the quarry is likely to abound.

In this district of the Isle of Purbeck, the prevailing
evergreen species are the Hartstongue, the two Polystichums,
the common Polypody, the Male Ferns — Lastvea Filix-mas
plentifully and L. pseudo-mas sparingly — the broad and
narrow Bucklers, the Hard Fern, and the Aspleniums, such
as A. adiantum nigvtim^ A. trichomaneSj A. viariimm, and,
of course, A. vuta iimvavia, with an occasional colony of
Cetevach — surely a respectable number enough to overhaul
and criticise.

But the zest of a ramble of this description lies — apart from
the invigorating airs of a winter's day and the rural aspect
of Nature at this season — in the fact that one's persistency
in the chase may at any moment be rewarded.

Whether this happy event should be brought to a climax,
or otherwise, depends in some measure on the district
covered, and the liability to variation for which the hunter
is out.

Anyhow, even if nothing occurs to "break the record,"
the outing need not be altogether futile. Something is sure
to turn up to rivet the attention, some lesson is bound to
accrue, for one cannot focus all these things by observation
without a pteridological consequence.

C. B. Green.

P.S. — In the above INIr. Green added some verses with
a moral, which we have ventured, with his permission, to
recast a little and reproduce as follows.

The Editor.

57

A LAMENT AND A MORAL.

Whene'er I take my walks abroad,

Though many Ferns I see ;
No Scol. vulgare, frilled or fringed,

Will e'er turn up for me.

Polystichums in scores I find.

And Lastreas galore ;
But never does a worthy prize

Enable me to score.

Of Lady Ferns I find a few,

Of varied make and fashion,
But none with plumy foliage

Reciprocates my passion.

" Black Maidenhair" on verdant banks

I find with greatest ease ;
But no "good sports" will earn my thanks,

They're all alike as peas.

Green Spleen worts, too, I've sometimes found

On limestone rocky places ;
And A. trichomanes, of course,

In chinks on old wall faces.

In wild sea-caves, in wave-worn cliffs

Marinum oft I've seen ;
But Spleenworts all alike refuse

To mitigate my spleen.

Muraria and Ceterach

Alike reward my quest.
But always only "commoners,"

None honoured with a crest.

58

The humble Polypody, too,

I come across in swarms;
But ne'er a set oi double teeth

Accentuates their charms.

Osmundas, Blechnums, too, I find

In close association ;
But all, alas ! on normal lines.

Sans trace of variation.

But must I be content to glean

The normal or inferior ?
By no means, while the spore remains

To breed me forms superior.

To these I'll turn with careful choice,

Nor longer vainly roam ;
But, sowing from the best, create

Rich hunting grounds at home.

NATURE VERSUS CULTURE IN FERN

VARIATION.

The following is the text of the paper read by Mr. C. T.
Druery, F.L.S., at the meeting of the Horticultural Club
on the 14th inst. (June 14th, 1898) : —

As a fairly long period had elapsed since I inflicted a
paper about our unpopular British ferns upon the members
of the club, I ventured timidly to hint to our secretary that
a further dose might be administered now without im-
mediate fatal effects, and suggested " Fern Revelations by
a Fern Reveller " as a possibly taking title. Mr. D'Ombrain,
averse, probably, to snuffing out an old member, and relying
upon the latitude usually accorded to those afi^icted with a
mania, kindly acquiesced. Upon this encouragement I
dropped the jocular title held out as a bait, and determined
to spring my ideas upon the club in a severe form, and one

59

more adapted to discussion, because it involved a theory
which is open to challenge. " Nature versus Culture in
Fern Variation " was the title adopted, a title which I
admit at the outset is open to criticism, because Nature is as
much at work with plants under culture as with plants which
grow wild and altogether independently of man's efforts or
doctoring, while the variation, too, should not have been
limited to ferns, since the whole tenor of my argument to
come is applicable to all plants and not merely to one
family, and I consequently claim to cover a wider field
than such title justifies.

So much by way of preamble, and now to my object
proper, which I propose to demonstrate mainly by submit-
ting the very tangible medium of actual Nature prints of a
considerable number of remarkable fern varieties found
perfectly wild on these islands. These prints, I may add,
were the outcome of much loving labour on the part of the
late Colonel A. M. Jones, of Clifton, who made our British
fern varieties his study for many years, and to whom and
Mr. Lowe, the collection known as the Carbonell collection
at Kew is largely due, Mr. Carbonell having caught the
fern fever from Colonel Jones, who, furthermore, aided him
very materially in the subsequent splendid results. Prior,
however, to specially referring to these prints, I should like
to point out that this particular hobby of fern hunting, i.e.
variety hunting has, I believe, no fair parallel in connection
with any other family of plants, so far, at any rate, as
concerns its results, and the care with which these results
have been recorded, as in the case before us. The nearest
to a parallel perhaps exists in the case of orchids, new
forms of which are assiduously sought for in their habitats
all over the world with well-known results, which also go
far to strengthen the theory I advance, viz. that plants vary
quite as much, and as widely under purely natural con-
ditions as they do under culture — and that the apparent
difference is due solely to the following causes :

First, as regards varieties found wild, (i) The wild

6o

sports are usually solitary specimens of their kind, and it
therefore needs a special and more assiduous search by
practised eyes to discover them. (2) They mostly occur in
wild and unfrequented places, where chance discovery is
reduced to a minimum. (3) They are usually associated
and mixed up with enormous numbers of the normal forms,
and these, as already stated in No. i, require the expert's
eye to detect them ; and (4) very few people indeed have
either the extreme patience or persistence the search
demands, coupled with the requisite knowledge to enable
them to detect new forms. Cultured plants, on the other
hand, are grown under precisely opposite conditions, all
favourable to discovery of any sports which may occur.
Thus : (i) they are sown and grown in trade hands from
beginning to end, by men who are practically experts in
discrimination, and profit largely by their discoveries. (2)
They are raised without admixture with other species or
varieties, and in the process of transplanting, re-potting,
and bringing-on generally, are practically inspected in-
dividually many times, so that a difference can hardly
escape notice ; and finally (3) most important factor of all,
cultivated plants are rarely normal ones ; they are them-
selves, with few exceptions, the result of selection, i.e. are
the offspring of sports, and hence, as is universally known,
extremely liable to sport still more.

From these facts it is seen that the capacity of plants for
sporting or varying might be just as great in their wild
state as in their cultivated state, and yet the accumulated
results might be practically nil in the former case despite their
abundance in the latter; the outcome being the belief which
generally exists that the variation observed is induced by
culture, which leads on to other theories, that it is due to
change of environment as well as treatment. For the same
reason we find the most eminent botanists classing as
"garden varieties" certain ferns of a crested character,
like Lasivea pseudo mas cvistata, as if they had been arrived at
by cultivation, and until quite recently this idea of the

6i

artificiality, so to speak, of these abnormal forms led to
their utter neglect by scientific botanists, though, as I
contend, when they are regarded in their true light as
purely natural sports they become a peculiarly fit study for
the evolutionist and afford a splendid field for biological
research, since it is far more among the vagaries than
among the fixed forms of organic life that Nature is apt to
reveal her secrets. As soon, indeed, as the abnormal forms
begin to be properly studied — and I think I may claim to have
induced some research in this particular direction — one of
the first results was the discovery that the presumed hard
and fast line existing between the two forms of fern life, the
prothallus form and that of ferns as we know them, was a
myth; since it was found to be broken through very
frequently. Thus several varieties of several species are
known now to produce prothalii on their fronds, and con-
versely produce fronds on their prothalii by simple asexual
buds, while to cap the climax, Mr. Lang found that spores
were actually produced on the prothalii of several species,
and although these did not get the length of perfecting in
the cases he observed, the possibility was demonstrated of
ferns existing from generation to generation as prothalii
only, a long step backwards to their cousins the lichens,
though these particular spore-bearing prothalii were pro-
duced from such highly-developed forms as the Hartstongue
[Scolopendvium vtdgave), and Broad Buckler fern [Lastvea
dilatata) .

Though seemingly, in making these remarks, I have
somewhat diverged from my subject, it is not so really, for
all the ferns upon which these discoveries were made were
abnormal ones, and wild finds, or the true offspring of wild
finds, presenting same characteristics ; and this brings me
to a comparison in this particular connection of the results
obtained where selective culture and assiduous hunting
have both contributed their quota to collections.

Mr. E. J. Lowe's little book "British Ferns, and Where
Found," published in i8gi, is recognised by all experts as

62

a reliable descriptive catalogue of known varieties of
British ferns at that date. The total number described is
1,859, to which must be added a considerable number of
independent finds of similar forms, and figuring con-
sequently under the same names. I have been through
that list, and, analysing it, I find that without reckoning
these repeats there are no less than 1,119 wild finds, as
against 740 different forms raised from such finds and
distinct enough for separate naming, i.e. a ratio of sixty per
cent, wild as compared with forty per cent, cultivated.
Another important fact in this connection is that the
common forms of the species have been utilised for a long
time in gardens by the million, and thus to a certain extent
must be ranked with cultivated plants, but only one or two
examples are known of varieties being found among such
plants, and even in these cases it has transpired that the
plants had been brought in indiscriminately from wild
habitats, and that even these finds may reasonably be
assumed as involuntary importations and not due to
cultural care. As you will presently see from the prints,
these "sports" are not in any case "incipient breaks"
which have to be worked up to become good and distinct
varieties ; they are often finished productions, and in many
cases the best efforts of the selective raiser have failed to
better them. On the other hand, in other cases the usual
result of improvement by selection has been attained, but
always and only from a fair start given by Dame Nature's
unaided hand.

We see, therefore, that in ferns, at any rate, the capacity
for sporting is by no manner of means dependent upon
culture, and, as a fern-hunter with some successes, I
cannot agree for one moment that these sports are due, as
some scientists think, to any effects of the environment or
attempts in the organism to adapt itself thereto. The
"finds" grow under precisely similar conditions as the
normal forms around them. A thousand seedlings line an
earthen dyke faced with rough, unhewn stones ; their

63

fronds peep out from every chink, and here, in the very
heart of a clamp of the common form, is one of the most
diverse fashion conceivable. To get it, it has to be literally
sorted out of the bunch of fronds and roots of its purely
normal companions, and yet it is not only a thoroughbred
variety, lasselled, curled, or what not, but every spore it
subsequently bears may breed true as a die, and, under
quite different and varied environments, will reproduce
the type to a nicety generation after generation.

As for fern adaptation to environment, it is quite possible

that, had it not been found, it would have been smothered

by its fellows, for tasselling, congesting, and dwarfing are

always at expense of height, and that means handicapping to

a certain extent. In this connection, too, the extreme

diversity of the variations should logically imply a great

diversity of environment, while, as we have seen, there is

none at all. The " sport," too, is, judging by its subsequent

true offspring, diverse in character even in the first frond,

and hence the sport originated in the very ovum itself, or

in the spore which was shed from one of the normal plants

around. If the sport existed in the spore, we arrive at a

local affection of the mother-frond, which bore millions of

spores, one of which, at any rate, was subtly modified so as

to produce a new form ; and here our environmental

difference narrows down to part of one frond out of many

on the plant, itself one of thousands all growing together

under the same or such similar conditions as could not

necessitate so great a change of form as a requisite factor

of existence or even as a facility, since, as we have seen,

the effect may be adverse instead of favourable. To my

mind, this question of variation is an inscrutable one at

present, that is, the initial original variation, of which the

fern prints I shall show you portray the actual examples.

{To be continued.)

64

FERN VARIATION.-

Although throughout the plant world we find innumer-
able instances of marked departures from the normal type
— that is, the particular and prevalent form which botanists
have determined upon as representing the species — there
would certainly appear to be a greater tendency to such
aberration in ferns than in flowering plants. In this com-
parison we can, of course, only consider the foliage, and
not the inflorescence, since as regards the latter it is a
remarkable fact that throughout all the genera and species
of ferns, numerous as they are, and diversified in habit,
size, and make, the same type of microscopic inflorescence
practically prevails throughout, while in flowering plants,
as we know, the diversity is infinite. We can therefore
only compare the leaf and the frond, and when we do so,
we find that though the forms of foliage proper, i.e. the
true leaves of flowering plants, are wonderfully diverse,
those of the fern frond, including varietal sports, are not
only equally so, but in some respects far more curious.

Thus, for instance, leaves vary in size and shape and
arrangement according to their species, and vary wonder-
fully in the way of sports, so that at Kew we may see scores
of oaks of precisely the same species, but with leaves aping
those of other and different trees altogether, and playing
furthermore a sort of fantasia on the oak leaf theme as well
in the matter of size and shape. In the acacia we may see
the simple leaf merging into a pinnate one, and so on ; and
in the cacti and euphorbias the foliage consists of mere
rudiments, or the antipodean briar may present it in the
guise of prickles only. Amid all these diversities, how-
ever, we never find one particular type of variation into
which all species of ferns seem capable of sporting, namely,
that of forming tassels at the tips of the fronds and their
subdivisions. This faculty would appear to be correlated

-'= By permission of the Gardeners' Magazine.

65

with the fact that the frond and its subdivisions develop
apically, that is, the cellular growth is engendered at the
extreme tip.

If we examine the incipient bud of a tree we shall find it
to consist of a compact bundle of young leaves, which,
when the bud bursts, emerge and grow, so to speak, all
over, expanding in all directions, so that the outline alters
but little except as regards expansion. A fern frond at
the same stage is a small, fleshy knob, devoid of any indica-
tion of foliar structure ; it is, in fact, only a rudimentary
stalk, tipped with a mass of incipient cells. By means of
these cells the stalk lengthens, and an incurved top is
formed, within which a process of division and redivision
goes on to the extent determined by the form of the frond,
simple or decompound, until, if decompound, all the parts
of the frond in a small and delicate form may be found to
exist in the still curled -up terminal at the top of the now
long stalk. After this it grows all over, leaf fashion, and,
as it does so, the coil unrolls, the parts straighten them-
selves, and ere long we see the broad, flat frond full size
and mature. Obviously this mode of development is more
compatible with tasselling at the tips than that of the leaf,
since all that is necessary is that the rest of the formative
cell work in the coils being completed, the terminal cells
split up and finish off with more points than the normal one.

All the same, however, we must rank this occurrence
with the many other natural marvels, when we consider
that in the more highly-developed crested or cristate forms
in which the smallest subdivisions are tasselled, as well as
the largest, this means that many hundreds, or even thou-
sands, of formative cells, which normally would, as it were,
fix the last brick on the pinnacle, unanimously take it into
their heads, so to speak, to pile up a few more on the top
as a sort of radiating finial. This eccentricity is the more
remarkable as no species shows it as a normal character,
though it must be assumed to occur sporadically on most
species, seeing that out of about 44 native species of ferns

66

only about a dozen have so far failed to yield examples of
crested forms to the varietal fern hunter. In many instances
the tendency to split up is developed erratically in the form
of irregularly branched and tasselled fronds ; while in
some cases it so predominates over the normal tendency to
produce a flat frond, that the whole fern is a bunch of
tassels so closely set as to resemble a ball of moss or
selaginella.

Here, then, is a whole range of frond forms which have
no counterpart at all in leaf forms. The extra foliose or
plumose type of fern variation, embracing the fringed and
frilled section of the Hartstongues cannot be so clearly
distinguished from some of the abnormal leaf types, in
flowering plants, such as we see in some cyclamen sports,
where the fringed or butterfly type of flower is associated
with a frilled and fringed edge to the very large leaves.
Many of the more beautiful examples of fern variation,
however, belong to this section, which superficially may
be said to be represented by Todea supevha, though since
ferns have been subjected to cultural selection, even that
gem of emerald vegetation has been excelled by the divisi-
lobe plumosums of Polystichum angulaye, and more recently
by those marvels of dissection, Nephvolepis exaltata What-
mani and Mavshalli compada. To these extremely dissected
and exuberant types we have no parallels in true leaves,
although curiously enough, they have been derived from
merely pinnate or bipinnate specific forms, which some
leaves could easily surpass.

The most extraordinary example of the twisted type is
a form of the Common Bracken, known as Pteris aquilma
glomevata, in which all the leafy subdivisions and terminals
curl up so tightly as to twist the stalks into knots and form
balls, the fronds presenting thus a most weird and unnatural
appearance. In the revolute forms the fronds form tubes
instead of being flat, and the side divisions are convex,
and, together with the frond tip, are spirally twisted owing
to the fact that the rolling up of the frond tends to bring

67

the under surface upward instead of the upper ; and as the
latter is better adapted to receive the Hght, a compromise,
as it were, results in the twist in question. It is curious
that a natural sport of this description should really be in
conflict with the law that a leaf or its equivalent is so
arranged as to catch directly as much light as the environ-
ment permits. In that very peculiar tree, Liriodendvon
tidipifenim, or the Tulip Tree, the broad leaves are peculiar
in terminating squarely, the midrib slightly projectmg as a
thorn, and it is a very curious fact that while this, w^e
believe, has no parallel in flowering plants, at any rate, as
being a constant specific character, several of our native
fern species present precisely the same feature in wild
varietal forms — viz. the Hartstongue, Lady Fern, Lastrea
filix-mas, L. inontana — and we have also received the same
type of variation from the United States in PoJypodinm
hexagonopteruin tnmcatum. In all these the unrolling frond
or fern division suddenly ceases to develop the leafy portion
on each side of the midrib, though that continues for a
short distance as a bristle or thorn-like point.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

INDUCED APOSPORY IN FERNS.

By favour of the Gardeners' Chronicle, I give the following parti-
culars of a discovery regarding the reproductive faculty of
Ferns in general, which should interest the readers of the
Gazette. So far as I know, this had not appeared in a form
adapted to English readers until by pure chance I came across
Professor Goebel's paper in a secondhand bookseller's list, and
at once obtained a copy on the strength of the title, upon
which I framed the article for the Chronicle now reproduced.

Since the first discovery of apospory by the present
writer in 1884, i^ ^^^ been found that this phenomenon,
namely, the production of prothalli direct from the frond,

6S

without the intervention of the spore, has presented itself
in several forms, such as soral apospory, in conjunction
with the aborted sori or spore heaps, or apical apospory,
by simple extension and modification of the frond tissue
itself. It had so far, until Professor Goebel's investiga-
tions,''' been confined to otherwise abnormal varieties, and
on some of these apospory only presented itself or could be
induced to appear under special cultural conditions. Thus,
in the case of Athyriuni filix-fosmina vav. tmco-glomeratum,
Dr. F. W. Stansfield has shown that, despite the quite
deciduous nature of the species, the extremely comminuted
crests retain vitality through the winter under close culture,
and produce both bulbil and aposporous outgrowths in the
following spring. Professor Goebel's investigations lead,
however, far beyond this, since a considerable number of
quite normal species are found to produce aposporic and
apogamic prothalli, as also simple asexual plants, if the
primary or first fronds produced from the prothallus are
severed therefrom and layered on sterilised turf or loam.
Among the plants so treated he mentions particularly
Aneimia Dvegeana^ Alsophila van Geeviii, Cevatoptens thalic-
troides, Gymnogramma chvysophylla, Polypodiiim aureum, and
Ptevis longifolia^ of most ot which he gives illustrations
showing the diverse methods in which these regenerative
outgrowths appear on the layered primary fronds. Since,
however, these species were taken purely by chance from
a large collection, the presumption is justifiable that the
great majority of species possess the same regenerative
faculty, though it appears to be confined to the first fronds,
in which a hard-and-fast line between thegametophytic and
sporophytic generations does not yet appear to be drawn.
Hence, when the normal process of growth is interrupted
by severance from the prothallus, and favourable conditions

* ExperimenteUe morphologische Mittcihingen, by Karl Goebel. Reporte
of the Royal Bavarian Akademie der Wissenschaften. Vol. xxxvii.,
1907 ; Part II.

69

are afforded, the constituent cells produce outgrowths,
sometimes presenting the prothallus character, sometimes
the frond character, and sometimes an intermediate state
in which stomata, a definite frond character, are in close
juxtaposition with antheridia, an equally definite feature of
the prothallus. At the time of Professor Goebel's report,
none of the induced prothalli had produced plants, which
he imputes rather to cultural conditions than to incapacity.
None of the illustrations show archegonia, and only one
antheridia, though in one of these the antherozoids are
developed. He anticipates that when a second generation
appeared it would probably be an apogamous one ; but
since apospory has been shown to be capable of producing
perfect bisexual prothalli — A. f.f. Clarissima to wit — in
more than one instance, though in most cases the progeny
are imperfect and weakly, it is reasonable to expect that
like exceptions will crop up when the cultural inducing
experiments are extended.

The practical value of these discoveries to the fern
cultivator are not so far obvious, since once the prothallus
has produced its primary frond the propagator has attained
his object ; but, to the biologist, they are of undoubted
importance, as confirming the indication already afforded
by apospory, that the line between the two generations
represented by prothallus and frond - bearing Fern is
more or less undefined, and there is doubtless much to be
learnt by such cases as are here concerned, regarding the
nuclear conditions of the cell, which determine the subse-
quent difference of growth.

Charles T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

70

BRITISH FERN NOMENCLATURE.^^

As the hoa. secretary of the British Pteridological
Society, to which reference is made in your leader of August
24th (the annual report of which appears on p. 657 of the
same issue), I venture to solicit a little space for a reply to
the very kindly and sympathetic remarks and suggestions
made in the above connection. I also avail myself of this
opportunity of thanking the Gardeners' Magazine for the
support to the cult which it has given for the past quarter
of a century at least, and to my efforts to restore to our
beautiful native ferns the popularity which it is now gener-
ally recognised they so fully merit. I cannot but agree
that the names given are in many cases very long ones,
but it must be conceded that if a descriptive name can be
given to a plant, it must perforce be better than a purely
fanciful one, which conveys nothing at all without the
aid of the description which accompanies it in the florist's
catalogue.

Taking the daffodil as the example quoted, though
numberless flowers are so varied as to render this example
one of a legion, I would point out that there is little or no
parallel between the cases. With a flower which, by
virtue of selection, crossing; or hybridising, yields
eventually hundreds of varieties, characterised by often
small differences of form, tint, and size, which it is im-
possible to define beyond a certain limit, fancy names,
personal, local, or other, must inevitably be adopted, but
with our native ferns it must be remembered that they
stand alone in the fact that all the varieties have originated
from wild sports, which at the time of their discovery, were
certainly entitled to be descriptively named on botanical
lines, and being referred to the botanist or fern experts of
the time, were treated accordingly. It is due to this that
we inherit, as it were, varietal names thus given to the

'•' By favour of the Gardeners' Magazine, in reply to a leader depre-
cating the use of the long names in vogue.

71

extent, to take Lowe's list as an example, of nearly two
thousand. As time went on by selection from the spores
of these wild plants and their progeny, other varieties arose,
and their distinctive differences from their parents were
indicated by additions to the parental names. The result,
I adm.it, is in many cases cumbrous, but it is not to be
forgotten that this is partly due to the fact that the specific
names themselves are often lengthy, such as Polystichum
aiigulare, P. aculeatum, Athyvinm filix-jcBmina^ and others,
and hence when these are cut down to P. ang., P. acid., and
A. f.f. much of the evil disappears. Mr. Lowe did an
immense service to the cult by dividing the varieties of the
more variable species into sections, each embracing a pre-
dominant character, and in practice this greatly facilitated
naming on descriptive lines. Personally I have found that
new disciples to the cult find little difficulty in grasping
these principles, and 1 have never come across one who
has been frightened away by the names when once he or
she, as the case may be, has obtained a lew fine varieties,
and thus acquired a visual acquaintance with their charms.
Furthermore, for the beginner there exists sufficient simple
English names for his guidance ; let him send an order to
one of the trade for a selection, say, of frilled and tasselled
or crested hartstongues, plumose, and tasselled lady ferns,
tasselled male ferns, and plumose and tasselled shield ferns,
and I am perfectly sure that the attachment thereto of
labels bearing the accepted Latin names will form no
handicap to his admiration. Moreover, even the Latin
names are mostly so indicative of the English ones —
congesta, cvistata, minus, etc., etc., as to be easily interpreted
and speedily learnt. In short, my experience has taught
me that once a taste for the cult has been acquired, the
name difficulty disappears entirely, or becomes so unim-
portant, in comparison with the plants concerned, as to be
ignored ; while, as I have indicated, those of the public
who are content to see their gardens decorated with fine
varieties without taking up the cult as a hobby, can quite

72

well do so by using the common names of the species when
giving their orders.

I may say, on behalf of the society with which I am
associated, that it is our earnest desire to simplify names,
as far as possible, but we cannot see our way to the
adoption of the daffodil style of nomenclature, which
conveys usually nothing but compliments to those whose
personal names are given to the plants, and thus loses all
scientific interest. Another point is that the term " garden
varieties" is most inappropriately applied to the large
number of our native fern forms which have originated as
perfectly wild "sports," and form the foundation of the
cult ; in daffodils and other flowers this peculiar factor is
non-existent, and no true fern-lover could agree to rechristen
such " sports " with commonplace names of persons, places,
etc. We have inherited them, and must retain them as the
basis of our nomenclature.

One point which the society has adopted nowadays is to
refuse to name any but such forms as are distinct improve-
ments and perfect in make. In old days the most imper-
fect, irregular, and inconstant types were christened,
regardless of merit ; these are now ignored.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

AS TO THE CONTRIBU TORY CAUSES OF VARIATION

IN OUR NATIVE FERNS.

As yet no one has succeeded in offering any explanation
which goes to the root of the variation in our ferns. It is,
of course, open to us to say that there is inherent in them
this remarkable power of developing into new varieties;
but in so saying we only smother in words a mystery which
stands outside our ken. But while this is so it seems to me
not impossible to ascertain causes which may contribute to
varietal forms. \\ hen the fruit tree is trained as a Pyramid
or as an Espalier, we know little about the powers which

7?>

enable the tree to adapt itself to these special shapes ; but
everybody knows that the contributory cause of the shapes
is the gardener.

Similarly with regard to our ferns. It has often occurred
to me that the power to form varieties may be awakened
and stimulated by the circumstances in which the fern
grows. For instance, when we search for ferns along a
hollow ditch, where the ferns have to push upwards, as
best they can, among thick brambles, we are sure to find
many abnormal forms. Of course the majority of these forms
arise immediately from the way in which the fronds have
to work their way in and out of the obstructions, and
doubtless if the brambles were removed there would be
return, in most cases, to the type.

Is it not, however, probable that a fern, which has for
many years developed in difficulties which interfered with
the proper expansion of its fronds, should gradually so
adapt itself to its environment as to perpetuate the form
which circumstances have imposed ?

Another illustration of a totally different character
presents itself when ferns have found for themselves a
situation exceptionally favourable. Recently I came across
specimens oi poly podium vulgave, so delightfully posed upon
the side of a steep shady bank beside a tiny waterfall, that
they had grown and grown until at least twice the normal
size, and had assumed in their pinnae a rich and sinuous
appearance, which bade fair for an early break into
vigorous plumose form.

More remarkable, in my opinion, than either of the
instances already given, is the way in which I have found
Blechmtm Spicant, on two recent occasions, adapting itself,
in different places, to similar surroundings. In both cases
the caudex of the fern was deeply set in the interstices of a
dyke built of loose stones and clay. Before the fronds
could expand normally they had to work outwards in some
cases as much as nine inches, in order to be free from the
stones which pressed them on each side. The fronds

74

produced under these circumstances, while normal in the
upper part, in the lower part showed pinnae so altered from
the usual long narrow shape, as to be very little more
than small unfolding semi-circles. In this case it seems to
be quite certain that a varietal form has been caused by
the constricted space in which the frond began its
unfolding.

In submitting these thoughts and observations to the
readers of the Gazette, I do not flatter myself that I am
making any solid contribution to a difficult subject. Even
it the points I make be valid, they can at best carry us but
a little way. If, however, the Editor should think them
worth printing, it is just possible that they may turn ether
minds in the same direction. Where so little is known
even elementary hints may lead to positions worth attaining.

H. KiNGSMiLL Moore, D.D.

NEW MEMBERS.

Barton, H. D. M., The Bush, Antrim,

Day, Miss C. E., i6, Burgoyne Road, Harringay, N.

Duncan, Jas., Minto Fell Nurseries, Kendal.

Finch, T. J,, Charlton Park Gardens, Malmesbury, Wilts,

Grimason, Mrs. N,, 27, Grove Road, Windsor.

Holt, T,, 29, West Road, Lancaster.

Kirby, A., 49, Elm Street, Roath, Cardiff.

Laverton, Mrs. W. H., Leighton, Westbury, Wilts.

Pain, Frampton., Arlington, Chase Ridings, Enfield Chase.

Pattison, C, Linwood, near Paisley.

Rowlands, L. P., 38, Seymour Place, Fulham Road, S.W.

Roberts, W, Richter, Monkwood Cottage, Baldwyn Hill, Loughton,

Essex.
Thorburn, R. W., 68, Morris Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Editor would remind the Members that Messrs.
H. B. May & Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of P. aculeatum gracillimum Drueryii.

/

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES/'

By Charles T. Dvuery, V.MM., F.L,S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
I OS. 6d. net.

It will interest the members to know that by the
enterprise of Messrs. George Routledge <& Sons, Ltd., the
author has been enabled to realize one of the pet ambitions
of his life, viz. the production, on practically untrammelled
lines, of a thoroughly up-to-date and well illustrated record
of our native ferns in their specific and varietal forms,
together with such information as to their history, culture
and biological peculiarities as will render the work a
thorough compendium of knowledge for the amateur's
reference plus indications of sources of knowledge
valuable to those who take an interest on the scientific
side. The addition of an appendix consisting of ninety-six
of the choicest of the late Col. Jones' nature prints,
accompanied by his contemporary notes, which the author
has been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use as a supple-
ment, renders this book an absolutely unique one, apart
from its comprehensive and practical character in other
directions. Certainly no British Fern lover or Botanical
Library should be without it as the standard work on the
subject, and it would be an advantage to the author (the
Editor of the Gazette and secretary of the British
Pteridological Society) if orders for it were sent to him
personally to his address as given elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

R 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 obtainable in this
country*

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invitedt

* * *

$toi;«, 6reenDou$c. and otbcr Plants
. . .are also laraelp arotvn. ...

* * ¥

Catalogues of Ferns and othei* Plants can be had post free
apon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

•■«*>«!«i>mHP<

VOL. 2. No. 16.

. . . Zbc . . .

JBritisb ]f cm
(5a3ette*

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY*

June, 1913.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road. Acton, Loiwoit, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

JUNE, 1913.

No. 16.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (Scol. v, Crispum Nobile) ..

Fern Hunting IN Scotland

Nature versus Culture in Fern Variation (concluston)

Ferns ..

•• •• «• .. .. ,. ,,

An Amateur's Notes and Observations to Amateurs

An Amateur's Notes and Editor's Remarks

How Ferns Develop

Varieties of Variation

Root Room for Ferns

Fern Fertility

Vandalistic Botanists

page
75
77
77
81

82

86
89
92

95
98

lOI

104

EDITORIAL NOTES.

At the time of writing we are in the midst of, in some
respects, the most interesting period of the year to the Fern
cultivator, since after the long rest of winter the Ferns
are rising like giants refreshed, and it is a real delight to
wander round a collection and note the fresh virgin verdancy
of the rising fronds and the different ways in which each
species behaves in displaying its particular charms. As it
requires a special article to deal with this we have prepared
one, to which we refer our readers. As usual, in collecting
the matter for this issue we found a lamentable lack,
indeed an entire absence, of outside contributions to the
literature of the British Fern cult, despite the existence of
over 150 possible contributors in the shape of as many
members. Fortunately, however, on going through the
mass of correspondence received we found a strino- of
letters from our member, Mr. Kirby, so full of interesting
notes, that we called upon him to help us by putting these
together in the form of an article, to which he happily con-
sented, and in so doing certainly supplied a model which

X

76

many of our silent members should endeavour to follow.
In this way they, as will be seen, not only supply matter
directly of interest to their fellow members, but can also
inspire the Editor hiaiself by suggesting questions to deal
with. He asks them, also, to keep the Society in mind
when visited by Fern-loving friends, to the end that the
membership be increased and the Gazette improved.
Specimen copies will always be sent on receipt of
application from possible members, and the small sub-
scription of 5s. per annum — from August to August —
entitling to four issues of the Gazette and all the
privileges of membership, should certainly not form an
obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1912-13 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

As was arranged last x\ugust, Mr. Cranfield and the
Editor will shortly visit Devon and Dorset to select by
personal inspection a suitable place for the Annual Meeting,
particulars of which will be duly announced.

The Editor.

P.S. — The Editor would remind those new members
who may have received but a portion of the Gazette issues
that he has only about half a dozen bound copies left of
Vol. I. (No3. I to 12) for issue to members only at 3s. gd.,
post free, 304 pages, with contents, many illustrations, and
the Editor's portrait, a really presentable book, of which
no further issue is at all likely.

VJ

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE CRISPUM NOBILE.

This magnificent crispum, which deservedly obtained a
First-class Certificate when exhibited at the Royal Horti-
cultural Society in October last, was found some time ago
on Wharton Crag, the limestone ridge visible from Carn-
forth Station and close to the little village of Warton, where
two of our members, T. Bolton and H. Bolton have note-
worthy collections of British Fern Varieties. Mr. W. B.
Cranfield, ever on the look-out for new acquisitions, made
the acquaintance of this remarkable Fern on visiting
Mr. H. Bolton, who had acquired it from the finder, and in
turn Mr. Cranfield became the owner and as a result
obtained the award aforesaid. The plant appears to have
an exceptionally robust constitution and many of its beau-
tifully frilled fronds are nearly seven inches across, in this
way so far eclipsing any previous find as well to merit the
exceptional award given. Oar Frontispiece speaks for
itself. The fern is known as Bolton's broad form or
*' nobile."

FERN HUNTING IN SCOTLAND.-

A recent spell of fern hunting in the Highlands and else-
where in Scotland, and its results, merit, I venture to think,
a brief descriptive article. Making Aberfeldy my first
stopping place, I found, as I had previously done, that I
was in the centre of a grand hunting district, though the
range of species was more limited than in our south-
western counties of England, the Hartstongue and Poly-
stichiim angiilave being nonexistent, or, at any rate, so rare
as to be undiscoverable, which is probably a safer con-
clusion to arrive at. Lastveas filix-mas, pseudo-mas, montana
and dilatata, were in profusion; Athyrium Jillx fceniina held

* By permission of the Gardeners' Magazine.

78

her own amongst the male ferns as doughtily as any new
woman among mankind. Polypodinms, vulgare, dry-
opteviSf and phegopteris, were also well to the fore,
Cystopteris fvagilis peeped out from many a stone dyke or
rocky crevice. Asplenium tricJiomanes and A. adiantum
nignim occasionally were plentiful, and A. viride lurked in
damp nooks in the rocky walls of out-of-the-way glens, as
wel) as high up on the hills in the open. Polystichtim
aculeatum was not plentiful, but cropped up unexpectedly as
fine solitary specim.ens here and there, and in some of the
glens made a fair show, hanging down from crevices in the
precipitous rock walls, with great bunches of old and dead
fronds pendulous beneath them. P. lonchitis, the holly fern,
is rarely obtained in situ without a climb of between two
thousand and three thousand feet, but I was conducted by
a friend, under a vow of discretion, to a populous habitat
of this fine fern, situated certainly below one thousand four
hundred feet above sea level, and growing there in pro-
fusion, and to the full size of eighteen inches or more in
height, its bright green fronds sticking up boldly through
the heather, so that at a distance I took them for robust
fertile fronds of Blechmim spicant, which, by the way, is also
one of the plentiful ferns of the district. Hunting, of
course, for varieties, I came across a curiously-partial
congested form, all the fronds having most of the pinnae
pinched as it were together. By the roadside, close to this
habitat, Boivychium Innavia, or the moon wort, was found as
tiny plants, under an inch high, growing in dry soil
among short grass, where my conductor informed me he
had known it to exist for thirty years. On my return from
this trip a visitor showed me a plant he had just gathered
close to the Tay Bridge at Aberfeldy, but on searching
for another I failed to hit upon one, and got instead a
remarkably pretty plant of one of the plantain weeds,
each leaf margined with pure white. As the trip to the
aforesaid holly domain involved some miles of road,

79

fringed more or less all the way with ferns, I need hardly
say that a four-mile speed was not maintained, especially
since no less than three promising finds rewarded my
investigations, viz. a congested form of Lastvea montana, a
variegated form of L. pseiido-mas^ and a crispate specimen
of the same spacies ; both these last in the same stone dyke.
The day previous, wandering by the Moness water, I
found, and took home in my handkerchief, a remarkably
fine specimen of the prickly Shield, the fine points of which
were much appreciated when I handed the bundle over for
inspection, and a hedgehog rolled out upon the carpet, after
being dropped like a hot potato on account of the points in
question. L. montana trimcata, with its square and thorny
tips, fell twice to my lot at Aberfeldy, and twice
again at Strathblane, my next stopping- place. A very
large plant of this variety I installed in my host's
garden at Aberfeldy, and named it Auld Hornie, as
a fitting and descriptive local cognomen. On the Ken-
more road I found L. filix-mas mediodeficiens, a form with
all the central pinnae reduced to knobs. Considering,
however, that I assiduously hunted for more than a week,
I came again to the conclusion, as I had done on previous
occasions, that the ferns are not very sportive in the
district, my "bag" being confined to the finds already
cited. At Strathblane, where in previous years Atliyviiim
fiUx-fcemiua vevolvens, deltoidcum and medio -defic lens had fallen
to my lot, I was more fortunate^ two very handsome forms
of Lastvea filix-mas rewarding my search, one extremely
foliosc and perfectly barren, and the other with lanceolate
pinnce. These a ramose and a serrate Blechnum, a very
foliosc Lastvea montana, and a curious for.n of the same
species, with some fronds splashed with yellow, and other
fronds entirely lemon-coloured, constituted no bad reward
for my pains.

While staying here I profited by my nearness to the
spot where that wonderful lady fern A.f.-f, VictovicB was

8o

found to drive over to view it, and after seeing two grand
specimens of the original find at Buchanan Castle, Mr.
Crosbie, gardener to the Duke of Montrose, accompanied
us to the spot. Fortune favoured me, for though thirty-
five years have elapsed since the discovery, Mr. Buchanan,
a farmer residing close by, who was present when it was
dug up was still to the fore, and joining our party, led us
to the identical place. It originated on a grassy bank by
the road side, and when found was a fair-sized specimen
with several crowns. Mr. Cosh, a student from Edinburgh,
was getting over the stone dyke, when he suddenly found
the fern at his feet. He then went to Mr. Buchanan, who
was cutting the grass in the vicinity, and asked him to take
care and not cut down the fern, and contrary to tradition,
which states that it remained there two years before it was
removed, only a day or two elapsed, its rarity being fully
appreciated at the outset. One division went to the Bridge
of Allan, and another to Buchanan Castle. Some enter-
prising nurseryman expressed in the autumn a strong wish
to have an "impression " of a frond of so unique a plant,
and sent some gummed paper for the purpose, and his wish
being unsuspectingly gratified, the adherent spores were
not long in forming a marketable stock. This is the
history I obtained direct from headquarters, and on the
very spot itself, and is, I think, sufficiently circumstantial
to merit chronicling.

I may add that at present there is no lady fern near the
site of the find ; a clump of L. pseudo-inas fringes the dyke
foot, and on the other side of the dyke the ferns of the
district are fairly plentiful. If variety be induced by
environment, there must have been something peculiarly
subtle here to lead to such a sport, for, as is obvious, no
specially peculiar conditions are visible at all to the eye.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

8i

NATURE VERSUS CULTURE IN FERN

VARIATION {continued.)

Subsequent variation, to which our selective breeders owe
so much, and which represents largely cultural variation,
is another matter ; since, leaving aside the variation
induced by crossing and consequent conflicts between the
tendencies of diverse parents, we know that once the normal
fetters have been broken, once the little cells have taken,
as it were, the initiative of planning, they rarely return to
allegiance altogether, and are constantly liable to vary their
performance again and again, the watchful eye of the
cultivator being ever on the alert to guide them in the
wished-for lines by drastic weeding out, or profit by their
ingenuity when they strike a perfectly new idea. The
original start, however, which can transform plants to the
extent which I will now exhibit by pictorial aid, with
Nature herself as the artist, is, to all intents and purposes,
a " special creation," which the evolutionist leaves, as I
think, far too much outside his calculations. (About a
hundred Nature Prints of wild finds of most of the British
species were here exhibited, with elucidatory remarks,
many of the types being of extremely advanced character.*)

We have now seen what Nature does and is doing in our
sylvan nooks and corners where ferns are in their element,
and I think you will agree with me that if fern hunting has
no other merits, it has, at any rate, led to a very effective
study of what wild plants are capable. True it is that
among the hunters and finders we cannot catch one true
professional botanist. The research began on purely
amateur lines, and only amateurs have caught the fever.
With these prints and their attached notes before us, how-
ever, the evidence becomes acceptable to the veriest

* One hundred of the best of these are reproduced in the recently
pubhshed work, " British Ferns and Their Varieties," see notice on
cover .

82

scientists, and I submit that they go a very long way
indeed to prove my theory, that variation is altogether due
to something other than culture, and that however great a
part the environment has played in evolutionary shaping it
is a fallacy to suppose that "sports" can be imputed to
attempts as adaptation thereto. The real cause, to my
mind, lies deeper, and is one with that which underlies the
evolutionary scheme as a whole, and utterly passes the
comprehension of man.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

FERNS.*

It is a somewhat curious fact, considering the immense
numbers of fern species in existence, and despite their
general demand for more homogeneous, humid and pro-
tected conditions than flowering plants, that they have not
broken up, in the course of evolution, into annuals, biennials
and perennials in the same manner.

Flowering plants, as we know, come into three categories
— annuals, which complete their life course within the year,
and then die entirely, leaving the next generation to be
reproduced from their seed ; biennials, which rise from the
seed one year, during which they establish themselves, but
do not, as a rule, flower, doing this only in the second
year, when they flower and seed and then perish ; and,
finally, the perennials, which have a quite indeterminable
lease of life, running, in some cases, into many centuries,
as in the case of the gigantic Sequoias or Redwood conifers
of Colorado and elsewhere. In ferns, however, there are
extremely few annuals, our own native species embracing
only one, Gymnogvamma lepfophylla, and the vast majority
can live for an indefinite time. This they manage to do
in two ways. Those which, like the Tree-ferns, form a

* By permission of the Journal of Horticulture.

«3

tree-like trunk or stem, build this up in course of time by
an accumulation of the basal parts of the fronds, which,
for an inch or two, persist, although the rest of the frond
perishes, and, as a rule, only retains vitality for one season,
when it is replaced by a new frond, the old one drooping
and withering, and eventually decaying completely, leaving,
however, behind it the portions referred to as a permanent
contribution to the trunk. The elevation of the trunk is
due to the fact that each year the growing point, from
which the fronds spring, stands at a little higher level, so
that each circle of fronds is somewhat higher than the
preceding one, and consequently, in course of time, a trunk
of very considerable altitude may result.

It is this increase which eventually determines the
length of life, as it obviously must, in time, increase the
risk of toppling over. This risk, however, is lessened by
the fact that however lofty the trunk, the fronds at its
summit are fed mainly, or entirely, by fresh roots which
issue from their bases, each one producing a bundle of its
own. These roots creep downwards between the old frond
bases, forming the mass of the trunk, and strengthen it
greatly as they proceed, until, in the moist and humid
atmosphere which is an essential condition of such growths,
they may actually reach the ground.

It will be seen by this that a fern trunk is essentially
different in structure from an ordinary tree trunk, since it
forms no bark, and is not increased in diameter by an annual
internal ring of new wood, which in a tree constantly
strengthens the trunk to withstand the increasing strain of
the ever wider and wider extension of the system of
branches it has to bear. Unassisted, therefore, it is clear
that the duration of life of a Tree-fern is determined,
finally, by the power of the rising stem or trunk to support
the heavy weight of the circle of fronds at its summit, and
it is therefore as impossible to imagine a longevity even
approaching that of many trees proper as it is to imagine

84

a thin trunk, say, of a foot in diameter only, rising several
hundred feet, as with the Sequoias aforesaid.

Practically, however, when such a fern falls for the
reason given, it is still as much alive as ever. It has not
died of old age, as do trees proper, and if, with man's
assistance, the top foot or two be removed, leaving the
crown intact, and be replanted so as to bring the crown
again near the soil, it will certainly start afresh, and re-
establish itself for another long career. It is, indeed, quite
probable, though we have no personal knowledge that it is
so, that in the congenial fern paradise of the Antipodes and
other favoured regions, the fallen monarchs of the fern
forest often do acquire a fresh lease if these crowns in
falling come into close contact with the leafy debris
covering the soil in which they grow, and so enable a fresh
start to be made. These remarks involve a valuable hint
to those who grow Tree-ferns, viz. that the trunks require
to be constantly moistened and kept humid, since once
thoroughly dried the feeding roots of the fronds above
would perish, and the fern probably be killed.

Amongst our native species we have none which, un-
assisted, will form a rising trunk, but with assistance,
Lastrea psetcdo-mas var. cvistata, appropriately called the
*' King of the Male Ferns," will do so, and we have a
specimen some thirty years old which has a well-developed
trunk nearly 2 feet high. We have said that assistance is
required, and that is of two kinds. First of all, the species
has a habit of producing young plants from the frond
bases, and these must be persistently removed as they
appear, otherwise a bush of moderately sized plants is
produced, but when removed the main plant, invigorated
by non-competition with its assertive offspring, gradually
rises, and in time loses this prolific habit. The second aid
is afforded by watering the trunk as above indicated, to
encourage the aerial root formation. The specimen we
have in view as we write, though, of course, small as

85

compared with Dichsonias, Cyatheas, and others of the Tree-
fern tribe, is yet very handsome, having a trunk of the
height described, surmounted with some fifteen or sixteen
fronds between 4 feet and 5 feet long, and beautifully
tasselled at all terminals.

In these Tree-ferns we have examples of what we may
term individual longevity of the most distinct type. In
many other species, what may be termed pseudo-trunks
are formed, the caudex or root-stock also producing circles
of fronds from their growing apices, but instead of rising
perpendicularly they creep more or less horizontally, or
if, as with, for instance, the Lady Fern (Athyrium filix
fcBmina), they do lift perpendicularly, they split up by
fusion, and do not rise to any great height. In such cases,
however, the individual crowns last for a great many years
— an indefinite number indeed, and during the whole time,
or at any rate, as long as the owner exists to do so, he can
individualise a plant by indicating a definite crown as of
such and such an age.

There are, however, an immense number of ferns which
grow more indefinitely by having creeping, branching
rhizomes or root-stocks, or caespitose or bunchy ones from
which the fronds, in the first class, rise singly from growing
tops, or, in the second class, from offsets or lateral buds,
the result in either case being successional growths without
a definite individual central crown. As regards longevity,
however, the result is the same, for such plants persist, at
any rate as individual specimens, without any definite life
limit, and as a matter of fact, by that mode of growth are
not handicapped in course of time by the risk of over-
toppling. In point of fact, with ferns, as with flowering
plants, it is the frond or leaf which is really the individual,
the plant itself representing a community, and as in a
human community, though the life of the individual may
be transient, given healthy conditions the community
persists for indefinite periods. C. T. D.

86

AN AMATEUR'S NOTES AND

OBSERVATIONS TO AMATEURS.

By Alfred Kirby.

In my knowledge of Ferns, I am in my infancy. As an
admirer of the beautiful in Nature, I am considerably
older. From my earliest boyhood, ferns had a singular
fascination for me, because they are built on lines of
beauty. Ten years ago I could enumerate on the fingers
of one hand the common appellations of all the British
Ferns I knew, viz. the Bracken, the Male Fern, the Lady
Fern, and the Hartstongue.

The first experience of cultivated British Ferns I
obtained from buying and growing a young plant, which
I now know to be P. ang. pvolifevum. My accommo-
dation, like my knowledge, was very limited, viz. two
windows, of south-east and north-east aspects. I was
very successful in growing this plant, and in time it
produced large plumose fronds like ostrich feathers. This
was encouraging.

About this time I became acquainted with an old man,
an ex-gardener, who cultivated a few British Ferns as a
hobby and of which he was very proud. Conversing with
him one day, he told me that he had a natural wild find
of his own. He showed me some specimens, and I was
surprised at the great variations from the normal. The
thought then occurred to me, that if this man could
find new varieties, why not I ? I then had a very severe
attack of Fern fever, with very high temperature, so on
every available opportunity I was on the hunt. The
following year, early in March, I was fortunate enough
to come across my first wild find. The plant was small
and withered, having only about three short, crumpled
fronds (S. v. ramo. grajidiceps).

The conditions under which it grew were anything but
ideal ; a raised bank, on a country roadside. The soil was

8;

hard, dry loam ; the aspect south. Under these hard con-
ditions, had not the fern been found, it could never have
developed into the fine specimen it afterwards did, vide
illustration.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE RaMO — GrANDICEPS KiRBY

In my rambles I have found many pretty crested
Hartstongues and other varieties, mostly of forms already
in cultivation, but I invariably find them growing under
hard and uncongenial conditions, in the crevices of old
stone walls, bridges, hard dry banks, etc.

The question of the cause of fern variation has ever
been present with me. I have not yet solved the mystery,
although I have my own pet theory on the subject, but I
think that if any of our members who may be fortunate
enough to find a good thing would take special notice of
the conditions under which it grew, — the soil, the aspect
and general environment, the experiences of many thus

88

recorded might in time assist in arriving at some definite
conclusion as to the cause of fern variation, and wrest from
Nature another of her secrets.

]\Iy experience is limited to Hartstongues, as all other
species in this locality, with odd exceptions, appear to be
normal.

I have found dozens of curious and interesting varia-
tions of Hartstongues, as the vagaries of ferns, like the
" Heathen Chinee," are "peculiar."

I remember on one occasion finding a curious fern, like
a giant S. v. keratoides, or like a stag's horn, branching in
all directions. I thought I had a good thing. I brought it
home, and from that day to this every frond it has grown
has been normal.

I remember the occasion on which I found my first
specimen of Cystoptevis fragilis, a young normal plant.
The following year many of its fronds were twin ; the
second year it grew both twin and triple fronds ; while the
third year it returned to its natural form, and stubbornly
refuses to depart therefrom.

I should like to say a word or two to such of our
members who may not, as yet, have indulged in a Fern
hunt nor know how easy it is to overlook a good thing.
The important thing on a Fern hunt is " Thoroughness."
I considered myself a fairly good searcher, but I remember
passing down a short country lane, on two separate
occasions, and finding nothing of value. However, on the
third visit I found a perfect specimen of S. v. marginatum,
the margins of each frond, throughout, cut like the teeth
of a fine v/ood saw. It was a full-grown plant, but I had
overlooked it twice previously.

Fern hunting is a pleasant occupation for short
holidays, one becomes so absorbed in the pursuit that
the minor troubles of life vanish, and one returns re-
freshed and rejuvenated, and better equipped for one's
duties in life.

89

In arranging for a Fern hunt my plan is, firstly, to study
conditions, and, secondly, to have a definite object in view.
If I wish to find a particular species, I consider the
conditions under which they naturally grow, whether hill,
or dale, moist or dry, lime or loam, seek those conditions,
and I have been nearly always successful in finding the
particular species for which I was searching. I have, I
find, omitted to mention my find of Cetevach officinartitn
ramo cvistatum, as named by you, of which I have already
sent you two fronds from a plant which I found on the ist
of this month (October, 1912) at Llantwit-Major, an old
world Roman village with many old walls. I found this
plant growing on a garden wall in the village, wedged in
on both sides by others of the normal type. I found no
others of an exceptional nature in the district. There
were fifteen fronds on the plant, and each and all beauti-
fully crested, and some ramose; the two fronds sent were
cut off in trying to dislodge it.

AN AMATEUR'S NOTES.

By the Editor.

We are constrained to make a special note or two in
connection with Mr. Kirby's interesting observations, as
they constitute precisely the sort of matter which is best
fitted for the pages of the "Gazette" as an encourage-
ment to the amateur pure and simple, to whom the more
scientific aspects of Fern development appeal scarcely so
sympathetically. Looking back to the catching of the
Fern fever, many of us will doubtless recall some such
simple beginning when a more or less accidental find has
suddenly brought home to us the wonderful inventiveness
of Nature, and instilled into us that absolute faith in the
existence of " sports " which is the main factor in success-
ful hunting. The interpolated illustration of Scol. v. ramo

90

grandiceps shows that Mr. Kirby was peculiarly fortunate in
his first " find," and we can well conceive how such an
acquisition infected him with the disease in question and
inspired the "wanderings," corporeal rather than mental,
which are a diagnostic feature of that kind of fever. The
further fact that a large and characteristic family resulted
from a sowing of the spores of that find naturally aggravated
the " high temperature " to which he alludes.

Regarding the cause of variation, this has long been
sought for by our most eminent scientists, and many
theories have been brought forward only, however, to prove
fallacious under the test of further experience. In our
lecture on this point, concluded in this issue, this point is
dealt with fairly fully and practically ; all we can say at
the present time regarding their origin amounts to Topsy's
opinion of hers, viz. " Specks I growed," and we fear that
we are hardly likely to get nearer to the " cause " than we
shall to that of the origin of life itself, so diverse are the
circumstances in which "sports" occur. We are, how-
ever, inclined to agree with Mr. Kirby that we are more
likely to find "sports" under "hard and uncongenial
conditions " than under very favourable ones, but this, as
we have said elsewhere, may only mean that under such
conditions the "sport" is more easily detected for one
thing, while as the majority of " sports" tend to be dwarfed
to some extent by their structural materials being used in
other directions, such as crests, extra dissection, etc., such
sports originating among very robust normals would pro-
bably be crowded out of existence in the young stage, and
be rendered extremely difficult to find if they managed to
survive. Anyone who has waded or pushed a way through
ferny jungles waist or even shoulder high will easily appre-
ciate this fact. The inconstancy or only temporary sporting
of Ferns is also noticed by Mr, Kirby. The fronds of
Cystoptevis fvagilis sent us were all irregularly ramose, but
eventually the plant only produced normal ones. In con-
nection with this species, we have a plant of C. /. semper-

91

virenSy given us by Colonel A. M. Jones some twenty- five
years ago, which one season will produce beautifully
crested even " grandiceps " fronds, and another will be
almost entirely normal. Last year, thanks to a Weevil
attack, we almost lost it, only a few points surviving when
we discovered a dozen or more fat white Weevil grubs had
all but demolished it. We gave these wretches the benefit
of the stamp act, and put the residue of the Fern (not the
Weevils) into a small pan. This season the pan is
crowded with splendidly crested and even ramose fronds,
as if to thank us for the rescue, but we noticed the last
fronds risen are only slightly forked, and apparently it will
finish up again with normal ones.

Mr. Kirby's " Keratoides " find is closely paralleled by
our own Christmas discovery at Babbacombe some years
back, which eventually altered its form to a merely crested
one, but preserved its proliferous character, most of the
fronds producing a pair of bulbils between the basal lobes.
No one, however, would recognize it as a Keratoides or
Staghorn form now. Finally, we cannot too strongly
support Mr. Kirby's contention on the necessity of
*' Thoroughness " in Fern hunting. It is, we are convinced,
at the bottom of the curious fact that the general botanist
is rarely a successful finder of Fern sports. This we
attribute to the fact that his attention strays to other
plants as well. That without such distraction the Fern
hunter may overlook, as Mr. Kirby did, a marked variety
on more than one occasion, is due to the eye unwittingly
jumping, as it were, from one object to another. At the
critical moment some little peculiarity in the vicinity
catches the sight, distracts the attention, and the possible
prize is overlooked.

In conclusion, the Editor would beg the members to
follow Mr. Kirby's example, by making notes on their
rambles or as they go through their collections, and let
him have the benefit of their practical knowledge, instead

92

of, as is unfortunately far too much the case, leaving
C. T. D. to do nearly all the work, thus to that extent
reaping the benefit of a single brain only instead of the
brains of a community.

The Editor.

HOW FERNS DEVELOP.

At this season of the year, when the Ferns are resuming
active growth after the long winter's rest, it is most inter-
esting to go round one's collection and note how the various
species behave as regards the lifting and unfolding of their
new fronds. One and all of course, save the little Adders-
tongue and Moonwort, which are probably absent as they
do not rank with the elite or decorative section, produce
their fronds on circinate or coiled up lines and develop
them by a constant uncoiling of the frond and its segments,
and their subsequent expansion and flattening out. This
feature distinguishes the Ferns generally from the flower-
ing plants, and the mode in which it commences, and which
commencement is usually concealed within the inmost
recesses of a scaly crown, is extremely interesting. In the
very centre of a crown-forming fern, such as the Lastreas
and Polystichums, each frond begins with what is termed
a mother cell. This cell multiplies itself on such lines that
a knob is produced, consisting of an embryo coil, with its
top rolled inwards towards the centre. A series of such
knobs is arranged circularly all pointing inwards and
covered by more or less dense scales, which are best seen
in the Lastrea and Shield Ferns. These eventually form
a closely packed mass, which may be formed long before
the spring growth begins and lies quite dormant until it
does. When growth is resumed, it is the tightly inrolled
coils constituting the knobs which commence to multiply
the cells at the tips and to build up an embryo main stalk
and the subsidiary stalks of the divisions and subdivisions,

93

and also to develop the protecting scales as this process
goes on, until presently we see the central group fattening
up as it were, lifting and increasing in size and making
room for each other as they do so until the centre of the
crown is filled quite up with the now obvious tops of a
group of future fronds. If we now examine the crown
exteriorly we shall find that from the base of each of these
knobs, as they still appear, a little bundle of roots may be
detected creeping down to the soil through the old frond
stalks which form the crown, and it is largely these which
are feeding the individual fronds which at one and the
same time are producing these roots, and fattening them-
selves up so to speak by the development of their internal
coil system. The next step is the development of the stalk,
which as it lengthens pulls as it were the coils or now
developed knobs one by one out of the hitherto closely
packed group, and this is done on a spiral system so that the
fronds do not rise at once all to the same height, though
eventually they may become so. As the stalk or main
stem lengthens so do the side divisions follow the example,
uncoilmg as they develop until the minor divisions, even to
the most minute ones, or the crests they may bear, are all
in evidence in a comparatively small and very soft state.
The next step is the expansion, flattening out and harden-
ing, of these until the frond is full size and perfect. In the
meantime the spore heaps, which have been visible in
embryo as spots or lines, so soon as the segments destined
to bear them have unfolded, have been also developing and
are well in evidence when the frond has finished growth,
though it may be some time yet before they are perfected
and have assumed their browned or ripened state.

This process describes in a general way all the crown-
forming development, but each species has its peculiar
method of unrolling its fronds as they lengthen their stalks
and rise. The Shield Ferns send up fronds with a coiled-
up top like a ball for about half their height, the coils

94

always pointing towards the centre, but then the ball com-
mences to bend backwards and eventually as it loosens
falls over backwards so as to assume the form of a reversed
crook, the coil now pointing outwards. If we now examine
the Male Fern we shall find no tendency to this reversal,
the frond rises straight with the loosening coil to the front
where it hangs so as to form a hook with the tip of the coil
turned towards the stalk instead of away from it. A further
difference between these two genera is that the protecting
scales of the Lastrea are dark brown, while those of the
Shield Ferns are pure white in their young stage and only
become brown later on. This rem.ark applies particularly
to the Soft Shield Fern and with the plumose forms of
these, the snow-white scales on the unrolling main and sub-
sidiary divisions add a quite peculiar charm to the plants
at this stage of development.

The various species of Lastrea, other than the Male
Fern, have each their peculiar mode of unrolling the tip,
the true hook being transformed into more or less loose
balls, while in L. montana, the Lemon scented fern, the
terminal is quite ball-like and borne stiffly, the small
divisions projecting all round like the spikes of Magog's
mace in the Guildhall. The Lady Fern frond also adheres
to the stiffly borne ball-like type rather than the inward
hanging hook, unless the fronds are very robust and large.
The Polypodies have their peculiarities, especially the Oak
Fern, which invariably, as its fronds rise, shakes out its
three main divisions into three Httle balls, precisely on the
lines of a pawnbroker's sign ; while its near relatives, the
Beech and Limestone Polypodies, never show this
peculiarity.

C. T. D.

95

VARIETIES OF VARIATION.*

The seed of a plant and the egg of an animal are
practically identical in their nature, and equally marvellous.
Each consists roughly of three items, a fertilised germ,
a store of nourishment, and a protective envelope. Each
is the result of a conjunction of potencies derived from two
dififerent sources, and each contains the two sets so com-
bined that, given congenial conditions, a new individual
will be developed resembling, as a general rule, the parental
form. We say as a general rule because there are excep-
tions, and these exceptions are of two diverse kinds.

In the first case, the parents may be of dissimilar type
to each other, i.e. either different varieties of the same
species, or different species entirely. In this case, the
result of the combination may be an intermediate form of
individual showing more or less the peculiarities of both
parents, but resembling neither exactly ; or it may yield
one of the parental forms apparently unmodified, but which
will nevertheless show by its offspring that it contained
latent characters as well as patent ones, the other
parental form asserting itself again. The other kind of
exception is far more puzzling, since it is that which
embraces sudden " sports," in which quite new characters
not only appear, but are so fixed in the plant's system that
its offspring may reproduce the new type without any
reversion to the old one. With hybrids, or crosses, of the
former category the cultivator can usually form some idea
of what the result may be, and he can work to more or less
definite ends, but with the latter category he can exercise
no control at all.

He may make a pure, i.e. unmixed, sowing of a hitherto
perfectly constant plant, and among the resulting brood
there may be a quite distinct form, indubitably of that
particular species, but departing from its special characters

• By permission of the Gardeners' Magazine.

q6

in very marked ways. It may be a solitary specimen, and
is so, as a rule, but cases are recorded in which several have
appeared, and all identical ; or more than one new type
may present itself, each being distinct of its kind, and by
no means gradations leading up to the more marked. This
absence of gradational forms is, indeed, one of the most
striking features of "sports"; they form, really, cases of
sudden, or jump, variations, which until quite recently
were merely regarded as monstrosities incapable of playing
any role, in the origination of species proper. Investigation,
however, has shown that, to all intents and purposes, each
such "sport" is an initial species in itself. It possesses
all the faculties of a true species, viz. adherence to type,
distinctness of character, and permanent constancy of re-
production. All that it needs to become an established
species is the capacity of holding its own in the struggle
with its congeners and other environmental factors ; and
considering the great number of such "sports" which are
known to occur under wild conditions, and the fact that
they vary in all directions, it would be a very strange thing
indeed if, in the course of evolutional aeons, some of these
had not possessed the capacity indicated, and thus con-
tributed to the number of distinct species extant.

The old proverb, " Natura non fecit per saltum " is thus
seen, like most rules, to have its exceptions, at any rate
optically, though we are so absolutely ignorant of the
origin of these sports, since they are only recognisable
when it is too late to investigate such origin, that it would
be unwise to assert that no gradational influence in the
mother plant has led up to their birth. Of this, however,
there is absolutely no evidence, and our own opinion is
that none will be found.

Taking a fern sport as an example, we find, amid a mass
of normal ones, a single individual of very different
structure. We separate it from the mass, and find it to be

97

an unattached plant. Nevertheless, we cannot assert for
this reason that it arose from a spore, since bud or offset
sports exist, and the connecting link between the normal
parent and the "sport" offset may have long since rotted
away, or its evidence destroyed in the process of separation.
Experience with spore sowing indicates the probability
that "sports" usually arise from spores or seeds, since
numerous remarkable forms have thus originated under
culture. On the other hand, a case came under our own
notice where a single frond base of a hartstongue produced
two buds, which subsequently developed into two extremely
dissimilar forms; while, conversely, a sowing from a wild
" sport" of the same species of a merely sagittate multifid
type, gave nine plants of a triple-headed corymbose form»
constituting the extreme development of the parental type ;
the two merely sagittate basal lobes with divided tips, and
the multifid heads developing such dense heavy crests as
to absorb and obliterate the normal strap-like portion.
Had such a form arisen in the vicinity of the parent, a
gradation would have existed, but would hardly have been
suspected owing to the great difference.

As much may be said of all improved or extended types
which have been obtained under culture by seminal selec-
tion, but the fact remains that the most careful search in
the vicinity of marked sports has always resulted negatively
as regards intermediate forms indicating gradation. I have
so far treated of constant variations, i.e. sports which
retain their form under cultivation, and reproduce them-
selves truly for generations ; but inconstant sports are
frequently found, in which the variation is partial, thus in
the Kalothrix variety of athyrium there is always a
tendency to revert partially, when, too, the spores are
sown there is always a percentage of the assumed
parental form, which, however, never, so far as we know,
shows the Kalothrix type.

98

The finely-cut Polypodium vulgave, known as elegantissi-
mum, or cornubiense, has the same trick in a more marked
way, since it really produces three kinds of fronds, viz. very
finely cut, coarser tripinnate ones, and the normal, and these
may appear indiscriminately all on one frond, or even in
one sub-division. Several other "sports" act in the same
eccentric fashion. These, however, are all constant in so
far as they never entirely revert, and their spores reproduce
the type plus its vagaries.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

ROOT ROOM FOR FERNS.

In the course of a now very long experience in the
growing of Ferns so many rather contradictory cases have
turned up as to the need for more or less space for the
accommodation of their roots to secure their best and
continued healthy development, that I should be glad to
hear what are the experiences of others in the cult
in this particular direction. I may say at the outset that
I have formed the opinion that, as a rule, a humid
atmosphere with plenty of light, barring of course hot
sunshine, and an ample supply of water are three factors
of much greater importance than an abundance of soil as
regards cultivation in pots or pans. For Polystichums
for instance, the general opinion is that ample pot room
is an essential for full development, and yet my own finest
specimen, an unique seedling from the magnificent plumose
form known as Baldwinii, the best of the Jones and Fox
section, was planted some years ago, when a good plant
already, in a shallow, square 9-inch pan about 2-^ inches
deep.

Year after year this plant attains full size, and forms
a perfectly symmetrical circle of magnificent fronds, and
these fronds, unlike most of the section, perfect their tips.

99

while each year a second set arise when the first has
matured, and this in turn becomes as perfect as the first.
Obviously the pan must contain a dense mass of roots and
the soil looks as black and unhealthy as it possibly could,
and is maintained in a constantly sodden condition. On
the principle of "leaving well alone" the old fronds are
left to rot away and their remains swathe the pan, which
stands on a low shelf at the shady side of my Fernery but
with a strong top light. All my fern-loving visitors are of
opinion that a 12 or 14-inch pot at least should be pro-
vided for such a specimen, but there is the "specimen"
itself as proof of what a small quantity of soil can suffice
if the other needs are attended to.

A crispum Hartstongue which I planted by the side of
the tiled path in my Fernery, in soil which was practically
nothing better than grave), did so well that it became one
of the finest specimens I ever succeeded in growing. The
gravel was loose with large stones, and on examination I
found these permeated with a mass of brown roots covered
with aerial rootlets, and these proved to be of such shallow
penetration that eventually the whole plant fell over and
had to be tied up ; so here again it was clear that quantity
of soil was needless in this case as in the previous one.
Furthermore, I have in my Fernery a cork and slate
hanging pocket, formed of a roofing slate, about 24 inches
by 14 inches, with a curved sheet of cork bark attached to
it by copper wires so as to form a receptacle about 4 or 5
inches from front to back, while a smaller curved piece
forms the bottom. At least 25 years ago (note the period)
this was made and filled with soil, and in this at the top was
planted a crested Lady Fern, while in several holes made
lower down in the cork other small Ferns were installed.
All these Ferns have not only lived but thriven, and a
mass of Selaginella, one of the weeds of my Fernery,
veils most of the cork as well. Here the amount of soil
orginally was not very large, and although during the time

lOO

named it has shrunk, and been occasionally supplemented
by a handful or two of fresh material, it is clear that in
this case, too, the receptacle must be a mass of roots and
of soil which would be considered as long ago exhausted
of any nutritive matter. Nevertheless, at the moment of
writing a number of the Athyvium fronds are vigorously
rising, and I note that one of its offsets has crept down
inside, and is pushing through one of the lateral orifices.

Recently, by the kindness of Mr. Cranfield, I became
the owner of a strong division of the Mobile cvispum
which our frontispiece depicts, some dozen or more fat
knobs indicated the robust beginning of a fine specimen
plant. Roots there were none. This, by way of trial, I
installed in a small pot only just large enough to hold it,
with sufficient space to insert a ring, so to speak, of soil
between its sides and the pot. It started at once into
vigorous growth, and as I write all the fronds are over
six inches high, with every indication of full development.
I intend to let it do its best before, as I cannot help antici-
pating, I am forced to give it at least a shift into a pot
a size larger. Needless to say, under such conditions,
plenty of water is essential, but it is quite clear, from this
and other experiences, that shifting an unestablished un-
rooted division into a good-sized pan at the outset is very
apt to be disastrous, the soil gets sour before the roots
pervade it sufficiently to keep it sweet.

To take another view of the question, I have frequently
found with well-established specimens in large pots, that on
examination, when, as may happen, they show signs of
deterioration, a large mass of soil in the centre has be-
come sour, and has obviously never been penetrated by
roots at all, these being more or less superficial, and having
only spread on the outside of the ball next the pot.

The moral of all this would appear to be that Ferns are
not dependent to a very large extent on the earthy salts
in the soil, which mainly serves as an anchorage and a

lOI

medium through which the roots can obtam their water
supply. Only sufficient soil is therefore requisite to
accommodate the root system, which is all the healthier
for being aerated, or at any rate capable in itself of keeping
up a circulation of water in the soil by pervading it
entirely, thus precluding a stagnancy in any part of it
which is sure to lead to sourness and root destruction.
Under such conditions, vigorously growing Ferns in pots
may quite safely stand in saucers full of water, and, indeed,
many of my finest specimens are so treated, and grow
most vigorously.

C. T. D.

FERN FERTILITY.

Enormous as is the fertility of many flowering plants as
regards the number of seeds which a single individual is
capable of producing, Ferns far and away eclipse them,
and those who make a study of this and by sowing become
impressed with the fact that every spore is fully capable,
not only of producing a plant, but even in many cases of
producing a number, are induced to wonder that the world
is not pervaded with them. In one particular instance the
writer made a careful computation of the annual crop of a
single full-grown Lady Fern, A. f.f. VictovicB. By counting
the number of spore heaps on one of the smallest divisions
of a frond, then the number of these divisions on a larger
one, and so on, finishing with the number of major divi-
sions or pinnae and the number of fronds annually pro-
duced, he finally multiplied the already large total by the
number of spore pods in each heap and the number of
spores in each pod, with the astounding result that some-
thing like eleveji hundred millions (1,100,000,000) were practi-
cally proved to form the annual crop of this one Fern.
This crop was naturally shed in the Fernery containing
the plant, and consequently under protective conditions

I02

far more favourable than the outside ones of Nature, and
yet despite this, it is only now and again that seedlings
appear of that very remarkable form. Sown on the other
hand in carefully sterilized pans covered with glass, it is
requisite to sow extremely thinly, only peppering the
surface so to speak, or such an abundance of prothalli, the
first products of spore germination, results, that it is
obvious every spore is capable, as we have said, of per-
forming its reproductive duty if not interfered with. Never-
theless, it is clear from the paucity of stray plants that
under normal conditions such interference nmst be the
rule rather than the exception. In this connection, indeed,
the record of this identical plant prove that of all the many
millions, all without exception must perish year after year,
not one surviving the infantile risks to which the tiny
prothalli are exposed.

This Fern was found at the side of a country lane near
Drymen in Stirlingshire in 1861, and when found was
evidently a long-established plant with a num.ber of crowns.
The writer visited the spot some years ago and saw
the exact place in which the " find " was discovered. He,
like many previous visitors, made a careful search all
round the locality, but despite its being a particularly
ferny one, and the fact that one would have to multiply
the aforesaid millions by a good number of years, no other
specimen has ever been discovered, although, as we have
seen, it is by no means a difficult fern to raise under
culture, while the type is unmistakable at an early stage in
all its seedlings. Fertility in one direction, therefore, is
clearly heavily handicapped in another. In the first place,
the spores are absolutely microscopic, and when they ger-
minate the product is so tiny that any heavy shower will
dislodge them, while doubtless the worms, and indeed the
whole local insect world, are likely in their rambles to
destroy myriads more, to say nothing of the fact that
small as are the spores, they must form a source of

nourishment to many, both of the smaller and larger fry.
The spores are shed in the autumn, and have consequently
to stand the ordeal of winter and early spring conditions, so
that in all probability there is hardly any fraction of soil
surface which is not disturbed, and that, of course, means
the destruction of such minute growths as may have arisen
from spores which have escaped other risks and got the
length of germinating at all. This, in all probability, is
the reason that Nature, despite the provision of such an
abundance of reproductive bodies, has implanted in most
ferns a capacity of reproduction in other ways, viz. by buds
and offsets.

Many years ago we received a plant of A. f.f. crassujn, a

somewhat tough and congested form of the Lady Fern,

found by Mr. P. Neill Fraser, of Edinburgh. After

becoming less and less vigorous in the open, last year

it did not rise at all, and was to all intents and purposes

dead. In the autumn we dug up its remains, consisting

of a strong crown and rotting roots, without a sign of life.

We washed it thoroughly, cut away a mass of dead matter,

and found some living tissue in the centre. We then

dropped the mass into a tumbler on to an inch of coarse

washed silver sand, and at the moment of writing two

strong little plants are pushing out from buds engendered

quite low down, and we fully anticipate that more will

appear. Thus this forms one more of those " resurrection "

cases of which we have treated already in the ''Gazette,"

and another proof that one need never despair so long as

a spark of life is left in the apparent corpse. Returning,

however, to the spore question, the moral of our remarks

is that one cannot be too careful when sowing spores in

thoroughly sterilizing the soil in the first place, and in

protecting the pot or pan from the intrusion of worms,

stray spores or seeds, or anything that can find access

during the development of the prothalli, and so vitiate the

culture.

104

In the matter of numbers of potentially reproductive
bodies, we may add that each of the millions of spores
when it germinates and produces the little green scale, or
prothallus, engenders on the underside of this a consider-
able number of *' antheridia," which resemble small
pimples, and each of which contains many tiny fertilizing
organisms, termed " antherozoids," each one of which is
endowed with what we may term paternal potencies. Of
these, then, there must be at least some hundreds to serve
as a further multiplying factor in the scheme of reproduction,
though the chance of being of service in their case must be
at least divided by the fact that the embryo seeds of the
maternal organs are limited as a rule to some five or six.
Taking these immense figures, and comparing them with
the extremely few cases where a spore normally succeeds
in producing a plant, it is clear that regarding the
antherozoid as a bachelor seeking a mate, his marital
chance must be infinitesimal indeed. C. T. D.

VANDALISTIC BOTANISTS/:^

Although the horticultural world is indebted to the travel-
ling botanist for countless additions to our cultivated plants
which they have discovered abroad and introduced into
this country, there is, unfortunately, another side to the
matter, or rather another class of botanists who appear to
consider the enrichment of the herbarium, the hortus siccus,
as the only legitimate goal of their acquisitions, and think
that they have done their duty and achieved a triumph once
the rare and perhaps unique plant has been uprooted, pro-
perly dried, and recorded. In my now long experience
several instances of this kind have come to my notice, and
the record of a particularly glaring case lies before me as I
write. Since the principle only is attacked neither name of
finder nor locality is given, but only the facts. In the
United States, where that beautiful fern Adiantiun pedatiim

* By permission of the Gardeners' Chronicle.

lO

3

is fairly common, af ern which is normally perfectly decid-
uous, the fronds dying down completely in the autumn, a
plant was found at the end of November, 1912, in a per-
fectly green condition, though the ground was frozen hard
at the time at a temperature of 25°. Under these circum-
stances it was perfectly obvious that this particular plant
was so constitutionally different from the normal that in all
probability under cultivation it would prove to be ever-
green instead of deciduous, and thus constitute a most valu-
able acquisition. What, however, was done with it? We
learn that "all of the fronds were green when collected,
but two became somewhat brown in the process of drying,"
and the record concludes with the remark, " How and why
this particular plant was enabled to withstand temperatures
which destroyed all of its kind and how much longer it
might have survived are points over which one can only
speculate." Is it not extraordinary that it did not occur
to the finder that its survival or non-survival lay entirely
at his discretion ? All he had to do was to lift it carefully,
take it home as a living plant, and test it by growing it on,
by doing which he might not only secure a valuable prize
but in time could have enriched the herbaria of himself and
his friends to his heart's content. It is, however, quite
clear from the tenor of his remarks that the precious root
was sacrificed, and all that remains of it are the dried fronds
and the bare record. That deciduous ferns are capable
by a sort of constitutional "mutation" or "sporting" of
assuming an evergreen habit is shown by the case in this
country of Cy stopfer is sempervirens, a form of C. frag His.
This was found in the winter in the Highlands of Scotland
in a perfectly green condition, precisely like that of the
A. pedaUim in question, viz. as a solitary plant of which
the normal form, though common, had entirely disappeared
owing to its perfectly deciduous nature. The finder, how-
ever, was not a botanist, but a fern lover. He at once
appreciated the prize, lifted the plant, took it home and

o5

cultivated it, thus ascertaining that the constitutional varia-
tion was a permanent condition. Eventually he sent me
some fronds, perfectly green in the dead of winter, and as
they were fertile I sowed them and obtained an abundant
crop, all of which proved so far from being deciduous that
*' sempercrescens " rather than " sempervirens " is appro-
priate, since it grows continually, and at the moment of
writing (April) there is a pot of it with last year's fronds
perfect and a number of new ones rising, while C. fvagilis
proper is only just moving. The term "vandalism" is
obviously appropriate, strong as it is, when new discoveries
are nipped in the bud as it were by precisely those people
who ought to know better, and since such records have
come before me by pure chance it is to be feared that they
only represent a small percentage of the actual cases where
the herbarium has proved to be the grave of precious finds.
Some time back, also in the United States, a new fern was
recorded. Here the discoverer merely took all the first
crop of fronds for his herbarium, kindly leaving the root
intact, but in the same season he told a friend and the latter
visited the spot and took the second crop, an operation from
which it is almost certain the plant would never recover.
Another case occurred in Scotland, where I was told of the
habitat, not this time of a new fern, but of a rare species.
When guided to the spot not a trace of the fern could be
found, but I learned that a professor had visited the place
just previously with a body of students, and the presump-
tion is that again the herbarium had been enriched at the
expense of the local flora. Chas. T. Druery.

The Editor would remind the Members that Messrs.
H. B. May & Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of P. aculeatum gracillimum Drueryii.

^'BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES/'

By Charles T. Dnievy, V.M.H., F.L.S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
IDS. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

CRESTED NATIVE FERNS,

BEAUTIFUL VARIETIES.

LIST ^d.

" Fern Culture," 1/1^.

ASKEWS FERNERY,

GRANGE, KESWICK.

■ L t - "-I

FERNS.

* * *

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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sires, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

¥ * *

stove, GrectiDouse. and otbcr Plants
. . .arc also laracip arown. . . .

* * *

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
upon application to—

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

v««

VOL. 2. No. 17.

. . . ^be . . .

JBritieb ]fem
©a3ette-

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

September, 1913*

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hoit. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road. Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

POLYPODIUM VULGARE VAR. SEMILACERUM FALCATUM O'KeLLY.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2. SEPTEMBER, 1913. No. 17.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Editorial Notes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 107

Our Frontispiece (P. v. semilacerum falcatum O'Kelly) .. 108

ScoL. V. Crispum Nobile (A Correction) . . . . . . 108

The August Meeting .. .. .. .. .. .. 109

The Totnes Excursions .. .. .. .. .. .. 113

Root-room for Ferns and Some Experiments .. ., 115

Dwarf British Ferns .. .. .. .. .. .. 119

Ferns in Bottles .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 121

New Ferns .. .. .. ,. .. .. .. .. 123

List of Members .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 126

EDITORIAL NOTES.

As the August meeting is fully dealt with elsewhere, both
by the Editor and by Dr. F. W. Stansfield, there is
nothing needed to say here in this special connection, but
the Editor would reiterate his desire that the members
should supply him on a more extensive scale with material
for the " Gazette," drawn from their own experiences in
Fern culture or discoveries. He is always ready to edit any
notes of interest in this direction. He would furthermore
ask them kindly to aid him in extending the membership
among their fern-loving friends, to whom he would gladly
send a copy of the " Gazette" on receipt of a line giving
their addresses. As the balance sheet shews, we are
maintaining our financial position well, but not sufficiently
to admit of enlarging or improving the "Gazette" by
additional matter and illustrations as he desires to do.
The "Gazette" stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will always be

X

io8

sent on receipt of application from possible members,
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the " Gazette " and all
the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1913-14 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

Polypodinm vulgare vav. semilacevum falcatum 0' Kelly, which
our Frontispiece represents, was found by Mr. O' Kelly of
Ballyvaughan, Ireland, and we are much indebted to
our member, Mr. T. E. Henwood, for supplying a photo-
graph of a typical frond. It is a bold, erect grower, and as
will be noted is distinguished from all the other sejiii-
lacevtim forms by the peculiarly falcate curving of the pinnoi
and the obtuseness of the subdivisions. As grown by
Mr. Henwood it is very handsome indeed, and a distinct
acquisition. The Editor.

ScoL. Vulgare var. Crispum Nobile : Bolton's

Broad Form.

With reference to this beautiful fern, illustrated and
described in the June •* Gazette," page 77, Mr. Cranfield
informs us that he obtained it from Mr. T. Bolton and not
Mr. H. Bolton as stated, an error which we hasten to
correct with apologies.

The Editok.

I09

THE AUGUST MEETING.

As announced in our last issue, and also by special
notice to all the members, the place of meeting was this
time determined by a previous visit made by M. M. W. B.
Cranfield and C. T. Druery to Devon, where after explor-
ing the neighbourhood the rendezvous was fixed at the
** Seven Stars " Hotel in Totnes, as being a centre of a
region peculiarly fertile in most of our native species. The
country hereabouts is practically a labyrinth of those deep
lanes so characteristic of Devonshire, where high banks
on each side, coupled often with shady conditions induced
by overhanging trees, afford ideal conditions for ferny
growth, and what is more, for seeking varietal forms.
Unfortunately by the long continued drought, which had
prevailed for over two months, a vast number of ferns have
suffered terribly, many obviously having perished entirely,
while the survivors were hanging down in a wilted and
moribund condition, quite precluding any chance of
detecting those peculiarities so dear to the variety hunter.
Asplenia Cetevach and tvichomanes and P. vulgare on old walls
were represented by bunches of apparently dead fronds,
and here and there Hartstongues might be seen lying
prone, yellow and flaccid by the thousand even in shady
woods. If adults and well-established specimens suffered,
the destructionof young ones, and particularly of the millions
still in the infant prothallus stage, thus is obviously
beyond computation. Despite this handicap, however,
several finds were made, Mr. J. J. Smithies finding a
serrate form of Blechnum sjiicant, like, or on even better lines
than, Mr. Airey's find which yielded B. s. pUimosnm Airey, or
Aivey No. 2. Dr. Stansfield found a promising hvachiate P.
angiilave and other varieties, of which he send details (see
" The Totnes Excursions "). Mr. Druery found 5. v. vadio-
soYum with round ended fronds, and the terminal sori semi-
circularly arranged like the figures on a clock dial, also a
grand pender^t form of L. pseudo mas, which, however, owing

I lO

to its size and its position on private property had re-
luctantly to be left, though a small division was obtainable
for trial. Mr. Henwood also secured a very promising
foliose P. angidave, and a marked variety which requires
trial, and Mr. Cranfield bagged a very good form of
Scol. V. reni forme with short kidney-shaped fronds. A
special visit to Dartmoor is, however, particularly worthy
of note. In July, 1883, i.e. thirty years ago, Mr. Druery
discovered a colony of a curious form of Asplenium adianUivi
nigrum, characterised by long attenuate tails to both
fronds and pinnae, and hence named '^ caudifolium" by
j\Ir. G. B. Wollaston. This discovery was particularly
interesting, as this abnormal form had obviously succeeded
in ousting the normal for many yards, owing to its
closely clinging habit of growth, since it occupied
exclusively a large part of a stone dyke in which the
normal was plentiful at either end, but quite absent in con-
junction with the " sport," of which there were hundreds
of plants. To the biologist this was of great interest, as it
implies the possibility of a "sport" establishing itself
specifically, the only definable difference between a wild
variety and a true species being a general incapacity
to assert itself in this fashion. A party of the members
was therefore made up for a trip to Dartmoor to confirm
the nature of this discovery, with the result that Air.
Druery was able to locate the spot and re-discover the
colony as still existent, and in such quantity as to permit
of specimens being acquired without any fear of
vandalistic depletion. Under the heading " The Totnes
Excursions," Dr. F. W. Stansfield has kindly given an
independent account hereof, and of the ' finds ' generally.
A box of very fine fronds was sent by Mr. J. W. Walton,
of Richmond, Yorks, and those selected for special com-
mendation will be found cited under New Ferns.

To turn now to the business of the meeting, at which
Pr. F. W. Stansfield presided, we cannot do better than

1 1 r

give a copy of the Minutes and the Balance Sheet, from
which it will be seen that both the financial and
numerical position of the Society is highly satisfactory,
though the Editor is very desirous of seeing the member-
ship increased, both with the view of enlarging the
** Gazette " and of obtaining more material for it in the
shape of contributions to its columns by practical Fern-
lovers, whether as " finders " or " raisers." A fresh list of
members is given with this issue to facilitate that inter-
communication between them which is the life and soul of
co-hobbyist interest.

Minutes of the 22Nd Annual Meeting.
The Hon. Secretary, Mr. Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H.,
read the minutes of the last meeting of 19 12, which were
confirmed unanimously and signed by the Vice-President.

Mr. W. B. Cranfield as Hon. Treasurer then produced
the Balance Sheet as appended to these minutes, and duly
audited by ]\Ir. J.J. Smithies, and the same was approved
and accepted unanimously.

The election of the President and Officers for the
ensuing year was then effected, and no change being
necessary they were re-elected en hloc, Mr. Chas. T.
Druery consenting to act as Editor of the " British Fern
Gazette " for the further period involved. The officers for
the year are therefore : —

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.

Treasurer : Mr. W. B. Cranfield, Enfield Chase.

Auditor: Mr. J. J. Smithies.

Committee :
Mr. T. Bolton, Warton. Mr. T. G. H. Eley, Furness Abbey.

,, J.J. Smithies, Kendal. ,, W. Bell, Furness Abbey.

,, R. Whiteside, Lancaster. ,, G. Whitwell, Kendal.
,, W. E. Farrer, Lancaster. ,, W. Wilson, Kendal,
Together with the President and Vice-Presidents as members ex-officio.

I 12

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It was proposed and carried unanimously that the
•seventeen new members who have joined since the last
meeting, be elected.

It was proposed by Mr. J. J. Smithies, seconded by
Mr. Bell and carried unanimously, that next year's meeting
be held in Eskdale, Cumberland.

A vote of thanks to the officers was unanimously
accorded.

THE TOTNES EXCURSIONS.

The first serious excursion, comprising the whole party,
was on Monday, August 4th, to Dartmoor, and was intended
primarily to re-discover the habitat of Asplenmm adianUim-
nigvum caudi folium, first. found by Mr. Druery thirty years
ago near Hexworthy. A conveyance was chartered from
Ashburton, where large masses of Cetcvach and Asp.
trichomanes were noticed on the walls. On the way through
Holne Chase a steep hill rendered it necessary for the
party to dismount, and it was while walking up the hill
that the first important find was made by Mr. Smithies,
viz. a very fine serrate form of Blechnwn. Eventually
Hexworthy was reached, and very soon catidifolium was
found by Mr. Druery in its old habitat. An extended
search revealed the plant in some quantity, although it
was very much punished by the drought. The normal
species which formerly accompanied it had in great
measure disappeared. Had the variety been a pkunosum
or a gvandiceps it would also doubtless have long since
vanished. The return journey was made in more leisurely
fashion, most of the party walking across the moor. By
the roadside Blechmm spicant anomalum was noticed in
some quantity and several members secured specimens.
Lastvea montana and Blechnum spicant were found in great
luxuriance, so much so that it was decided to return next
day and hunt this part of the moor more exhaustively.

On August 5th, accordingly another visit was made to

114

Dartmoor and the day was spent in sedulous hunting, but
although many species were seen in fine condition and in
great abundance, no varieties of importance were found.
On August bth, a small party walked out of Totnes and
took the first promising lane. Here, about half a mile
from the town, Mr. Henwood found a small plant of a
rather promising foliose form of P. angulare. Shortly
afterwards a very good P. ang. hvacliintum fell to my lot.
It was quite a small plant but had very long basal
pinnce, was very slender in m.ake and throughout finely
toothed, after the manner of the best hvachiatums and
hrachiato-cvistatums. In the same lane Mr. Cranfield
found a twin-fronded Scot, feni forme or variahile, very
similar to the one figured by Col. Jones in his Nature-
prints under the name of ramo-vaviahile.

On August yth, a diminished party wended southwards
from Totnes and met with P. angulare and Scol. vulgare in
great abundance. I found a plant of the former species
with small cristulate and twisted tips. Although a small
plant it is quite thorough, every pinnae being character-
istically crested. Near Bow Bridge Mr. Henwood came
across a very erect and slender form of angulare, which
will probably turn out to be a decnrrens.

On August 8th, the last relics of the party, viz. INIr. Hen-
wood and myself/ proceeded to Harberton, S.W. from
Totnes. We found we were on a different geological
formation (micaceous schist, I think), and the hunting
seemed very unpromising as there were very few angnlares
and Scolopendrinnis, and ferns generally were much less
numerous than on our former expeditions. Nevertheless,
before reaching Harberton we came across a very elegant-
slender form of L. filix-mas in the way of Padley's
attenuata, but not depauperate like that variety. As it was
a large plant with only one crown we contented ourselves
with taking spores, leaving the plant itself for the next
hunter. The next and last find, although not of any

115

particular horticultural value, was of great botanical
interest, viz. a Lastrca, intermediate in character between
filix-mas and dilatata, and I think probably a hybrid
between the two species. It was growing horizontally
out of a perpendicular bank by the road side and had only
one frond, the rest having been probably broken off by the
wheels of carts, and the sticks, etc. of pedestrians. The
texture of the frond is that of filix-tnas, and the pinnules in
shape and cutting also resemble that species, but the
outline of the frond is more that of dilatata^ i.e. broadest at
the base and quickly tapering upwards. The pinuct are
also very deltoid in outline, and the stipes is as long as the
leafy part of the frond. The stipes was devoid of scales
(these probably having been rubbed off), but the scales on
the crown are concolorous and have the light brown hue
of those oijilix-mas. There are no signs of fructification,
although the plant is evidently an old one, having a
caudex six inches in length. Should the plant survive
and make good growth next year it will provide an
interesting study for the critical botanist. I need scarcely
say it will be well cared for.

F. W. Stansfield.
Reading, August iSth, 1913.

ROOT ROOM FOR FERNS; AND SOME

EXPERIMENTS.

In response to an invitation on p. 98, on the above
•subject, I should like to make some observations in respect
thereto. In the first place I must state that I know the
particular ferns referred to and, therefore, can testify as to
their condition, etc. when I last saw them, especially that
beautiful plumose Polystichum known as Baldwinii seedling,
a worthy descendant of the unique parent, the finest by
far of the Jones and Fox piumosums. But with that
unique and beautiful specimen vividly before the mind's

ii6

eye, I cannot help thinking that had that fern been potted
on, and more root room given, the fronds would have
responded to the extra vigour of the roots, and the owner
would probably have had a specimen double the present
size. This is, of course, a matter of conjecture ; but
arguing from experience and experiments, that is the only
conclusion I can arrive at.

As a matter of fact, any one can test this for himself by
taking duplicate ferns — not Baldzmniis, they are too rare —
potting one on, and leaving the other " cabined, cribbed,
confined."

Whether, however, one w^ants large plants is another
matter. Whether, again, one has the room must also be
taken into account. And yet again, for scientific purposes,
perhaps the smaller plant is preferable. But if the object
is the fullest possible development, then I see no other
way than potting on, that is, giving the plant more root
room and consequently more nourishment. Conversely I
agree that in the case of wall-ferns, or ferns in bad con-
dition, the employment of the smallest receptacle con-
sistent with their requirements is the better plan. That
ferns do not seem to be so dependent on earthy salts as
flowering plants may also be true, and yet, even in Nature,
the difference between two ferns growing in close proximity
— one in the ditch and the other just above it — is very
remarkable. The soil is practically the same ; the
additional vigour being due, in the former case, to the
greater solubility of the aforesaid earthy salts by reason of
the presence of more water. Water, then, is an indis-
pensable factor ; and this brings me to the subsidiary
saucer. As a general maxim ferns should not be allowed
to stand in water ; in fact, the saucer as an aid to the
supply of this fluid, should be used with great caution.
Lady ferns perhaps may— nay must — be excepted if they
occupy small pots and have a vigorous root system. In
nature the finest specimens often have their "feet " in or

T I

near water. Other ferns, with rare exceptions, are better
without the saucer-adjunct, \^'hich encourages the roots
to mass therein instead of to ramify throughout the soil.
As, under artificial conditions, the roots should be witliin
the pot, it follows that, unless these conditions be observed,
an ultimate degeneration is likely to ensue.

Ferns have exceedingly fine hair-like roots — the real
feeders — and if these are damaged from any cause, either
over or under-watering, the result may be disastrous. I
am acutely reminded of the latter state of things, for on
returning home after a short absence I found Aciiantiim
Capillus-Venevis vav. imhvicatum in a fiaccid condition. Of
course, I immediately applied the "water cure," but it has
refused to be comforted ; and so out of a splendid little
cool-house specimen I may be able to save a bit by
adopting the small pot system.

As bearing on this subject, perhaps I may be allowed to
extend my observations to some experiments with Harts-
tongues which, although not fitting in exactly with root
room for ferns, may yet be relevant to it. Anyhow,
whether one deals with the size of the pot or the naUirc of
the soil, it comes to a matter of culture after all. Observ-
ing, then, how well the Hartstongue grows in our Purbeck
quarries, I obtained some limestone of the variety known
as "freestone," and pounded this up into small nodules,
retaining, of course, the smaller particles and dust to give
some sort of solidity to the whole. The varieties of the
Hartstongue selected were, as far as I could judge, equal
in size and vigour, that being a necessary condition in any
experiment with soils, etc. These were potted on into
4^-inch pots last year in the following composts : — No. i. A
form of Scol. v. cvispiim Dvummondae was potted in one-
third ordinary soil and two-thirds limestone, broken up as
above, with one crock over the bottom, and some moss
over this to prevent the soil from washing out. No. 2. A
similar plant was potted in ordinary compost. Both

ii8

ferns are doing well, but No. 2 is twice as large as No. i.

No, 3. A fine form of Scol. v. supralincatiim w^as potted
in pure limestone, after the roots had been washed. No. 4.
A similar plant was potted in ordinary compost. In this
case also No. 4. is twice the size of No. 3. Whether these
conditions will be maintained another season remains to be
seen, but I should think that when the roots of Nos. i. and
3 accommodate themselves to their environment there is
sure to be accelerated growth. On the other hand one
would imagine that the limestone particles possessed the
greater power of holding water, and that, as a result, these
ferns would have developed freely. Possibly these
particles do not lie close enough although, in watering,
the sediment which escapes is religiously returned. Thus
a saucer here is a sine qua non, otherwise the fern fronds
underneath the stage would suffer discolouration, although
the water is not allowed to remain therein.

As a matter of fact, it is somewhat difficult to estimate
the amount of water required for these particular plants,
the usual signs — such as sound or weight of pot — being
absent. Still, one can hardly -waterlog the soil, as the
drainage thereof may well be considered perfect. The
plants, however, though small comparatively, are in
satisfactory health, the development being quite on normal
lines. Here then, apparently, we have the same effect as
in half-size pots — stunted growth and retarded develop-
ment. It will, however, be well to wait, and to w^atch
this experiment another season, and to chronicle results.

C. 13. Green.

IIQ

DWARF BRITISH FERNS.*

There is certainly no class of plants better fitted for
household pets than the many dwarf forms of British
Ferns, which have been produced by sporting from the
normally large species, and to these may of course be
added several species which are naturally of diminutive
stature. The former class is, however, the more inter-
esting and better adapted for home collections, since to it
belong, as a rule, species which are of the easiest possible
culture, whilst the naturally small species, being mostly
rock or wall Ferns, demand generally special treatment,
and are much more apt to perish by confinement or over-
watering.

Few people — in fact, none outside the coterie of British
Fern specialists — know that a small table or stage facing
a north window could accommodate a score or two of the
dwarf, congested, crimped, and curly varieties of Ferns
which we have in view, a space, in fact, in which a single
full-grown normal specimen would be "cribbed, cabined,
and confined."

As a special example of this sort, we may instance the
ordinary crested male Fern [Lastveap. mas. cvistata), which,
if grown properly, will form a huge shuttlecock of beauti-
fully tasselled fronds, which it forms in June, fully 4 feet in
height from the top of the trunk, and which may be itself
a couple of feet high ; the spread of the crown will be also
4 or 5 feet in diameter. At the other end of the scale, in
precisely the same species, we have the tiny L. /. m.
■vamulosissima, more like a very small Parsley plant than
anything else ; the little fronds 4 or 5 inches long at the
utmost, being divided and divided ad infinitum. A plant of
this has eventually assumed a much larger size, forming
bushy tufts nearly a foot high, but still dwarf in comparison
with the normal. In this same species we have L. /. ;;;.
-cvispa, 5 or 6 inches high, L. f. m. crispa cvistata, a tasselled

* By permission of the Gardeners' Chronicle.

I20

form of it ; L. f. m. crispa cvistata angustata, a very narro^v
form of the last. Then we have L. f. in. crispa gracilis^
with slender leathery divisions, curved hook-like at the
tips. These would all find ample room in 4inch pots, and
being evergreen, and, like all the rest, perfectly hardy, are
as much winter ornaments as summer ones. A size larger,
but still dwarf, is L. f. m. fluctnosa, or crispatissima, dense,
and beautifully crimped, 9 inches high. Among the
Shield Ferns, P. angulare Lyellii is the dwarfest and
prettiest, all the beautiful cutting and detail of the
Polystichtim being crammed into a tiny plant of 4 or 5
inches high. P. a. cotigestum is larger, but very dense, and
a crested form of this exists of the same dimensions — about
9 inches. P. a. pavvissimum is very neat and pretty, but
belies its name by reaching a foot in height.

The Lady Fern [Aihyviiun filix-fcemina), has yielded
several gems on like lines. A. f.-f. congestnni cristaium is
the counterpart of P. a. Lyellii in delicate condensation,
and^./.-/. stipatum, Grantae apes, P. a. congestuiii, but is
denser. Then we have A. f.-f. crispnni, an old friend, with
a creeping root, which forms dense little clumps of cresting
6 inches high; and A. f.-f. acvocladon, which, though it is
much larger, is so compact as to require little room. The
forms acrocladoji, velutinnm, and nncoglomevatiim, are balls-
of moss-like foliage, more like green sponges than Ferns.

The Blechnnm spicant section of varieties is mainly small-
growing. B. s. cvispissimnin (Hartley), B. s. concinmim
(Druery), B. s. lineave (Barnes), and B. s. Maundcvsii, are
all small by nature.

(To he continued.)

I 2 I

FERNS IN BOTTLES.

In April last my attention was drawn to a report in the
local press concerning a ** Novel Fernery " at Broadmayne,
near Dorchester. Paragraphs also appeared in two of the
London halfpenny newspapers which were more or less
sensational in character. Therefore I decided to investi-
gate the phenomenon, as, not being a man of " mystery,"
or much given to the supernatural, I had some doubts
about it. So I took train from Swanage to Moreton, and
after a most delightful ramble of about five miles over
Warmwell moor and heath — on which the gorse was then
resplendent — I came at last to the quaint but typical village
of Broadmayne.

Here I was soon brought into contact with the object of
my search, by the courtesy of the good lady of the grocer's
shop, who, although immersed in business matters, yet
contrived to answer some enquiries. " The celerity and
mysteriousness of the prophet's gourd" theory was soon
disposed of, for I found, as I expected, that the bottles had
been in position for some time — about six years. More-
over, "that each bottle was occupied by a beautiful and
delicate fern " turned out to be in excess of the truth to the
extent of about seventy-five per cent. Some allowance,
however, must be made on account of the colour of the said
bottles — these being of a deep sea-green. Possibly the
reporter, in consequence, could not distinguish betvv-een
the ferns and the bottles, or otherwise only made a
superficial examination. There were, to be exact, 104 of
these receptacles, and being of French manufacture, and
having no commercial value here, Mr. Trevett, the grocer^
conceived the idea of ornamenting his garden therewith.
Thus the bottles were thrust neck downwards to form a
border to the garden path. Now, to give these a careful
scrutiny, it was necessary to go on " all fours " — an
unavoidable if not an elegant posture.

However, the conclusion I came to was that at least

J o 2

twenty-five per cent, contained Cryptogamic vegetation —
mostly ferns. These, by reason of the aforesaid colour,
were not discovered till last year, while the publication
concerning them was due to the arrival, at a critical
juncture, of the " paper man."

So it would appear that several sets of circumstances
had contributed to this " mysterious " result.

Scores of persons, it seems, had given their curiosity
vent ; but as no one seemed able to throw any light on the
phenomenon, I ventured to suggest that as the ferns inside
the bottles corresponded with the predominant ferns of the
immediate neighbourhood, the "mystery" was half ex-
plained. Moreover, the fern-spore — which answers roughly
to the flower-seed — is produced by Nature in lavish pro-
fusion, that it is light and microscopical, and that, in
consequence, it is freely transferred by wind and other
agencies from one place to another. As, therefore, the
spore under such conditions must precede the fern, it
follov/s that the spores were present in the soil when the
bottles were inserted. Two conditions are essential to
the germination of spores — heat and moisture. The sun
supplies the one, and, in this case, the soil in the upturned
receptacles supplied the other.

A third condition, however, would include light, for
according to Prof. Henslow " every plant naturally
adapted to receive light, theoretically at least, requires an
optimum degree for perfect growth and development." As
these plants could not profit by this condition, they were
necessarily elongated, weak, semi-transparent and other-
wise abnormal, although I have no doubt as to their
specific character. The species, then, contained in these
bottles were pretty equally divided between the common
Male Fern [Lastvea filix-mas), and the common Shield Fern
{Polystichum angulare), with, as far as I could see, a solitary
Hartstongue [Scolopendvium vidgave). I trust these scanty
details will help to elucidate this " mystery."

1-3

It is certainly somewhat remarkable that so many ferns
and so many bottles should be found in such close associa-
tion. There seems, however, to be several isolated cases
on record lately, for last December Mr. J. Fraser, F.L.S.,
of Kew, showed me a bottle containing the Bladder Fern
{Cystoptevis fvagilis), which had been found in a garden.

Although this fern is deciduous and dies down early, it
was still luU-fronded when I saw it.

Again, Mr. Beach-Thomas, the well-known naturalist,
recorded a similar occurrence in the Daily Mail last March,
and our Editor noted a similar case in a garden in far-
away Galicia (Austria).

C. B. Green.

NEW FERNS.

From Mr. J. E. Walpole of Whitiey, Chester, we have
received fronds of a very heavily crested P. ang. capitatiim
found by him at Skierk in Queen's County, Ireland, by the
road side. Sandstone district, but roads mended with lime-
stone, the scrapings of which are thrown on the banks
in winter. As with other capitaUims of this species, the
pinnae are only minutely crested.

By the Rev. Principal Kingsmill Moore, a variety of
Athyrium was found, on August 4th in Co. Donegal,
with slender fronds and pinnae and irregular pinnules, very
distinct and thorough in character, but only valuable as a
"souvenir" in these days. He also sends a frond of
a Hartstongue, a recent find of his in Co. Cork, each frond
branching into several distinctly stalked ones. 5. v.
vamosnm. He has kindly sent me notes thereupon, as
follows :—

I. — SCOLOPENDRIUM RaMOSUM.

This variety, though not new, has not before been

124

recorded as a wild find. It came to me from West Cork,
where it was discovered by my sister, Mrs. G. B. Fair-
brother, on the banks of a stream, close to a bridge. On
both sides of the stream Scolopendvium vulgave is abundant,
and the S. vamosnm was among its common relations.
Some five plants were sent to me, each bears from one to
three fronds, and every frond, or, to be more precise, the
stem of every frond, is symetrically divided into three.

What effect cultivation may have it is difficult to
foresee, but at present the specimens are small, the
largest would not quite measure six inches. Growing, as
they did, among their taller brethren, they were not easily
found.

2. — Athyrium Filix Fcemina Incequale Laxum

(H. K. Moore).

Such is the name with which the Editor has honoured a
*' Find " which I have just made in the neighbourhood
of Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal. It is true that he moderates
my enthusiasm by saying it belongs to " a section of, in
these days, ineligibles " ; but his heart must have softened
to it when he suggested the name, and I am in hopes that
if I succeed in propagating, and present him with a plant,
he may yet come to share my feelings for its grace and
beauty. The characteristic of the fern is, as its name
suggests, inequality, or irregularity ; but the inequalities
are so uniform, consisting of the introduction throughout
of short and of long pinnae and sub-pinnse, that no appear-
ance of deformity is presented, and the locse formation
helps to give the whole plant an indescribably light and
graceful effect.

I found it by the roadside, growing in the interstices of
stones built over a well. It was a solitary specimen. The
few other Athyviums present were quite normal.

August, I913. H. KiNGSMILL MoORE,

12

0

IMr. C. T. Druery, as mentioned in our article on the
August meeting, found L. pseudo mas pendens, a very hand-
some form with pendulous pinnae on gracefully-curved
fronds, a huge specimen forming a marked contrast to the
normals in its vicinity. It had to be left where it was,
being in a private wood, but a small offset was obtained
and some bases for propagation. jMr. Cranfield's Scol. v.
renifovme and Mr. Smithies' Blechmun S. sevratum must also
be classed as acquisitions.

From one member, Mr. W. L. Salusbury While, we have
received fronds of a very charming congested and crested
Athyvinm, which appeared as a chance seedling in his
collection, though he has no form at all to which its
parentage can be imputed. It is very similar in make and
cresting to A.f.f. congestuni minus, but is twice the size,
and we have consequently named it A.f.f. congestum
cristaium While. The fronds sent are quite barren. Mr. J.
W. Walton's ferns, alluded to under the August Meeting
(page no) as specially good, were : —

P. ang. corymhifevum Walton. A very fine form with
dense, heavy, round, terminal crests to fronds and fine
well-developed ones to the pinnae.

F. ang. tvipinnaUun falcattmi. A bold grower, well divided
thrice and with the lower pinnules markedly falcate.

P. ang. foliosnm Walton. A fine foliose form.

P. ang.hrachiatum cvistatiun Walton. Distinctly brachiate,
but differing in make from previously known forms of this
section.

The Editor would remind the jNIembers that Messrs.
H. B. May and Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of that uniquely beautiful fern, P. aculeatuni gvacilli-
jjiuin Dvuevyii.

126

LIST OF MEMBERS.

(With Addresses.)

Atkinson, F., The Bungalow, Staveley, Newby Bridge, Ulverston.

Askew, \V. F., Junior, Fern Nursery, Grange, Keswick.

Allchin, F. A., Tredadwell, Fowey, Cornwall.

Aiken, Rev. J. ]., m.l., Manse of Ayton, Berwickshire.

Adkin, F. X., Westwood, Oaklands Road, Bromley, Kent.

Apperly, Sir Alfred, Rodborough Court, Stroud, Glos.

Abbey, A. B., 325, Park Street, West Roxbury, Mass., U.S.A.

Balmain, Mrs., Woodland, Dumfries.

Boyd, W. B., Faldonside, Melrose.

Bolton, T., Fern Cottage, Warton, Carnforth.

Bolton, R., Holly Bank, Warton, Carnforth.

Blckham, Spencer H., f.l.s., Underdown, Ledbury.

Bunyard, G., v.m.h., Maidstone.

Bachan-Hepburn, Sir A., Bart., Smeaton Hepburn, Prestonkirk, East

Lothian.
Bowles, E., Waltham Cross.
Bell, W., ^Nlaryville, Croslands, Furness Abbey.
Bolton, H., Yew Cottage, Warton, Carnforth.
Brown, T., j.p., lona, Antrim Road, Belfast.
Barrel, M. B., 10, Avenue d'lena, Paris.
Broadbent, J., Thornlee Fern Nursery, Grotton, Oldham.
Ballantine, H., 5, Heath Bank Road, Birkenhead.
Barker, W. A., The Glen, Backbarrow, near Ulverston.
Bayne, R. C, 14, Garrick Street, W.C.
Barton, H. D. M., The Bush, Antrim.

Cowan, Alexander, Valleyfield House, Penicuik, Midlothian.
Cranfield, W. B., East Lodge, Enfield Chase, Enfield.
Cordrey, C, 23, Morley Avenue, Upper Edmonton.
Coverdale, W. H., Beechwood Scriven, Knaresborough.
Campbell, A., 68, George Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire.
Cousens, J. S., 12, Grove Road, Wanstead, Essex.

I 2

Chapman, A., The Crardens, Westonbirt, Tetbury.
Crisp, Sir Frank, Bart., Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.
Cutbush, Herbert J., Highgate Nurseries, N.
Cunard, Mrs. Cyril, The Manor House, Notgrove, Glos.
Collingwood, Mrs., Farkside House, Ferney Hill, Barnet.

Duncan, Jas., Mints Feet Nurseries, Kendal.

Druery, C. T., v.m.ti., f.l.s. (Hon. Secretary), Stanwixbank, ii, Shaa

Road, Acton.
Day, Miss M. A., Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge,

Mass., U.S.A. .

Davidson, J., Sommerville House, Dumfries.

Dowell, Philip (Editor, American Fern Journal), Port Richmond, N.Y.,
U.S.A.

Dilworth, R., Dalegarth, Ulverston.

Day, Miss Constance R., i6, Burgoyne Road, Harringay, N.

Eley, T, G. H,, Crosland's Park, Furness Abbey, Lanes.
Edwards, J., Fern Holme, Oak Bank Avenue, Moston. Manchester.
Edelsten, F. A., The Elms, Forty Hill, Enfield.

Farrar, W. E., Oubeck, Galgate, Lancaster.

Francis, J., 3, Glan Aber Park, Chester,

Eraser, G., Ucluelet, British Columbia.

Fletcher, E., 38, Stanley Street, Heaton Park. Manchester.

Finch, T. J., Charlton Park Gardens, Malmesbury, Wilts.

George, Edward, Nassau, n.p., Bahamas, British West Indies.
Gordon, W., Victoria Road, Maxwelltown, Dumfries.
Green, C. B., Linden Villa, Argyle Road, Swanage.
Goulder, R. L., Woodcroft, near Chepstow.
Greene, Mrs. H. D., Grove Craven Arms, Salop.
Grimason, Mrs. N., 27, Grove Road, Windsor.

Heward, Miss M. E., The White House, Warham, nr. Wells, Norfolk.
Hawkins, Rev. E. H., Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud,
Henwood, T. E., Auricula Villa, Hamilton Road, Reading.
Hemming, G,, The Palace, Alexandra Park, London.
Hargreaves, A., 62, Wrigley Street, Oldham,

128

Hawkins, Miss, Kingston-on-Soar, Derby.

Plosford, Samuel R., Rose Bank, Magazine Road, Cork.

Holt, T., 29, West Road, Lancaster.

Hillyer, W., Ivyleigh, Cowes, Isle of Wight.

Johnston, G. Forbes, 163, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, N.B.

King, J. N., Carndonagh, Foxrock, Co. Dublin,
Kirby, A., 49, Elm Square, Roath, Cardiff.

Love, W., 28, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow.

Lett, Rev. Canon H. W.,Aghaderg Rectory, Loughbrickland,Co.Down.
Lawson, G. C, Mayfield House, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Laverton, Mrs. W. H., Leighton, Westbury, Wilts.

Moore, Rev. Principal H. Kingsmill, d.d., Cedar Mount, Dundrum,

Dublin.
Marshall, W., v.m.h., Auchinraith, Bexley, Kent.
Moore, Sir F. W., v.m.h., Glasnevin, Dublin.
Murray, J. Campbell, j.p., Haggs Castle, Glasgow.
Margery, Mrs., Chartham Park, East Grinstead, Sussex.
Markendale, R. S., Ashfield House, Boston Spa, Yorks.
McKendrick, J. G., m.d.. ll.d., f.r.s., Maxieburn, Stonehaven, N.B.
Meyer. C. J., Wellington Road, New Brighton, Cheshire.
Marshall, H. C, 8, Bryansburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down.
Marling, S. S., Stanley Park, Stroud.
Marsh, Miss S. A., Glenlyon, Holywood, Co. Down.
Morrison, W. T., 23, Gowrie Street, Bridgend, Perth.
McCleery, J. O., x\va House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.
Muir, R. A., Esq., 109, Hope Street, Glasgow.

Naylor, E., Heather Bank, Hazelhurst Road, Bradford.
Nation, J. (Plumber), Bisley, Slough, Glos.

Ormerod, G, F., Ashgrove, EUand, Brighouse,
O'Brien, W., 4, Kildare Street, Dublin.

Patrick, Josh., 247, West George Street, Glasgow.

Pattison, C, Linwood, near Paisley.

Phillips, W. H., Lemonfield, Holywood, Co. Down,

129

Piatt, C, The Wildings, Warrington Road, Harrow, N.W.

Parsons, J. S., 235, Cowbridge Road, Cardiff.

Pickard, A., 2, Snow Hill View, Wakefield.

Perkins, Mrs. C. E., The Rectory, Hinton Parva, Swindon.

Pooll, Mrs. Batten, Road Manor, Bath.

Peary, D., Island Cottage, Leatholm, Grosmont, S.O., Yorks.

Porter, W., Beech View, Balmoral Avenue, Belfast.

Petty, S. L., Dykelands, Ulverston, Lanes.

Pain, Frampton, Arlington, Chase Ridings, Enfield Chase.

Roberts, W. Richter, Monkwood Cottage, Baldwyn's Hill, Loughton,
Essex.

Rogerson, Miss B. Stanley, Argaty, Doune, Perthshire.

Rugg, H. G., Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hamp-
shire, U.S.A.

Raschen, II. H., 56, Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport.

Relton, H.,Tyn-y-Rheol, Whitchurch, nr. Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Rugman, J. C, Plusterwine, Woolaston, near Lydney, Glos.

Railton, G. S., Senior Council School, Tewkesbury.

Rowlands, S P., 38, Seymour Place, Fulham Road, S.W.

Smitliies, J. J., Boundary Bank, Kendal.

Stansfield, Dr F. W., 120, Oxford Road, Reading.

Smith, J. L., Fairbank, 286, Lytham Road, South Shore, Blackpool.

Smith, T., Daisy Hill Nursery, Newry, Ireland.

Scott, W., Cameron Hospital, Windygates, Fife.

Sergeantson, Rev. W., Acton BurM^ell, Shrewsbury.

Sanderson, H , Eastmount, Galashiels.

Sweet, A., Braehead, Cathcart, Glasgow.

Stansfield, H., Fern Nursery, Sale, Manchester.

Silva, F., The Grove Lodge, Sawbridgeworth, Herts.

Scott, W. D. T., The Gardens, Government House, Bulawayo,

Rhodesia, South Africa.
Sonnenschein, W. S,, High Morcote, Shalford, Surrey.
Shaw, W. J., 23, Ulsterville Avenue, Belfast.
Start, F., East Lodge Gardens, Enfield Chase.
Salkeld, Mrs. Mary, Greengate, Levens, near Milnthorpe.

I30

Thorrington, F. VV., Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hornchurch.

Turner, T. H., Lynwood, Caversham, Reading.

Thatcher, Mrs. E. J., The Manor House, Chew Magna, Somerset.

Tucker, I. W., Ferncroft, Woodah Road, St. Thomas, Exeter.

Thorp, W., Sorrentoville, Dalkey, Co. DubHn.

Thorburn, R. W., 68, Morris Street, HaUfax, Nova Scotia.

Wilson, Willm., 7, Ferney Green, Kendal.

Wiper, J., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakvva, British Columbia.

Wiper, E., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, British Columbia.

Whit well, G., Serpentine Cottage, Kendal.

Wilson, J. A., Millbeck Stock, Bowness.

Whiteside, R., 8, Borrowdale Road, Lancaster.

Walton, J. W., Finkle Street, Richmond, Yorkshire.

Williams, J. C, Caerhays Castle, St. Austell, Cornwall.

Whiteley, T. L., 206, St. Leonard's Road, Bradford.

Woynar, Herr H. Graz, Brockmanng 188/26. Austria.

Ware, R. A., 246, Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

White, E., 7, Victoria Street, S.W.

White, Mrs. A. G., Mount View, York Road, Woking.

Whitton, J., V.M.H., Bellahouston House, Glasgow.

Wright, J. H., Courtlands, Rosemont Road, Acton, W.

While, W. L. Salusbury, Birstall, near Leicester.

Winslow, E. L, Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, Mass., U.S.A.

Winser, Mrs, Ann C. C, Adderley Rectory, Market Drayton.

Watson, W., Curator, Royal Gardens, Kew.

Walpole, John E., Highbury, Whitby, near Chester.

Woollard, J., 52, Churchfield Road, Acton.

Webb, S., 9, Waterloo Crescent, Dover.

Wood, Jas. Wallhouse, Torphichen, N.B.

♦* BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES/'

By Charles T. Druevy, V.M.H., F.L.S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net; in half morocco, gilt,
los. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

CRESTED NATIVE FERNS,

BEAUTIFUL VARIETIES.

LIST >;d.

" Fern Culture," 1/1^.

ASKEW'S FERNERY,

GRANGE, KESWICK.

FERNS.

* * *

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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

¥ ^ *

stove 6rcciti)oiisc, and otDcr Plants
. . .arc also iarscip arown. . . .

* ^ *

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
apon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 18.

. . . Zbe . . .

JBritieb ]fern
©asette-

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

December, 1913*

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, VMM., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Drwry, ii, Shaa Road. Actoii, London, W .)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULG. SAGGITATO GRANDICEPS DrUERY.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2. DECEMBER, 1913. No. 18.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (Scol. v. saggitato grandiceps Druery)

Ferns Under Trees (Dr. F. W. Stansfield)

Dwarf British Ferns (continued)

Our Native Polypodies

PoLYSTiCHUM Angulare (Col. A. M. Joncs's Notcs) ..

Some Troubles of an Amateur

Fern Species and Varieties

Fern Notes from Scotland (W. Richter Roberts)

New Ferns

page
131
133
133
136

137

139

145
148

151
154

EDITORIAL NOTES.

Naturally at this season of the year growth is not only
at a standstill but the fronds of all the deciduous species
have more or less disappeared, and under glass the chief
task is that of clearing them away for tidiness sake.
Outside, on the other hand, it is best to leave them to
serve as the natural winter protection for which they are
the better, thoroughly hardy though they be. This dying
down and disappearance of the frondage is often miscon-
strued as implying a cessation of any need for watering.
In the open this implies no danger, but under glass it often
leads to the actual death of the plants by drought.
Care should therefore be taken against this risk, it being
borne in mind that wherever Ferns grow and thrive the
winter conditions involve practically a constantly wet soil
and little or no evaporation. Furthermore, the root
systems undoubtedly are active long before visible growth
is evident above ground, and if the soil become dry in pots
or pans under cover, great and probably fatal damage
results.

With these remarks we may recur to our co^Ftantly

X

132

repeated appeal for notes and contributory matter from our
members, in which connection the following should interest
them : —

The publisher of an important German work, dealing
with Botany generally, has recently sent the Editor a
section of same treating particularly of Ferns and Fern
phenomena, giving abstracts of, and notes relating to, these
as collated from the literature of the whole world. This
section dealt particularly with the literature of 1910 and it
is extremely gratifying to observe that there are no less
than thirty-eight separate references to data recorded in
our " Gazette" during that year, which practically means
that it is regarded as the chief source of information as
regards the ferns indigenous to Great Britain, especially
from their varietal or mutational side. As the writers
names are mentioned and indexed, this in itself should
constitute some encouragement to our members to add to
the store of general knowledge, as it implies that these
contributions are not limited to the circulation of the
" Gazette" itself, but are considered worthy by our foreign
friends to be given to the scientific world at large.

The "Gazette" stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will always be
sent on receipt of application from possible members,
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the " Gazette " and all
the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1913-14 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date- to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

* The Hon. Secretary would take it as a kindness if such remittance
be made at once, as it fell due in August last.

^ JO

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULG. SAGGITATO GRANDICEPS DrUERY.

Thanks to the generosity of our energetic member, Mr.

T. E. Henwood, we are enabled to present a very fine

photo of this imique variety. It is peculiarly interesting

as representing one of nine similar plants which arose

from a sowing of spores taken from a wild frond of a

merely sub-saggitate forked "sport" (lobatum) found in

Cornwall. The rest of the crop varied from normal to

the wild parental type and yet spores subsequently sown

from the form depicted are all true to the new type with

no reversions, so that the " mutation " is obviously quite

fixed. In some fronds the three crests are united into one

ball-like one, but always with the triple midrib.

Editor.

FERNS UNDER TREES.

There are many gardens which contain considerable
areas under the shade of trees where apparently nothing
will grow because, although the shade may be favourable
to some plants such as ferns, the roots of the trees occupy
the soil to such an extent that nothing else can obtain
sufficient nutriment or moisture. We may dig in fresh
soil and manure, etc., but this only serves to stimulate the
roots of the trees to fresh efforts, and they quickly regain
complete possession. These positions can be furnished
and beautified by ferns in pots. It is often thought that
pot ferns in the open-air are a failure unless the pots can
be plunged in so:ne moisture-holding medium. If this
be used it is immediately invaded, as are also the pots, by
the underlying roots. If, however, the pots be stood in
saucers on the surface, the soil in the pots is completely
isolated from the ground and its pervading roots. The
saucers also serve to keep out worms, which, however
beneficial they may be to plants in the open ground, are

134

most ■ deadly enemies to ferns in pots. Of course,
judgment must be exercised as to the supply of water, and
the ferns must not be kept continually water-logged.
During the growing season, however, and especially
if the pots are well filled with roots, a little water may be
kept almost constantly standing in the saucers, not only
without any harm but with distinct benefit if the weather
be dry and hot. In moderately genial weather, however,
it is desirable to allow the saucers, though not the pots, to
become dry for an hour or two during the day so
that a little air is able to penetrate the soil. During spells
of wet weather, and especially when not much growth is
taking place, waterlogging of the pots may be prevented
by the simple device of turning the saucers bottom up-
wards. They thus continue to exclude worms and the
roots of trees but allow the surplus water to drain away
freely, and the soil in the pots is maintained in a favour-
able condition. During the last two seasons I have had
a considerable number of ferns growing under these
conditions, and they have done quite as well as other ferns
planted in the soil in sheltered situations where they are
not subject to the competition of the roots of trees. These
ferns are not normal species but are all choice varieties
of Athyvitim filix-fcBmina, Polystichum angnlave and aculeatum,
Lastvea montana (my whole collection), L. filix-mas and
dilatata, Athyvium alpestve, Blechmim spicant, etc.

Another advantage of culture in pots is that one has
complete control over the soil in which the plants grow,
one can use a calcareous or non-calcareous, a peaty or
stony or rubbly soil, and hard or soft water as may be
desired. Thus many species which will not grow in
the ordinary soil of a calcareous district, such as Lastvea
montana, thelyptevis and dilatata, Polypodium dryoptevis
and phegopteris, Blechmim spicant and Allosovus crispus
can be cultivated without difficulty by using soil and
water free from lime. It is only by using this method that

us

I have been able to grow the above species, as the
ordinary soil and water of this district are both impreg-
nated with lime.

I am here reminded that, although the above treatment
may be all very well during the summer and autumn
months, it will not be safe during severe frosts, as not
only will the pots be likely to be split by the frost, but the
plants themselves, exposed above and below, will be liable
to damage. This is quite true, and some method must be
used to protect the ferns and pots from frost in severe
weather. With the deciduous species there is little trouble,
as they can be placed close together in any out-of-the-way
corner and either buried in dry leaves or simply covered
with mats during severe frost. My own method is the
latter, but the former is much less trouble when plenty of
dry leaves are available. The evergreen species, however,
are best protected, say from November to March, in a cold
house or cold frame, when they may be placed pretty
closely so that a number can be crowded into a space
which would not accommodate a quarter ot them during
the growing season. The crowns, and preferably the plants,
must be shaded from even the winter sun or they will
be likely to be stimulated into growth long before it is safe
to place them in their out-door quarters. For this reason
a house or frame with a north exposure is best even during
the winter, as the east winds of March and April are
exceedingly trying to ferns making their first growth, and
consequently they should, if possible, be kept from growing
until the weather is fairly genial out of doors.

F. W. Stansfield.

B

136

DWARF BRITISH FERNS. {Continued.)

The Hart's-tongue (Scolopendvium vulgave) has yielded a
number of forms fitted for culture in limited space, S. v,
spivale, muricatum, gloineratum, Kelwayii, with its half-dozen
synonyms, Baxfcni, Coolingii, etc., and a host of new forms
obtained by Mr. E. J. Lowe by crossing form a little crowd
of Tom Thumbs in this species, which, from its known
habit of adaptation to wall-growing, as well as free growth
in the soil, is obviously fitted also for small specimens in
pots. Among the small species all the Asplenia may be
reckoned, and if their natural habitats be imitated by
planting them in rocky chinks contrived with bits of porous-
stone and sandy leaf-mould, they will do as well in pots as
out of them. The lightest position suits them best.
Asplenium marimun benefits by brackish water. Aspleniinn
vivide is the better for a glass over it, as it vv^ants a damp
atmosphere. The several varieties of Maidenhair, Adian-
ium CapiUus-veneris, take up scanty room as a rule.

The Bladder Ferns {Cystopteris) are all dwarf, but are
scarcely to be recommended for the purpose, nearly all
having a nasty knack of turning brown as soon as the-
fronds mature under cnlture. The common Polypody
(Polypodiiun vulgare) has yielded only one dwarf form, P. v..
pavvissimnnt, which is very chary of growth. The whole of
the varieties are, however, of medium size under ordinary
culture, and, being evergreen, are well worth growing.

We have now indicated a very fair collection, and
cannot too strongly recommend the culture of these pretty
plants to our lady friends who may have windows facini<
north, where flowers can scarcely thrive, owing to lack of
sunshine. In such a spot all the Ferns named would thrive
apace, and amply repay the little care required in watering,
which is their chief desideyatuiii. The pots must be well
drained, and should not stand in water. A very good plan
is to invert a small saucer in a larger one, and stand the
pot upon it ; a little water standing in the lower one will

^37

then do no harm, and sourness will not be induced. When
once the plants are installed, they should be marked in^
some way, so that they be not turned this way and that as
growth progresses. They will grow towards the light, and
not towards the room, and any attempt to thwart this
natural law by turning them round and round simply
results in twisted growth and ugly plants. The table
should be on castors, and then, when it is desired to display
the plants to one's friends, it can be rolled away from the
window and inspected from the front. Light is health to
Ferns, as to other plants, hence, give them as much
diffused light as possible. Burning sunshine, however, is
dangerous. Air, too, is good, but draughts are bad, since
the fronds get all the beauty and delicacy rubbed out oi
them. A general open compost of leaf-mould, turfy loam,
and silver-sand, in the proportions of 2, 2, and i, will suii
all we have named ; but for ladies it is best to get a peck
or so of compost from a nursery.

Chas. T. Druery, F.L.S., F.R.H.Sv

OUR NATIVE POLYPODIES.*

The tribe of the polypodies or polypodium is a very
large one indeed, Smith's "Ferns, British and Foreign"
giving over three hundred species, ranged under that name
by various botanists. The large majority of these, how-
ever, are known by distinct specific names, the general
distinguishing character of uncovered spore-heaps being
accompanied by so many other differences that a consider-
able number of " synonyms " is the result. Fortunately,
however, we need not trouble ourselves much in thi>
respect with regard to our indigenous representatives,
since we have but four, and these are all known by the
family name. A fifth claimant P. alpestve is, in our
opinion a Lady Fern {Athyvium), and we will not therefore

* 13y permission o{ t^ie Gardeners' M a^azine.

do more than allude to it here to preclude chiding for an
apparent omission. Of these four P. vulgave or the
common polypody, as its name implies, is by no means a
rarity, and there. is probably not a county in Great Britain
in which it is not to be found. In its normal form it has
long, somewhat, narrow once divided fronds, consisting of
a stalk ranging from an inch or two up to eighteen or
twenty inches in length, provided with numerous slender
bluntish lobes for rather more than half its extent. These
fronds are thoroughly evergreen and of stout leathery
texture, so that the fern is not only enabled to hold its own
and thrive in the usual shady and sheltered situations
where ferns are wont to congregate, but makes its home
on the trunk and in the hollows of trees, and on the tops
and in the crevices of walls and stone dykes, wherever its
-creeping rhizome or rootstock can find an anchorage and a
little nourishment. These thick fleshy creeping rhizomes
form one of the chief characteristics of the fern, and give
it, indeed, its botanical name, Polypodium, meaning many-
footed. If suspended in a hanging basket it will speedily
find its way out in all directions, and form very pretty
specimens. No other British fern has a fleshy creeping
root, except the Bracken {Ptevis aquilina), but that, like the
other polypodies, the Marsh Fern (Lastvea thelypteris), and
the various species of Bladder Fern {Cy stopfer is), all of
which have wandering rhizomes too, does not shed its
fronds at a joint like P. vulgave, the fronds of which, in the
spring, drop freely off, leaving a neat scar, instead of, as
do all the others, retaining the ruins of the old frond stems
until they actually rot away. In many parts of the
country P. vidgave may be found literally lining the hedge-
rows and hedge banks with its fronds or rhizomes,
revelling in the loose accumulation of leaf-mould. In
Epping Forest it is still to be found lurking in out-of-the-
way places, in the crowns of the pollard oaks and other
trees, and in the moister western counties it peeps out of

139.

every crevice in the loosely built stone walls by the road
side, and forms dense tufts upon their tops wherever a
plant has obtained a foothold, and retained the dust and
other flying debris sufficiently to strengthen and extend it.
Decidedly one of the prettiest features of this fern, and
one in which it stands alone in this country, is its fructifi-
cation. The spore-heaps, or collections of small pods or
capsules containing the spores, are of a brilliant orange-
yellow. Each heap, under favourable conditions, is as
large as a small pea, and as they are produced in some
cases in such numbers as almost to cover the backs of the
fronds, a really brilliant colour effect is produced, which,
in conjunction with the dark green of the fronds them-
selves is very charming. This feature of the plant is a
very interesting one, a good lens showing up each heap of
capsules just like a heap of some hundred or more fine
oranges carefully piled for sale, while, if they be very ripe,
the observer may be startled by seeing several of them
explode like small bombshells, scattering their spores
shrapnel fashion with considerable violence. Another
family peculiarity is the absence of any cover or indusium

to these heaps.

{To he contimied.)

POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE.

With reference to the decomposite or much divided
section of Polystichum Angulare varieties and sub-
varieties, it is sometimes so difficult to determine how to
indicate differences in the naming, that we think we
cannot do better than reproduce the late lamented Col.
A. M. Jones's remarks in this connection at the time when
this difficulty first presented itself to the pioneers of the
cult, now many years ago. These remarks appear in
Colonel Jones's original notes appended to his nature
print of P. ang. pvolifcvum Wollastoii, and are as follows : —

(From the original plant) " This is a true acutilobe, frond

140

elongate, deltoid, tripinnate, — in its best character has
only one or two pairs of bulbillae seated in the axils of the
lowest pair of pinnae ; pinnules acute." — [Note by Mv.
WoUaston.)

No British fern exceeds this in beauty, and probably
none has figured so prominently in exhibitions ; it is not
to be wondered at therefore that it should have taken more
than one person to find it. With reference to its dis-
covery Mr. WoUaston relates that himself and the late
Rev. Wm. Gardiner, — then Curate of Ottery St. Mary, —
•during a ramble in that neighbourhood, being brought
suddenly by a bend in the lane, face to face with it, were
at the same instant (it was then a large plant and in
true character) transfixed with astonishment, etc. Mr.
WoUaston was however the first to recover his presence
of mind and the plant will ever deservedly bear the name
of the first of British Fern hunters.

The name " proliferum " was first given to a plant found
in S. Devon more than 30 years ago by Choule, one of
the Kew Gardeners. Mr. Woilaston states that an
impression prevailed at one time that it was exotic —
probably from its difference to other then known British
Ferns. Dr. AUchin writes that in 1852 this plant was
growing in the outdoor fernery at Kew, marked "P. a.
discretum," and afterwards " angustatum," and it was
from spores of this that he raised the very beautiful
proliferous form that bears his name, which was much
more proliferous than the original and perhaps more so
than any that has since been found or raised. Choule's
plant being the first to show its character was named by
Mr. Moore ^' pvolifevuni.'' Subsequently other proliferous
forms were found and named pvolifeynm — WoUastoni, Footii,
Crawfovdice, Holeancc, Hcnieycd, Moulel, etc. As all these
partook more or less the finely-cut character of the original
proliferum, and no other proliferous form was then known
it was thought by some that the proliferous character was

more or less the habit of that class, and that it was con-
fined to it, subsequent discoveries however proved that in
neither respect was this the case, the name therefore lost
much of its appropriateness.

It is true that in a general way the finely-cut varieties
have a greater tendency than others to be proliferous, but
it is now known that this habit is very general among
varieties of angulare, and is sometimes seen even in the
normal form. " I have generally found," writes Tvlr.
Padley, "that the ferns having a hard woody rachis, are
the ones most proliferous, such as acutilobe, multilobe,
lineare, etc." Forms of brachiato-cristatum are nearly
all proliferous, and in some cases not only near the
brachiation. Mr. Wills' '' pulcherrimum " and some
forms of " revolvens " are regularly proliferous, and a
variety of cristatum found by the late Dr. Moore in Ireland
has often bulbs extending half-way up the frond.

It is also now known that there are many varieties
which in every important particular are identical in
character with the proliferous forms, — and yet they are
not proliferous at all, or very slightly so.

It would seem therefore that the proliferous habit is
both too general and (even in the class of varieties when
it is most common), too arbitrary in its appearance, to
entitle it to give a name to any class of varieties.

Nor is the name at all descriptive of the very marked
character of the class to which these — perhaps the most
beautiful of all the forms of angulare, belong.

The variations too of character among these finely-cut
varieties is now— owing to the discoveries of Mr. Padley,
Mr. Moly, Mr. WoUaston, Mr. Slworthy, Mr. R. Gray,
Dr. Allchin, Mr. Wills, Mrs. Thompson, and Dadds,
Hillman, and Moule — known to be so great that they can
no longer be mingled together without considerable con-
fusion of ideas. ]\Ir. WoUaston was the first to meet this
difficulty by a sub-division of the class of finely-cut

142

varieties into three classes ; with respect to wHch he has
himself supplied the following descriptive notes : —

" Multilobum," an excess of decompositum — the whole
plant being more or less tripinnate, but the division of the
pinnules or pinnulets more or less abnormally rounded^
and in this respect differing from the two that follow,
which have these portions much more acute.

*' Acutilobum," tripinnate — all the divisions of the
frond acute, the anterior and posterior pinnules nearly
of the same length.

" Divisilobum," tripinnate — the same as acutilobum,
except that the anterior and posterior pinnules are of
unequal lengths, the latter far longer and the divisions
altogether more highly developed — a well-grown plant, is
sub-quadripinnate, or even quadripinnate."

By the almost general consent of annulare hunters and
cultivators, Mr. Wollaston's arrangement has been
adopted, and the name '' proliferum " is no longer used,
except as an adjunct to denote either such multilobes,
acutilobes, etc., as have a marked tendency to the proli-
ferous habit, or such as have been long called by that
name.

Thus the original proliferum, — and Mr. Wollaston's are
proliferous acutilobes — Miss Crawford's, Mrs. Hole's and
Mr. Henley's are proliferous divisilobes.

Mr. Padley, whose experience in this class of varieties is
perhaps unrivalled, and who has studied the matter with,
at least as much interest and care as any one, is in favour
of Mr. Wollaston's arrangement — as far as it goes ; but
he still retains the name conspicuilobum as descriptive of
the varieties which do not quite come up to multilobes
or acutilobes though evidently partaking of the same
* gentle blood."

With reference to these matters Mr. Padley writes :.
" With me there are two principal divisions of the varieties
whose pinnules are much divided. The tripinnate or

H

n

decompositum class; and the acutilobe class (compre-
hending conspicuilobum, acutilobum, and divisilobum) —
the main feature in the former being that the pinnules are
more frondose, and in the acutilobes more acute and
narrower."

" Multilobum, or as I prefer to call it equilobum, seems
to lean towards the two divisions, one section to decom-
positum the other to acutilobum."

" My order [of the more finely cut varieties] is con-
spicuilobe, multiiobe, acutilobe, divisilobe, some people
have thrown doubts on conspicuilobum but I consider it a
distinct variety."

If to these four classes be added, the two classes of
decompositum — the ordinary, and the higher or more
developed class called here " tripinnatum " — it will be
found that with a very few exceptions (and those probably
varieties which combine different characters), the whole of
the divided or multilobed varieties will drop into their
places very naturally.

It may be said that this arrangement makes no provision
for the plumose forms which are certainly divided forms,
but Mr. Padley's suggestion that " plumosum " is but the
plumose form of " decompositum " well deserves con-
sideration— and it will probably be found that between
plumosum and the higher forms of decompositum there is
room for all the forms generally known as sub-plumose,
and foliose, and such as struthio, Parsonsii {Moore) and
others.

No doubt the plumose class have other characters, so
distinct as to entitle them to a place of their own in any
system of classification. No more is attempted here than
to draw attention to Mr. Padley's views regarding their
relationship to the decomposite forms, and to point out
if these views be sound (and there is much to recommend
them) the whole of the divided forms may be very easily
and naturally connected.

144

In further illustration of these ideas a sketch is appended
(in the memorandum which accompanies the 5th series) to
shew — if not the relationship — the degrees of resemblance
between the divided forms.

The expression ''gentle blood " has been used here more
than once as expressive of that look of quality which
^eems to distinguish the finely divided forms of angulare
from all others. For whoever has once seen a real
acutilobe or divisilobe — well grown — half or two-thirds
unfolded, with its wealth of feathery foliage spreading
from a centre — so finely cut, and yet so evenly crowded
together — the dark green of the unfolded part contrasting
charmingly with the clear white of the curled up heads of
the fronds that turn gracefully back, crozierlike — with the
tips of the pinnae still folded up, and standing out like rows
of little frosted-silver balls along the outer edge of the
frond — and the rich thick fox-coloured scales that cover
the stem, running right up the centre of the frond like a
bit of sable fur, — and the fine hair-like spines standing out
from it everywhere, for the dew to rest on or the sun to
shine upon ; — whoever has once seen this mixture of form,
detail, and colour, can hardly help regarding it ever after-
wards as distinct from other Polystichums. And it isn't
cultivation only that does it, for often has the eye of the
fortunate angulare hunter been struck by a similar
contrast — as for instance, when Mr. WoUaston came face
to face with No. 61, or when Air. Wills (with that
magical hooked stick of his) uncovered his Sidbury
divisilobe (No. 65a) from the common leaves that hid it ; —
there they stood out, distinct among their fellows, just
like bits of china among earthenware — clearly enough
Nature's gentlemen — and we may be sure that it takes at
least three generations to make them such, for it can hardly
be credited that such forms start from the normal type.

Mr. Edwin Fox has drawn attention to the strong cedar
smell which is one of the pecularities of the acutilobes and
divisilobes puv sang.

'45

SOME TROUBLES OF AN AMATEUR.

At the time of writing (November) active growth among
the ferns has practically ceased. The fronds of the
deciduous sorts will soon be dying down, while the ever-
greens are settling down for the winter. I have been
taking a little stroll round my collection — mostly in pots —
and have been mentally reviewing the lessons I have
learnt from them this year.

Some of the ferns have done renaarkably well. For
instance, a Lady Fern, of the plumosum Drtiery persuasion,
has called forth praises from numerous visitors, while the
three-foot fronds of my " King of the Male Ferns " have
made at least two people vow to purchase plants for
next year.

And yet, in spite of such gratifying successes in culture,
there have been failures. Perhaps one is too exacting, but,
somehow, one-half of the collection has not done as well
as one would have liked. The majority of British ferns
are by no means hard to grow. " Of the easiest culture,"
is a frequent remark in the fern lists. Why, then, the
failures ?

Lack of ideal conditions one is inclined to put as the
chief cause. But there comes to mind the old proverb
about the unskilled workman always blaming his tools,
and so one does not care to press this point too much.
Yet the thought comes that if one had a nice little green-
house— not too sunny — and a nice little private wood with
a purling brook running through it, one would grow things
better.

On the whole, perhaps, one had better put most of the
lack of success down to "failure to profit by advice." I
have got all the numbers of the Fern Gazette from the
beginning ; I take in or see practically all the gardening
papers, and read all the fern articles in them. I have
corresponded with Mr. Draery till I feel sure his patience
is getting exhausted. In other words, I am not working

146

in the dark, but have the benefit of the advice of all
the experienced writers on fern matters. But, without
deliberately neglecting all this mass of information at my
disposal, I have had to learn things by bitter experience.
For instance, everyone knows that young fronds grow
towards the light, and that a fern can only be quite
symmetrical when the light com.es from above and from
all around the plant. When the plant is growing near a
window the light reaches it mainly from one direction,
and the fronds tend all to grow in that direction. How
often has Mr. Druery — and others, too — told us not to
try and make the fronds grow straight by giving the pot
a daily twist ? One has had to learn by experience,
however, that plastic operations of this sort are useless,
and that, after all, the only sensible thing to do is to keep
the pot strictly in one position the whole time. The stems
are, at least, fairly straight instead of being a nightmare
of zig-zags and corkscrews, as in the former case.

Watering, too, has caused many troubles, little and big.
I was on the point of saying that I had read all that has
been written on the subject of watering. At any rate, I
have read quite a lot. Yet one has had to learn by
experience how to avoid the pitfalls one is constantly
warned against. In any given collection of ferns the
individuals vary enormously in their water requirements.
A great deal depends upon such factors as the character
of the soil, size and thickness of pot, the relative amount
of soil and root, the season of the year — and even daily
changes of temperature — and the particular variety of fern,
and so on. The trouble is to know how to estimate the
relative importance of each factor in any given case. A
rock-loving fern naturally wants less moisture than one
that grows in bogs. A thick-fronded fern (such as
5. V. kcvatoidcs) does not droop as readily as a delicate
Lady Fern would, even under precisely the same condi-
tions. But however much one tries to bear these things

147

in mind, one has often to consider what may be called each
fern's individual " cussedness.'' Many an anxious moment,
for instance, have I been caused by my plant of S. v. cvispiuii
fimhriatnm. Over and over again have I had to give it first
aid in the shape of a good soak in tepid water, while a
healthy plant of A. f. f. supeybum percvistatum did not
require watering half as often, though grown under very
similar conditions. What the reason is I have not yet
found out, all I know is that that particular hart's-tongue
has given me more trouble than all the rest put together.

The prothalli, too, have given some trouble. It is fatal,
of course, to let them get dry, but I have found it easy to
keep them too wet. One starts with sterilised soil, but
by-and-by fungoid growth of varjous sorts make an
appearance. A certain amount of green does not seem to
matter much, but sometimes a kind of black slime appears
(the nature of which I would like to know). This slime is
certainly not good for the prothalli, and is very difficult to
get rid of. Transplanting on to fresh sterilised soil is not
always effective, as one usually cannot help transferring
some of the slime along with the prothalli.

A constant source of sadness to me is my lack of decent
tinds. Like other fern enthusiasts, one dreams of finding
some magnificent cvispum Hartstongue or a heavily
tasselled male Fern that will put existing forms to shame.
But somehow they don't come. I have spent holidays in
districts that are heavily ferned, and in which one feels
sure there must be something good. But so far a rather
ordinary vamose Hartstongue (which I have graciously
labelled S. v. vamosuin Rowlands !) and a crested Blechimm
(unfortunately not quite constant) are about all I can
claim to have found in the way of varieties. One is
inclined to talk of bad luck, l)ut I think there is a better
reason. I have found some very interesting flowers, and I
have paid a good deal of attention to ihe grasses, it is
not, therefore, that one has not the ability or the desire, to

148

see the ferns, but that one's attention is divided. Even
when one sets out to look for ferns and nothing but ferns,
one's eye is apt to be attracted by some bright colour or
by some unfamiliar flower. One has to pay for being a
general botanist by missing some things which would not
escape the pure Fern specialist.

I have more troubles still, but in spite of them all, each
season finds me more interested in the study of Ferns, and
having acquired the taste for them, I suppose I shall

never entirely lose my interest.

S. P. Rowlands.

FERN SPECIES AND VARIETIES.

Not long since I received from ]\Ir. G. Eraser, of
Ucluelet, British Columbia, three Ferns named with as
many distinct specific names, but which to my mind we-e
beyond all doubt merely different forms of Polypodiiun
vnlgare, from which they only differed in the forms of the
fronds. One of these I was able to match almost exactly
with a variety found by Mr. O'Kelly in Ireland, and called
P. r. macvostachya . In this form the lower part of the frond
is normally pinnate, but the upper half is suddenly
contracted and undivided so as to form a long, tapering
finial. The Canadian plant merely emphasized this, the
tapered finial being much longer, so as to form two-thirds
of the length of the frond, so far as the leafy portion was
concerned. In every other respect the plant was
Polypodium vnlgare pure and simple. The other two plants
differed from this, and from each other. One was a
slender-fronded type with long, narrow, serrulate pinnae,
and terminating with a pinna set on end to form the
finial, and the other had narrow, longish pinnae, and a
finial somewhat, but not nearly, approaching the one first
described. All three were characterized by the orange
coloured hemispherical sori and the creeping rhizome of
our P. vnlgare, so that in point of fact there was no real

149

specific difference suflicient to set them apart as other than'
merely varietal forms, and yet they had received separate
specific names.

This seems to me to constitute fair evidence that it is
a great mistake for the botanist to ignore, as he generally
does, the study of what mere variation can do to transform
one and the same species by simple " sporting " or
"mutation." A true species should present some other
character than mere diversity of type of frond. To take
Polypodiuui vulgave as an example, there have been found
in Great Britain scores of constant varieties, in which the
form of the frond is in some cases so diversified as lo
render the difference between them much greater than that
between recognised specific forms of the same genus.
They all, however, agree exactly in the type of rhizome and
the fructification when fertile, and that I think should
determine their rank as '' sports " of one and the same
species, and not different ones entitled to rank as separate
species. There are, however, converse cases. Thus,
for instance, we have the exotic Polysticlmiii setosuni, which
some botanists rank as a form of P. aculeatuui. Here on the
other hand we have a perfectly distinct species. It shows
a setose or bristly character, which is never seen in
P. aculeatuui despite its very variable character, and hence
to my mind it is justly entitled to specific rank. Put the
twa species side by side, and no one could confound the
two, so great is the difference in appearance of P. setosum
in width of frond, brighter colour, lucency of surface, and
above all, ths setose character which pervades it, and
gives it its specific name. It would be a good thing if
some of those botanists who devote their time to the study,
reform, and simplification of nomenclature, and on the
strength of the theory that the first name given should be
the one adhered to, are constantly digging such out from
ancient and often most unreliable records, thus adding
to the legion of useless synonyms which are the bugbear

I ^o

of all studious plant lovers, would instead study the
varietal side of Fern life and thus reduce, instead of
increasing, the multitude of specific misnomers. In
particular connection with British Ferns, if we consult the
old authorities who, as we fully recognise, did yeoman
service in the old days, we scarcely find a name which has
survived in the accumulation of wider knowledge which
inevitably followed further research. Ferns submitted
independently to a dozen different botanists, to whom they
were possibly new, received as many different names based
on different points of view as regards specific or generic
characters. Some of these being regarded as best fitted
have survived, and are generally recognised, but un-
happily when we consult foreign literature relating to
identically the same plant, we find recognition is on
different lines from ours. Thus, in America our Lastreas
or Nephvoditims figure as Dvyoptevis^ and the Lady Fern
Athyviiim as Asplenkun, which is one of the most ridiculous
allocations possible, as it ignores all the specific
peculiarities of deciduousness, etc. in favour of a purely
fanciful resemblance in the sorus. To the allocation of
our Blechmim spicant to the Lomavia genus, by our Kew
Authorities, we have alluded frequently, but it appears to
be nobody's business to make corrections of this kind,
even when these identical authorities have determined the
difference between the genera and can satisfy themselves
of the error by a moment's investigation of material in their
charge.

Chas. T. Druery, V.r^I.H., b\L.S.

151

FERN NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

By W. RiCHTER Roberts.

Our Editor's earnest appeals for articles, notes, etc., in
each issue of the Gazette have emboldened me to write
these few notes on some fern rambles in Scotland during
the past year. I was travelling in Scotland from February
to the end of August and consequently these brief notes
will not refer to any particular district, and although, there-
fore, they may appear a little disjointed, it is hoped that
they may prove of interest to readers of the Gazette.

It was on a bleak Saturday afternoon in February when
I took my first ramble, and on a bare exposed wall quite
near Edinburgh I found my first ferns in Scotland. Here
in the crevices of the walls the little evergreen Wall Rue
and Maidenhair Spleenwoort shivered in the cold wind.

A week or two later, near Selkirk, I found remains of
magnificent specimens of Polystichum aculeatwii, Lastvea
f.m., Lastvea dilatata and Blechnum spicant. In some
instances the stout fronds were still intact, but in the
other cases the severe frosts and snowstorms had been too
much even for these hardy ferns.

Although, as far as possible, I kept a careful watch, it
was not until the end of April that I began to see the first
signs of the unrolling of the new fronds. I was walking
in the lanes in Falkirkshire and Blechnum spicant, Lastvea
f. m., Lastvea dilatata and Poly podium vidgave had all begun
to respond to the warm spring showers and sunshine. In
the early part of May, thanks to a week of warm weather,
the fronds were rapidly expanding. I was in Perthshire
and much enjoyed beautiful rambles near Glenfarg and
the Rumbling Bridge. Here among the other commoner
species Cystoptevis fvagilis and Aspleninm adiantum-nigviim
were plentiful. Fine specimens of Lastvea montana and
Athyvinm f.f. grew in profusion, but careful search failed to
reveal any interesting varieties.

During the remainder of May my travels were confined

152

to the east coast, which, h"ke our own east coast, is not
very rich in fern life.

Early in June I was in Sutherlandshire and had some
interesting rambles through the beautiful birch woods and
across the moors near Loch Shin and Loch Brora. Here
Polypodium phegoptevis and Lastvea montana were in great
profusion. Bhchmim spicant was in abundance on the
moors and along the little streams Lastvea f.vi., Lastvea
dilatata, and Athyv'mm f.f.^ assumed fine proportions.

Coming south as far as Forres in the middle of the
month Blechnum siricant was the most noticeable of the
ferns. I ;have never seen such fine ifertile fronds of this
species as in this locality. Along the famous banks of the
River Findhorn the delicate Polypodium dryoptevis grew
plentifully, carpeting the mossy floor of the woods with its
exquisite fronds.

A trip to Ullapool on the west coast gave me the
opportunity of seeing how much difference a wet humid
climate makes in the fern world. The conditions on the
West Coast of Scotland are very suitable for fern life.
Along the high clifl-like banks of the Ullapool River the
beautiful little Asplenmm vivide was found growing in
company with Cystoptevis fragilis, Aspleimuns, tvicliomanes and
aciiantum-nigvuni. Lastvea montana and Blechnum spicant
were plentiful on the moors, whilst the birch copses were
full of Polypodium phegoptevis, Lastvea f.m.^ Lastvea dilatata
and Athyvium f.f.

At the beginning of August, I spent some time in the
Isle of Skye. The weather was magnificent, and the
scenery is too well renowned for it to be necessary for me
to refer to it specially in these notes. On one of my
rambles I was delighted to find a beautiful specimen of
the rare Cystoptevis montana — a frond of which I sent to
INIr. Druery. It is a most delicate fern. In a cave by a
waterfall there was a patch of several square feet of
Ilymenophyllum unilatcrale spread like a carpet over the wet

153

slabs of rock. In several oilier places, too, this (ern was
plentiful. On the wet hillsides in the shade of the birches
the exquisite hay scented Lastvca oemnla was growing.

It was very interesting to note the effect of altitude on
the size of the ferns, as you ascended the mountains the
ferns became dwarfed in size in the same way as other
plants. Polypodimn phe^optevis and Lastvea montana were
species which illustrated this effect very markedly. At a
high altitude the specimens were often quite tiny.

Near Portree Ophioglossum vidgatum and Boivychium
Lttnaria grow plentifully, but they had died down when I
was there. Returning to Dingwall I came across a lane
bordered with high hedges and very shady. Along the
hedgebanks Polypodium vulgare was growing in great
profusion, some of the fronds being of magnificent size.

My travels in Scotland were now rapidly drawing to a
close, and there only remain two other ramables to
specially recall. One was a walk from Dunkeld along
the valley of the Tay. Here Polypodium dvyoptevis was
most lovely. There was a veritable carpet of fronds right
through the birch woods, and it was even growing out of
the crevices of the stone dykes along the waysides. The
other ramble was along the cliffs between Aberdeen and
Stonehaven. Here I found Asplenium mavinum, and was
fortunate enough to secure a pleasing little variety of this
species which at present is under Mr. Druery's care.
The pinnae are very deeply serrated on the upper edge,
whilst the lower edge curves upwards from the rachis. It
is a very small plant, but it gives promise of developing
into an interesting sport.*

■•' This plant is as yet too small to determine the species with
certainty. It is. however, not marinum, but may be a form of
A. lanccolatum^ which, might be expected to turn up in such a locality.
In the young state it promises to be a very foliose and pretty variety,
but, as in other ca;es, we must "Wait and see." Apart from
Mr. Roberts' Scotch rambles, we may remind our members that it
was he who found P. v. Kohcrtsii as a tiny plant on a dry hedge bank

154

In conclusion I would recommend the West Coast of
Scotland to all Fern lovers as a locality worthy of a
visit, as I feel convinced that there is a lot of interesting
things to be found in many of the less frequented moors
and mountains.

NEW FERNS.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE CrISPUM FiMBRIATUM

Walton.

Our member, Mr. J. W. Walton, has kindly sent us a
plant which he has raised from the Cropper section, and
which is so beautifully and deeply frilled and fringed, and
is so wide in the frond, that we have considered it worthy
of a special name. It is decidedly the best form of the
section that we have seen.

P. VULGARE SeMILACERUM CrISPATUM.

From our member, Mr. W. Bell, we have received
fronds of two finds of his of P. vulgar e, one of which,
found by him near Ulverston, in September, 1910, has
bold-growing fronds of a well developed semilacevum type,
bat distinguished by being markedly crispy and with long
basal pinnai, rendering it almost deltoid. The colour is a
dark green, and though the plant is now robust and healthy,
so far it has remained perfectly barren. The other form
was found at Furness Abbey, in 191 1, and is a very well
marked form of scmilaceviun, with very broad bi- pinnate
fronds with pinna? two inches or more wide. This is
boldly fertile, and in this respect emphasises the barrenness
of the first described form, as the two have been grown on
under precisely the same conditions.

near Barnstaple a few years ago. This has developed into a finely
dissected form on the lines of Cornubiense, but so far without that
terrible tendency to revert which mars that beautiful variety. Scores
of fronds have been produced all true to type, so that its constancy
may now be fairly considered as established. Editor.

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES ''

By Charles T. Druevy, VM.H., F.L.S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuib
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net; in half morocco, gilt,
los. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

CRESTED NATIVE FERNS,

BEAUTIFUL VARIETIES.

LIST iA.

" Fern Culture," 1/1^.

ASKEW'S FERNERY,

GRANGE, KESWICK.

FERNS.

* * *

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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

^ ~ ^

StODC. 6rcciiDou$c, ana oiDcr Plants
« • .arc also lardclp drown. . . .

* * *

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants oan be had post free
upon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 19.

. . . ^be . . .

iBa3ette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

fIDaicb, 1914.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V,M.H., F.L.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druety, ii, Slwa Road, Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

MARCH, 1914.

No. 19.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (Scol. v. Drummondiae superbum)

New Ferns Up to Date ..

Notes on some Rare Ferns (A. Cowan)

Fern Notes from Derbyshire (W. R, Roberts)

Odr Native Polypodies (continued)

My Native Ferns (Rev. Kingsroill Moore)

The Bracken as a Mimetic Fern (C. B. Green)

Odr Native Shield Ferns

New Ferns

PAGE

155

156

157

163

166

168

175

iSo

182

185

EDITORIAL NOTES.

The Editor must start this time with a cordial vote of
thanks to those members who in this number have re-
sponded so liberally to his prayer for assistance as to enable
him to produce an increased number of pages plus the
improvement which naturally results from contributions
from many brains in lieu of mainly one. Leaving these
contributions to speak for themselves, he hopes for a con-
tinuance of such aid ; and asks the members in addition ta
do him the further service of canvassing their fern-loving
friends on behalf of the Society so that more funds may be
available for still further extension of the Gazette and
membership of the Society.

The " Gazette " stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will alv/ays be
sent on receipt of application from possible members^
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the "Gazette" and

X

156

all the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1913-14 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date- to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

♦ The Hon. Secretary would take it as a kindness if such remittance
be made at once, as it fell due in August last.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULG. DRUMMONDIiE SUPERBUM.

By the kindness of our member Mr. C. B. Green we are
enabled to reproduce a very good photograph of this
remarkable Hartstongue, representing a plant he has grown
on from a small piece of the original given to him some
years ago by the writer. The variety, as will be seen, is
peculiar in not only having the fronds beautifully frilled
and fringed, but also with their midribs curiously curved
again and again switchback fashion, while the terminals
are branch crested. Added to all this the fringes possess
the unusual faculty of forming prothalli at their tips
(apospory), which reproduce more or less truly the parental
type. This plant, indeed, was itself so produced from the
original find of S. v. crispum DrnmniondicB, found wild many
years ago near Falmouth, and it was upon this wild plant
that apospory was first discovered in the species by the
Editor. This original plant, however, produces plain
fronds, without fringes as well as fringed ones, the other
characters however persisting, and the variety illustrated
occurred in a batch of small aposporously produced plants
given to the writer by Mr. H. Bolton of Warton. All the
fronds are fringed and aposporous, but it has so far inherited

157

the parental tendency, so to speak, *' to forget the frills,"
that we once raised two plants from one and the same
frond base, one of which was a quite plain crispum of the
common type, the other a true " superbum," It ranks, in
our experience, as a somewhat difficult Fern to grow, but
it is clear from the photo, that given the requisite skill,
care, and good environment it will display its character
as one of the " uniques."

NEW FERNS UP TO DATE.

In each issue of the Gazette since its commencement
the "New Ferns" which have been brought to the
Editor's notice have been recorded and described, but as
this implies a scattering over now a considerable amount
of space, we have thought it well to bring them together
in order to enable our readers to form a definite idea of
what has been done in this most important branch of the
cult. To simplify this we have classified such finds or
acquisitions by spore sowing under their specific heads,
and should be glad, if any omissions are noted, to be
informed of same with the requisite particulars. We may
mention in this connection that we have only chronicled
such as in our opinion are definite gains in the way of
that novelty or improvement which it is the main object
of the Society to stimulate and direct. To save space we
have in some cases merely given a reference to the Gazette
containing the full particulars relating to the fern con-
cerned. Editor.

Athyrium filix foemina.

A.f.f. Kalothvix cvistattim. Raised by C. T. Druery.
(No. I, p. 24.)

A.f.j. congestnm cvistatum While. Raised by W. L. Salusbury
While. Parent, unknown. An enlarged edition of A .f.f,
congestnm minus, twice the size. (No. 17, p. 125.)

158

A.f.f. congcstuni minus fimhriatum. H. B. May. (No. 5,

p. 120.)
„ ,, „ ,, cristatnm. H. B. May.

(No. 5, p. 120.)
A.f.f. spinosiim. Raised by H. Stansfield of Sale. Ex-
currens type, but with inch-long points. (No. 6, p. 142.)

ASPLENIUM TRICHOMANES.

Asp. tv. inciso-cvispinn Clementii. (No. 4, p. 75 and
Frontispiece.)

Cystopteris fragilis.
C./. sempevvirens. An evergreen form of the species. (No.

4, pp. 79 and 80.)
C.f. sempevvirens pYoliJeva. (No. 10, p. 248.)

Lastrea filix mas.

L.f. m. Bavnesiicrispa cvistata. H. B. May. (No. 5, p. 120.)

L. f. ni. plumosa Druevy. Found at Closeburn, Dumfries.

Very foliose and when found entirely barren, but has

produced a few spores under cultivation. (No. 13, p. 24.)

L. PSEUDO MAS.

L.p. in. pendens. Found near Totness by C. T. Druery.
A splendid and huge plant, with pendulous pinnae on
gracefully curved fronds. Left in situ in private
ground, a small division only being taken. (No. 17,
p. 125.)

L. montana plumosa Stansfield. Found by Dr. F. W. Stans-
field in Wales. By far the finest plumose form of the
species yet discovered. (No. 2, p. 26, and Frontispiece.)
Mr. Cowan has raised some very good crested forms of
this species, much on the line of Mr. Barnes grandiceps
forms, ramo ccvonans and others, vamose and branch
crested.

Blechnum spicant.

B. s. concinnum. An exact replica of B. s. concinnum
Dvucvy. Sent by ]\Ir. W. A. Barker. Found by Mr.
W. Lancaster of Backbarrow in that vicinity in 1909.

159

Fronds very narrow, like strings of scallop shells, with
round serrate pinncC. (No. 8, pp. 174 and 187.)
B. s. seyvaUim Smithies. Found on Dartmoor, 1913, by Mr.
Smithies. (No. 17, p. 109.)

B. s. vevolvens. Found by C. T. Druery near Barnstaple,

191 1. Fronds revolute and curved. A thoroughbred
and new form in the species.

Ceterach officinarum.

C. V. vamo-cvistaUim Kivhy. Found by Mr. A. Kirby in
Wales in 191 2. Very fine robust ramo-cvistate form,
excelling in our opinion any of the several crested Irish
finds. (No. 14, p. 50.)

POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM.

P. ac. gvacillimiim Dviievy. (See Frontispiece. No. i, pp.

3 and 24, No. 3, p. 50, No. 10, p. 226, and elsewhere.)
P. ac. phunosum Green. (See Frontispiece. No. 3, p. 50.)
P. amleatum vevolvens. Found at Aberfeldy by Mrs.
Ritchie, and discovered eventually in her garden in
Aberfeldy by C. T. Druery. A thoroughbred robust
fern with tubular fronds, new in this species. (No. 13,

P- 24-)
P. aculeatmn cvnciato-capitatnni. This is an unique cruciate

form received some 20 years ago from Col. A. M.

Jones, by our member Mrs. E. J. Thatcher. The

majority of the pinnae are in duplicate and the

terminal of the frond is several times divided, forming

an irregular crest. (No. 6, p. 103.)

P. aculeatuni ramo-pinnatuni angnstatum Adkin. (No. 6,
p. 142.)

P. acnlcatuni densuni. A very dense and robust form,
discovered by Mr. Cranfield in a nursery at Barn-
staple ; found some years previously near Holsworthy.

P. ANGULARE.

P. anguJave acutilobum Rugmanni. Found about 1908 by
Mr. J. C. Rugman ; a very distinct pvoliferum form.
(No. 8, p. 189.)

i6o

P. ang. cristatum Hawkins. Found by the Rev. E. H.

Hawkins in Co. Cork about 1905. Very well crested

at all terminals and with finely toothed pinnules, akin

to those of the pevcristatnm section but not crested.

(No. I, p. 24, No. 10, pp. 247, 248.)
P. ang. phimosisshmwi pelhicidiim. One of a batch raised by

H. Stansfield of Sale, and strongly resembling P. ang.

pUimosissimiim Birkenhead, but even more delicately

fashioned. (No. 12, pp. 294-6.)
P. ang. capitatum Walpole. Found in Queen's County,

Ireland. A very heavily crested form with, as is usual

with the ** capitate" section, only very minute crests

to the pinnae. (No. 17, p. 123.)
P. ang, covymhifenim Walton. Raised by Mr. J. Walton.

Very fine, with dense, heavy, round, terminal crest to

fronds and fine well-developed ones to the pinnae.
P. ang. tvipinnatum falcatiim Walton. Raised. Bold

grower, thrice divided, and with lower pinnules markedly

falcate.
P. ang. foHosuni Walton. Raised. A fine foliose form.
P. ang. byachiatnm cvistatuni Walton. Raised. Distinctly

brachiate, but different in make from previously known

" brachiatums."

N.B. — The last four, see No. 17, p. 125, are selections

from a large number of very fine Polystichums raised by
Mr. Walton.

P. angulave plumosuni ramnlosissimum R. Bolton. Raised
from a mixed sowing and pedigree untraceable. A
most remarkable plumose form and very beautiful. We
give an illustration of a single pinna with a normal
pinna to show extreme difference. The sub-divisions
are very slender and ramify persistently and so exten-
sively that the frond resembles a mass of moss on the
finest plumose lines. The frond tip is undivided. The
plant is profusely bulbiferous almost to the top and
produces bulbils even on the secondary stopes of the

A pinna only of P. ang. plumosum ramulosissimiim R. Bolton, with a normal pinna

to shew the wonderful extent of the varietal developments by comparison.

(Reproduced by permission of the Editor of the Gardeners' Chronicle, who kindly

supplied the block.)

l62

pinnules. In the same batch of youngsters there were
several forms akin to this, but none to equal it in
development of the ramifying character. See article in
,. this number on our Native Shield Ferns.

POLYPODIUM VULGARE.

p. V. Rohertsii. W. Richter Roberts. Found 19 to near
Barnstaple as a small plant, which has developed into a
very fine form, exactly like the intermediate dissected
type of plant P. v. covmihiense but constant, not partially
reverting to normal as that form invariably does, and
hence obviously a quite independent and improved
sport. (No. 18, p. 153.)

P. V. semilaceviim crispatuni. Found at Furness Abbey by
Mr. W. Bell, igio. An almost deltoid form, very dark
green and apparently constantly barren. Markedly
cvispate. (No. 18, p. 154.)

P. V. semilacenim falcatum 0' Kelly. Found by Mr. O'Kelly,
Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare. Pinnae divided, with blunt
points, and of a distinctly falcate type, different from
any other variety. (Frontispiece to No. 17.)

P. V. elegantisshmim grandiceps Cowan. A very heavily
crested form of cornnhiense raised by Mr. Alex. Cowan,
of Penicuik. Quite distinct and very handsome. See
his notes in this issue.

P. V. deltoideum. Found by the Rev. Kingsmill Moore, in
Ireland. A constant form, with regular broad based
triangular fronds of true deltoideum type.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE.

5". V. sagittato-grandiceps. (See Frontispiece, Sept., 191 3.)

S. V. vadiosoviim Dvuevy. Found near Totness. Fronds
round-ended, sori ranged semi-circularly like hours of
clock. (No. 17, p. 109.)

S. V. vanio-cristatum Tuchevii. Broadly normal fronds two-
thirds of length, then suddenly contracted to form a

i63

narrow neck, whence springs a fanshaped thoroughly-

ramo-marginate crest of many narrow segments. Fronds

recently received confirm its constancy to the type.
Scol. V. cvispum fimhviatwn Bolton. Raised by H. Bolton.

Well crisped and fimbriate fronds, branching from the

base into usually distinct and separately stalked fronds,

each bearmg a well-developed bunch crest. Erect

habit and robust.
5. V. cvispnm gvande Hawkins. Found by Mr. R. Hawkins,

brother of the Rev. E. H. Hawkins, in Co. Cork.

Resembles S. v. c. gvande Wells, but surface of fronds

slightly roughened like 5. v. c. divevsifvons Jones.

(No. 8, p. i88.)
5. V. concavO'Capitatum. Found in Co. Cork by the Rev.

Kingsmill Moore. Fronds concave and heavily crested.

(No. 14, p. 49.)
5. V. crisptun nohile Bolton. Found at Carnforth, and

undoubtedly the most robust form yet discovered.

(No. 14, p. 50 and No. 14, p. 49 and Frontispiece.)
5. V. vamosiun. Found by Mr. G. B. Fairbrother in West

Cork. Every frond is symmetrically divided into three

(Rev. H. K. Moore). (No. 17, p. 123.)
5. V. cr i splint finihfiatuni Walton. Raised by Mr. J. Walton

from the fimbriate section originated by Stansfield,

some of which became subsequently imputed to

Cropper, who raised some very fine forms therefrom.

Walton's is the widest and most foliose form we have

seen. (No. 18, p. 154.)

NOTES ON SOME RARE FERNS.

By Alex. Cowan, President B. P. S.

The Editor has asked me to write a short article on and
give a list of the ferns I have found and raised since the
starting of the " Gazette," so, though I possess no literary
gifts, I feel it my duty as President of the Society to do
the best I can and so show a good example to the many

164

members who have not as yet contributed their maiden
speech, or rather article, to the pages of the " Gazette." One
reason that makes my task easy is that the hst is a short
one, though it contains one or two ferns that I think I may
claim to be unique or that are, as far as my present
knowledge goes, unrecorded in the " Gazette." I will first
describe my finds. One is an Asp. trich. found by me in
Northern Italy, near Lake Maggiore, in igi2, a robust
grower with pinnules half an inch long and deeply serrated
and inclined to be foliose. Spores have been sown and are
now in the prothallus state, and I am hopeful something on
the lines of incisum may result. The fern is copiously
soriferous, as a frond I now send to the Editor shows. I
have not yet had time to submit the plant to a meeting of
the Society, but hope to do so next August, as well as to
show Asp. trich. variegatnm, found by me last November,
also in Italy, this time among the Alps. The fronds are
beautifully spotted with yellow variegation, and the fern was
most conspicuous when seen growing among its normally
coloured companions. I send a frond of it also for the
Editor's criticism. In this neighbourhood A. Septetitvionale
was common and A. Germanicnm frequently met with, as
well as Polypodmm vulgar e^ which grew everywhere, I found
several very curious forms which I trust may remain
constant in cultivation ; but time alone will tell. I also
found at the same time a polydacLylous form of A.
trichonianes, some of the fronds have as many as six points
to them, and my hostess found a similar form earlier in the
year which she has kindly given to me. The only fern
hunting, besides this, that I did last year was in the Fort
William district in the end of July. I saw there one day
masses of Pseud, alp. flexile and brought home one or two
curious forms to try in my garden. I also found a clump
of Lastrea montana, laciniate all over, on the lines of
Nowelliana, not a beauty by any means, but worth a trial,
as I am particularly fond of this fern, seeing it does so very

i65

well with me. I also found several plants of Lastvea dilatata
alpina with very crispy congested pinnae, very similar to a
form already named "fastigiata" at one of the annual
meetings, which plant was found and given to me by my
late friend, F. C. Crawford. The only other find I have to
record is L. montana vaviegata found when fern hunting
with Dr. Stansfield in this neighbourhood three or four years
ago, and which has kept true ever since I have had it in
cultivation. It is not, however, a strong grower, as most
montanas are with me. This list exhausts, I think, my
" finds " worth recording, though I may have missed a few
which can, however, be added later. The following ferns
I have raised from spores, one or two of which were shown
and named at the meeting in 1912 : —

Polypodium vulgave elegantissimum gvandiceps Cowan, so
named by the Society, originated here in a sowing of
Polypodium spores, but I cannot say whence they came. It
has been very characteristic this last season, and I have a
large crop of seedlings recently picked out for growing on.

Lastvea dilatata cvispa vaviegata Cowan also originated here
as a chance seedling among mixed spores of L. dilatata. It
keeps perfectly true year by year and is apparently a
thoroughbred, though I doubt if its spores would yield
variegated offspring.

Lastvea f. m. vaviegata also originated here. It appeared
on a pot and was most conspicuous, or " kenspeckle " as
we say in Scotland, even as a tiny seedling, owing to its
yellow colour. It unfortunately is a miffy grower, owing,
probably, to a want of chlorophyll.

Ath, ff. congesttim setigevum Cowan is one of the prettiest
and most distinct things I have raised. It is now some years
since I showed it at a meeting of the Society. It was not
so good as usual this summer, owing to the abnormally long
spell of dry weather we experienced here.

A fern I am very proud of and which I think is unique
is L. montana congesta cvistata, evidently a cross between

i66

L, m. congesta and one of the numerous crested forms. It is a
very neat form only some eight inches high, and it will
always be a dwarf I think, as it now bears spores freely.
It originated here from mixed spores kindly given to me by
Mr. Whitwell, as did also L. ni. simplex fuvcans, certainly
not a beauty but an interesting freak, and worth a place in
a large collection. The pinna are narrow and in most cases
perfectly plain like those of Polypodiurn vulgare and forked
at the tips as is also the apex of the frond. Another
interesting form from the same sowing has perfectly
upright fronds about a toot high with bunch shaped crests
at the apex ; the pinnae which are similarly crested, are
not more than half an inch long. This form is on the lines
of ramo coronans, but is altogether built on a smaller scale.
I am afraid the withered fronds I send of this fern and of
L. m. congesta cvistata will give the Editor but a poor idea
of what they look like in growth. I have raised a very nice
Polystichum angidave of which I have sent a frond to the
Editor, and which he will, perhaps, describe and name. The
above ferns are all I can think of as worth mentioning at
present.

FERN NOTES FROM DERBYSHIRE.
By W. Richter Roberts.

In October, 191 1, I spent a short holiday at Bakewell,
and had many pleasant rambles in the surrounding
country. Having recently spent a fortnight at Ashbourne,
in the south-western corner of Derbyshire and quite near
the famous Dovedale, I thought perhaps some jottings
from my records might prove of interest.

The most noticeable feature of the fern life of the
district referred to is the wonderful profusion of the
Asplenmm rnta muvaria. I have not seen elsewhere such
vast quantities of this pretty little fern. Many of the

i67

walls are almost covered with little tufts of fronds, and the
plants grow to a very line size. It would appear that
the climatic conditions and the numerous stone walls are
very favourable to this species.

The Cystoptcvis fvagilis is also abundant, and is found
growing very often with or in similar positions to
Asphnium rnta muvavia. It is very delicate and has a great
charm in the beauty of its finely divided fronds.

It seems curious that with such a wealth of Asphnium
Y. m. and Cystoptcvis f. , tha.t such ferns as Aspleninm adianttim-
nigrum and Aspleninm ceterach should be comparatively
rare in the district — at least such has been my experience.
I remember finding only one plant of Aspleninm cetevach
and have found not more than half a dozen plants of
Aspleninm a. n. Curiously enough oi Aspleninm trichomanesj
however, there seems to be a fair amount.

The larger species, such as Lastveaf. vi., Lastvea dilatataj
Ptevis aq., Polypodinm v., Scolopendvinm v. and Athyvinm
f.f., are all abundant.

It is pitiful, however, to see how places much resorted to
by the public are being despoiled. If, for instance, a walk
is taken through the famous Dovedale it will be noticed,
readily, that ferns along the public footpath side are few,
whilst on the opposite side of the River Dove, which is
private, the fern life on the banks and rocks flourishes
and many magnificent specimens of the larger ferns may
be seen. It seems a great pity that the fern life of such a
romantic spot should be so ruthlessly uprooted.

The Lastvea montana does not appear to grow in great
abundance, but on one hillside I noticed a fine colony of
beautiful plants, and no doubt others exist.

The Polystichum aculeatum is also frequent, but the fern
does not seem to grow to such fine proportions as in other
parts. I did not come across a single specimen of the
Blechnum spicant, which is said to grow in the woods.

The study of fern life from the point of view of the

1 68

distribution of the species affords considerable interest,
and it seems difficult to understand why some species
thrive and others are almost absent, especially in places
where the general conditions are quite favourable to fern
life.

OUR NATIVE POLYPODIES {continued)-

So much for the purely normal side of P. vnlgare, which,
however, simple as it is in appearance, has afforded some
of the most remarkable and beautiful " sports " among our
British kinds, nearly all of which have been picked up as
isolated specimens of their kind among masses of the
common form from which undoubtedly in some occult
fashion they have sprung. Minor forms of variation are
common enough, and anyone of an observant turn will
very soon find that even the common type is not always
the same in different districts. In some places the fronds
everywhere finish up with a sort of undivided tail, while a
mile or two further, they will taper gradually with shorter
pinnae to the top. Then, too, he will find a stretch of
plants in which many of the side divisions will fork more
or less irregularly, and so on, while in some parts of
Wales, the smooth edges of the side divisions are apt to
break up into secondary ones, and even become plumose
or feathery. P. v, vav. camhrictim may then be recorded as
found again, and the finder may literally put a feather in
his cap, for the form is a lovely one, and feathery indeed.
Some seventy-five distinct varieties are recorded, only ten
of which are due to select culture. The forms include a
number of beautifully tasselled varieties, as well as various
plumose and curious ones, among the best of which we
may name P. v. hifido-cvistatiun^ cvistatnni^ Fosteri, glomeva-
twn, grandiceps Fox, grandiccps Parker, and rainosum Hillman,

■'■'• By permission of the Gardeners^ Magazine.

169

as embracing the finest tasselled and branched varieties,
all are handsome and bold growing.

The finest plumose or feathery forms are P. v. caiiihricjim,
Prestonij a denser and finer form of same, Bavvowii,
Hadwinii, and pidchervinmm. The more divided or finely
cut are P. v. cornubiense, Fowleri, and trichomanoides, while
Mr. Clapham by a successful cross, obtained Claphami, a
tasselled form of cornubiense.

There is a distinct series of very robust-growing forms,
with deeply cut divisions. Among these we may cite
semilacevum grande, a most extraordinary form, with almost
round fronds, so much are the side divisions expanded,
omnilaceYitm and semilacerum.

As already indicated, the culture of this fern is easy
enough. All it needs is plenty of loose leaf-mould in
which to wander. We have found it easy to produce
ornamental specimens by attaching the rhizomes to the
surface of large suspended blocks of brown fibrous peat
(not the close black stuff), into which they speedily root,
provided, of course, that they are kept moist, especially
until the roots have penetrated the block, and the plants
are well established. Suspended thus, the plants seem at
home, and very soon push out a number of fronds, and
form a pretty enough object even if the common fern be
used, while if P. v. camhvicum or a few of the other varieties
named be installed instead, so much the more is the
eventual result enhanced.

It is not an easy fern to raise from spores, but we have
succeeded by sowing them upon little lumps of scalded
peat. Perfect drainage is very essential in all stages of
culture. If planted in pots, the rhizome must be only just
covered, and that with loose leaf-mould, through which the
rising fronds can easily push their w^ay. In a rockery a
special station must be made, as the least stiffness in the
soil is inimical to it. In these cases, as in all others, if we
only keep well in our minds the positions and conditions

170

in which and under which w^e find the plants growing
naturally, we have an infallible guide for their treatment
under culture.

All the varieties are as hardy as the species, i.e. perfectly
so. They like plenty of light and air, but to permit the
attainment of their full beauty they must not be exposed to
wind nor overmuch to sunshine.

The other members of the family are P. dryoptevis (the
Oak Fern), P. phegoptevis (the Beech Fern), and P. calcaveum
(the Limestone Polypody). The common names of the
first two are simply translations of the botanical ones,
which are not only Greek to us linguistically, but also in
their application, since, so far as we are aware they are
neither descriptive of the plant themselves in any respect,
nor do the trees in question form their habitats, as, unlike
P. vttlgave, they do not grow on trees at all. The Oak Fern
(P. dvyopteyis), has a thin creeping rhizome, no thicker than
a knitting needle. This forms dense massed growths on
sloping banks and among the cracks and crevices of
weathered rocks. Its delicate fronds are provided with
long, thin, brittle stalks, and two unfailing characters by
which the species may be distinguished are — First, that
the fronds when just about to unroll resemble exactly a
pawnbroker's sign, the three embryo divisions of the
triangular twice-divided frond forming three distinct stalked
balls, while in P. calcaveumj which closely resembles it, the
three divisions unroll as they part ; the second point of
discrimination is that where the leafy portion begins the
stalk is perceptibly bent backwards at an angle. The
chief characteristic of this lovely little fern is, however, its
indescribable moonshiny-green colour, which is quite
peculiar to it. Its culture is of the simplest. Plenty of
leaf-mould and sand mixed with some lumps of loam and
freestone form the most congenial compost, and a handful
of its rhizome just buried therein will speedily send up its
delicate fronds by the score, and form one of the prettiest

171

objects the vegetable world can produce. It has yielded
no variety, and as it could hardly surpass itself we will not
grumble. In a rockery it only needs introduction and it
will take care of itself. Wind, however, will ruin its
appearance very speedily. Plenty of light but no direct
sun, or the fronds are apt to lose their colour.

The Limestone Polypody (P. calcaveitin) is the closest ally
to the Oak Fern, and only differs from it in minor details.
In colour it is not so delicate, having a powdered look and
a darker hue ; the stalk is straight and the plant generally
of robuster habit. Culture precisely the same, but it
benefits by an addition of limestone, upon which it is
usually found growing. It does well, however, without
it.

The Beech Fern (P. phegoptevis) resembles the Oak also
in its habitats and habits, but thrives under moister
conditions, frequently dying out where its apparently more
delicate relation holds its own. The shape of the frond is,
however, very different, resembling more P. viilgave, but
with twice-divided fronds, the two lowest divisions of
which turn abruptly downward, by which feature it may
be infallibly recognized. It is of a deHcate green colour
and fragile make, and makes a pretty companion for the
others, with like culture. It has, apparently, not been
quite so self-satisfied as its near relatives, and hence has
afforded a few varieties. P. p. multifidum is a slightly -
crested form, and a recent find, called provisionally
lacevatum, has finely cut edges, somewhat like P. v. camhvi-
ctim. It remains, however, to be seen if it be permanent.

Of the four species only one (P. vulgare) is evergreen, the
others are quite deciduous, disappearing entirely in the late
autumn, but rising and developing with great rapidity in
April. The camhvicnm forms, however, rise much later,
often not until July. They must be kept moist through
the winter, as in their native homes they are generally
soaking when not frozen hard.

1/2

In connection with this article we reproduce a descrip-
tion of Mr. Henwood's Collection, as follows : —

Variation in the Common Polypody.

Although naturally, as an ardent student of our British
Fern varieties for more than thirty years, I have seen many
collections in which the above species in its numerous
varietal forms has been well grown, and the particular
character of each has been well developed, a recent visit to
two collections — viz. those of Mr. T. E. Henwood and of
Dr. F. W. Stansfield, both of Reading — have literally
astounded me as to the capacity of development which
may be induced by perfect culture of this species.

As a rule, we find the varieties or " sports " accommo-
dated in pots or shallow pans, but in both these collections
they are growing in beds protected, in the case of Dr.
Stansfield, by a large ordinary frame, and in that of
Mr. Henwood by a greenhouse. In both practically all
the varieties of value were present, and growing with such
luxuriance that the fronds not only formed bushes, but
where, under pot or pan culture, they are rarely more than
a foot high, here, in many cases, they were double that
length, or even more, while the division and subdivision of
the divided and plumose varieties were carried to an extent
which I have never witnessed elsewhere.

To deal with Mr. Henwood's collection as permitting of
a more comprehensive and effective view than that
obtainable under frame culture, I found it installed in a
wide bed extending along the whole side of the greenhouse.
The soil was deep, and composed of an admixture of
friable loam and leaf-mould, the latter largely predomina-
ting, so that the compost was very free and open, thus
permitting the travelling rhizomes of the species to
penetrate deeply and travel freely. Each specimen or
variety had obviously been planted sufficiently far apart to
prevent, at any rate for some time, any crowding or

^7?>

competition between them. The salutary effect of this,
and of the loose compost itself, was evidenced by the
immense size of the fronds to which I have alluded
(P. V. omnilacevnm, Oxford, being by actual measurement
30 inches, surely a record for the species), while the ample
light afforded by the clear glass, only shaded when
necessary from burning sunshine, prevented them from
being drawn up and consequently assuming a decumbent
habit foreign to the species in most of its varietal forms.

Seeing such results, the question to the would-be
cultivator is, What is the secret of such success ? The
answer lies not merely within the greenhouse itself in
which it is exemplified, but also in the garden in which it
exists. Here are not only Ferns but also many flowers,
and these the expert horticulturist recognises at once as
all of the best and choicest species and forms. Not a trace
of weeds appears, the soil everywhere is obviously rich,
and the plants in it are expertly and evidently liberally
treated, and kept in such order as enables them to display
their flowers to the best advantage. I also noticed, inside
the greenhouse, that a peculiarly congenial moisture
pervades not merely the soil but the atmosphere by
frequent flooding of the paths, the benefit of which is
shown also by a twin bed on the right-hand side filled
with magnificent specimens of the Hartstongue varieties,
which do their best to rival their opposite neighbours,
which form our special theme. Above all, there struck
me, as a contrast to many collections I have seen, the
absence of any traces of insect depredation or defilement,
due undoubtedly to constant watchfulness and the imme-
diate use of insecticides should traces of such pests present
themselves.

I am indebted to Mr. Henwood (of carnation and
auricula renown) for the appended list of varieties, which
show how greatly the common species of the hedge-rows,
old walls, and trees, has contributed by " sports " to the

174

elite of our handsome British Fern varieties, all but a very
few being the original form as found wild, the species thus
owing little to selective culture. In conclusion, I would
point out that the species in question is perfectly ever-
green, the fronds remaining fresh and verdant until the
next growing season. Curiously enough, though the
normal species and many of its varieties rise fairly early in
the season, all the plumose or " cambricum " section
defer rising, as a rule, until July, when they resume
growth rapidly at a time when most of our native species
are fully developed, thereby extending the interesting
season materially.

List of Varieties.

Polypodium vulgare cambricum (old form), P.v.c.
Barrowi, P.v.c. Hadwini, P.v.c. Prestoni, P.v.c. Oakleyae,
P.v. pulcherrimum, P. v. omnilacerum, Oxford variety,
very fine (30 inches), P.v. grandiceps Parker, P.v.g. Fox,
P.v.g. Forster, P.v. cristatum, P.v. multifido-grandiceps,
P.v. cornubiense (elegantissimum), P.v.c. Clapham, P.v.c.
trichomanoides, P.v.c. Hutchinsoni, P.v.c. Lyelli, P.v c.
grandiceps Cowan, P.v. semilacerum falcatum O'Kelly,
P.v.s. O'Kelly, P.v.s. undulatum, P.v.s, robustum, P.v.s.
T. Bolton, P.v. macrostachyon O'Kelly, P.v. serrato-
caudatum O'Kelly, P.v. acuto-serratum O'Kelly, and
several other distinct varieties.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

1/5

MY NATIVE FERNS.

Nothing but loyalty to the Editor could have induced
me to undertake this paper. His signal example, in filling
the pages of our Gazette with matter so valuable and
interesting ought to constrain others to follow as best
they can. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about
my collection ; but I went about it in obedience to the
Editor's wish, and in the hope that others, with better
reasons for venturing upon publicity, may be induced to
do the same.

In childhood I learned the principal species from my
mother, but my real interest began in Oxford days, when
the necessity for a rest drove me into the fields and woods.
The part of the County Cork in which I lived provided
ferns in plenty, but there were no ' pteridologists ' at hand,
and I had to do all the work of discovery unhelped.
Often I was sorely puzzled, as I sometimes am still, by
the different appearance which ferns present at different
ages, and different stages of development. There were,
however, compensations : the necessity of depending on
oneself bred the habit of examining everything that met
the eye, and thus provided a useful training.

Some years passed before the possibility of making a
collection recurred ; changing work and houses in towns
do not favour horticulture. But when I settled ' in the
nineties' into my present home, in the County Dublin, I
was not long before beginning afresh. Here there has
been much to help. The lovers of native ferns, if not
numerous, are enthusiastic, and membership of the
Pteridological Society is a constant source of inspiration.
In particular I should like to acknowledge what I owe to
Mr. Stansfield. His catalogue when first it reached me
was a revelation, and from him I have acquired most of
my finest specimens.

But it is time we got into the ferneries. Cedar Mount

1/6

is not a large place, but somehow it lends itself to sites
for ferns. The fact is that ferns flourish when nothing
else will grow, damp corners and cold, with aspects north
and east, here you can have them to perfection — if only
the necessary shelter be there. My oldest fernery is
formed with the, help of the areas on the north-east and
north-west sides of the house ; protection is afforded by
valley-like cuttings from the ground level to the area
level, and the ferns ask little more. From a bridge over
one of these valleys we look down on an exceptionally
fine specimen of P. ang. divisilohum plumosum laxwn (Fox).
Acquired in 1896, and moved once or twice in search of
comfort, it now occupies a deep and quiet hollow, where
it has given birth to many children, and made many
friends. Hard by, a tree stump is fair with P. v. Covnu-
biense, of this method of growing more presently; now we
turn to look at another P. ang. pUimoswn termed Dissectum,
and at P. ang. pendens, a remarkable weeping form, whose
light green foliage always attracts attention. To attempt
an enumeration of the different varieties all around us
would only be tedious; I content myself with pointing
out some of the P. ang. divisilohum section, among which
Rohnstnin is particularly good, and Lastrea polydactyla
Dadds, a bold and very free-growing form. You will also
like to see that curious P. ang., found by the Rev. H. Davy,
which I had the honour of introducing, and naming
' Sintiosum ' on account of its sinuous midribs.

Fernery No. 2 is known as the * Polypodery.' The
Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society published
some photographs of its ferns, and an account of one of
the methods adopted for growing the polypodium. As
there is some prospect of the article appearing in these
pages, no detail need now be given. It will suffice to say
that the chief division of the fernery consists of an old elm
cut into short lengths and hollowed out. With the help
of a compost of leaf mould and lime rubble, the polypodiums

177

flourish amazingly in these stumps. There are in all
upwards of twenty varieties in the collection. The more
vigorous kinds grow sufficiently well on the ground, if
the drainage is rapid, but the tree stumps seem ideal for
the more difficult. I was unable to do anything in the
open with P. v. tvichomanoides, that most refined and
intricate of forms, until the elm came to the rescue.

Fernery No. 3 marks the beginning of my success in
the propagation of the plumose section of P. ang. Noticing
the particularly fine quality of P. ang. pUimosiim {Esplan) I
moved my one specimen to various sites, seeking full
development. At last I selected a corner of the kitchen
garden looking due north. This I hollowed, and drained.
There the ' Esplan ' was planted. Soon improved results
were noticeable; then, very slowly at first, came the wished-
for bulbils, now quite a crop appear each spring, and my
stock of Esplan is substantial. Encouraged by the way in
which my Esplan specimen revelled in this corner, I have
extended the boundaries, and planted Plumosums in variety,
as P. ang. pin. tenne, P. ang. plu. cvistaium, P. ang. phi,
digitatnm, P. ang. plu. Gvimmondii, P. ang. plu. laxum Fox.
To help growth by means of a still, close atmosphere,
short and tall perennials were introduced, and the result
is a series of specimen plants with perfectly developed
fronds, which, as a rule, remain in fine condition right
through the winter.

Fernery No. 4 partakes of the nature of a nursery. Dug
out, and between a hedge eight feet high and a row of
currant trees, and carefully drained, it affords a suitable
home for young Plumosums of various kinds. But there
is one specimen over which we may linger a moment.
The name P. ang. Medio -deficiens is not at first sight alluring.
It suggests a cripple, some of whose parts are gone.
Under Mr. Stansfield's guidance, however, I ignored the
name-caused prejudice, and was rewarded by a treasure
of quite extraordinary beauty. For perhaps half an inch

■8

on either side of the midrib the pinnae are like threads,
such pinnules as do occur being so short as scarcely to
count ; then the pinnae become fully and richly clothed.
The light appearance given by this formation is most
graceful and distinct. Another feature is that some of
the fronds droop, while others stand upright, a formation
which is particularly attractive when the fern is grown in
a pot. For some years after it came my specimen proved
invincible at our shows as a pot plant, but I noticed
that instead of increasing it showed a tendency to
diminish in size ; this led to a trial in its present quarters,
and now, after a year in the open, the fern is itself again,
and gives promise of still further development.

Of Fernery No. 5 I do not propose to write on this
occasion. It is planned on a larger scale than any of the
other four, but is too new as yet to call for notice ; but
before going to the frames and the houses, I should like to
point to some of the specimens of my find Scol. viilg.
concavo capitaUim. The discovery of this new form, near
Schull, CO. Cork, has already been described in the Gazette
(December, 1912), so that I content myself with calling
attention to the way it flourishes in different situations and
with varying culture. One specimen has grown so well
under pot treatment that it formed one of the group of
six which obtained Prize i from the Royal Horticultural
Society of Ireland in 191 2.

If we now go to the glass we shall find a good many
specimen pot plants which have won first honours on the
show tables.

The Editor's plumose section of the athyrium are
not easily distanced if they can be set up in good con-
dition ; most careful shading, plenty of room, and a cool
bottom seem to me essential ; one of my frames stands in
absolute shade, and the ground inside is excavated into a
deep pit ; in this way I supply what the athyrium
appreciates. Not so difficult by any means, and quite

179

as wonderful in its beauty is that other treasure of Mr.
Druery's P. aculeatum gracillimum. My plant has only
been here a year but already it has done its share in
winning two first prizes. A fern which always attracts
favourable notice, and which has the advantage of being
very easily managed, is A. f. f. niagnicapitatujn, A. f. f.
tmco-glomevatnm, fine in its cutting as a mist of green,
makes visitors wonder, but it is exacting in its demands.

If I were to allow myself to talk about ferns whose
interests is derived from the places where I found them, I
should soon grow wearisome ; here, for instance, is
Asplenmm inavimim from that lone rock far out in the
bosom of the Atlantic — the Great Skellig ; and this Lastrea
grew where St. Patrick's days of slavery were spent. But
this Athyrium, which already looks so well established, is
of interest, apart from the fact that it came from the
haunts of another Irish saint, St. Columba ; it is the
inequale, described in the September number to which
Mr. Druery has added my name ; and close beside it are
the curious ramose hartstongues, whose discovery is
described in the same issue.

But it is time I remembered that space and patience
are both limited ; one glance, therefore, at these seedlings,
and we are done. Over two years ago I visited the
Clifton Gardens with an introduction to the Curator. As
he showed me his treasures, Mr. Harris pointed to a P. ang.
Plnmostim, which he rightly considered to be exceptionally
fine. Neither I nor anyone else has succeeded in pro-
pagating it, he said ; but if you like to try, here is a
frond with some spores. Thus incited, I made a careful
sowing, and the seedlings which lie before us are the
result. It is too soon to speak with any certainty about
their future, but if present appearances are not strangely
misleading they will justify the attention they have
received, and prove worthy of their distinguished origin.

H. KiNGSMiLL Moore.

i8o

THE BRACKEN AS A MIMETIC FERN.

By C. B. Green.

The BrackeUf as everyone knows, is of universal distribu-
tion. And yet, perhaps, I ought to qualify this statement,
for there are country folk so obtuse that they cannot
distinguish between Cryptogams and other vegetation. I
have even heard on more than one occasion that " the
Bracken is no fern " ! and when the query of '* What is it
then " ? has been put, the reply has come back, " Oh ! it
is just the common Bracken."

Hov/ever, there are others, no doubt, to whom this fern
occasionally and casually gives a little trouble ; for, on
account of its wide range and multifarious habitats, and
its general tendency to variation, it sometimes apes other
members of the fern community.

Naturally it dominates heath-lands, commons, waste
places, open woods, hill sides, etc., when it is known as
the Bracken Association ; but, in addition to what may be
called its normal areas, it often obtrudes on hedge banks,
road sides, sea cliffs, rocky shores, and even walls and
roofs of old stone buildings. In fact, I have in mind a fine
clump growing in the latter situation.

However, the object of this note is not so much to
appraise the variability of this fern, although in congested
specimens it is often no more than lo inches high, whereas
in more favourable positions it sometimes elongates to
lo feet, as to call attention to its mimetic aspects.

I doubt not others have, when on fern hunting forays,
occasionally experienced some chagrin when a stray
frond, or part of a frond, or pinnae, in the hedge-row, has
resembled some other fern, or rather a presumed variety of
some other fern.

When, however, this fern towers above the surrounding
vegetation it cannot be mistaken, and in that condition it
is often not inaptly called the " one-stemmed " fern. But
when through congestion, unsuitable site, or other causes,

i8i

it mimics another, it is not so easily, at first sight, relegated
to its proper genus.

This, of course, may happen to any other member of the
order when more or less abnormal. Thus the tyro may
be much confused, for a knowledge of the typical plant is
necessary to enable one to distinguish abnormalities.
Without, however, attempting to go into details as to the
number of species this wayward fern mimics when out of
condition or character, I cannot help relating what once
befell me when out for ferns in the neighbourhood of
Redhill, Surrey. Not knowing the district I asked a
gardener — not a policeman — if he had any knowledge of
such things about there, and he directed me to a certain
wood where " Lady Ferns" were abundant. I searched
the wood in question without result, but at last it dawned
upon me that my would-be horticultural friend had simply
mistaken the slim and slender Bracken for the graceful
Lady Fern I

We can fully confirm Mr. Green's remarks anent the
capacity of the Bracken frond for imitating other species, as
we have repeatedly been deceived when hunting hedge-
bottoms and other likely resorts, by seeing projecting
portions of otherwise hidden Bracken plants in the midst of
other species. Lady Ferns, Buckler Ferns and even
Blechnums which they so closely aped as to be taken for
a moment as varietal forms. The seedling forms of P.
aqnilina are also very deceptive, and if these arise under
glass, continue to grow in a lax and delicate fashion which
is very different to the normal condition in the open. It
may be added that almost everywhere where the Bracken
is abundant, three very distinct forms may be found by
careful search, one the normal as usually pictured, another
much more finely dissected, and a third with constricted
hard and leathery sub-divisions and stiff habit of growth.
If a single frond of such be noted it is fairly certain that
others will recur at intervals over a considerable area.

Editor.

l82

OUR NATIVE SHIELD FERNS.*

Undoubtedly there is no species of evergreen Ferns in
all the world which has proved itself so prolific in
•'mutational " or " sport " forms as two of our three species
of Polystichum or Shield Ferns — viz. P. angulare, or the
Soft Shield Fern, and P. acideatum, or the Hard Shield
Fern. The third species, P. louchitis, or the Holly Fern,
• which is only found at high levels, has not been found
wanting in the same direction, but has varied to so much
less a degree that we may ignore it in this article. Consid-
erable discussion has taken place — especially among foreign
botanists, but also among our own — as to the specific
distinctness of these two first-named species, but no
practical Fern hunter or grower can possibly feel any
doubt upon this point. The two species are very often
associated, and under precisely the same environments
display their distinctive characters clearly. P. aculeatumy
or the Hard Shield Fern, always merits the term by being
much harder in make and with a shining, lucent and
divisional character which render it unmistakable, since
P. angulare is of much laxer habit and of softer texture and
duller surface. Apart from this, there is a true specific
difference of make, inasmuch as while the secondary sub-
divisions or pinnules of P. angidave have a quite distinct
stalk attaching them to the rachides or secondary stalks of
the pinnae, those of P. aculeatum are quite stalkless, the
pinnules having a wedge-shaped base, by the blunt end of
which they are attached, no actual stalk being formed.
The two species also differ in the range of their habitats —
P. aculeatum extending far north into Scotland, where P.
angulare is very rare; while P. angulare is only found in
abundance in the South and West, and in the vicinity of
our warmer coasts, and also in Ireland, where P. aculeatum,
it is true, may also be found in comparatively small

*By permission of the Gardeners' Chronicle.

iS

'»

numbers, but always of its specific type, as described
above. In the direction of wild variation or "sports," P,
angulavc — no doubt owing to some extent to its far greater
numbers in our best Fern-hunting districts — far excels P.
aculeatum, and ranks, as we have indicated, among the
ferns of all the world, as the most generous of all the ever-
green species in the way of distinct forms as regards
dissection, form of subdivisions, habit, and appearance
generally. It is, perhaps, the only British Fern which has
become popularly familiar in the varietal way as a house
plant, owing to the beauty of its proliferous form (P. ang-
pvolifernni), found very long ago, and distributed generally
by the trade by reason of its easy propagation and
culture. This is a much-dissected variety, with
its subdivisions greatly multiplied, very slender and
acutely pointed, giving its fronds quite a mossy
look. Under congenial culture the stalks of the fronds
break out into innumerable little buds, these some-
times even extending to the secondary midribs as well, so
that a frond, if layered and kept close, produces an
abundant crop of youngsters. Hence trade growers have
found it easy to raise in large quantities and distribute
widely, while, as it is perfectly hardy and evergreen, its
popularity as a house plant has been maintained. In
addition, however, to this particular example, those who
for more than half a century have devoted themselves to
the search for new ** sports " among our wild native Ferns
have found hundreds of other forms of equal and even
greater value, embracing not only replicas on similar but
diverse lines to P. ang. pvolifertiin, but many others of very
different character, and even more beautiful. Thus we
have some forms still more finely dissected, and with their
sub-divisions so differently shaped as to render them
altogether different in aspect — some which have their
terminal points expanded into tassels on varied lines ;
some with tubular fronds ; and some dwarfed and con-
gested— so that a collector may include examples ranging

i84

from plants a few inches long only, up to others of as
many feet. From the wild examples of such varied types,
the selective cultivator — by sowing their spores and
profiting by the experience that spores or seeds collected
from plants which have once sported away from the
normal type are apt to vary again — they have been
able to add another large number of *' improved " types,
some of which constitute undoubtedly the most beautiful
Ferns the world possesses. So much, indeed, is this
the case, that although our other native species — such
as the Buckler Ferns, Lady Ferns, and Hartstongues
— have each yielded an abundant store of wild sports
producing similar results of improved offspring in the same
way, the Fern specialist almost — indeed, we might say
invariably — becomes in time a Polystichum specialist by
preference. The Lady Fern [Athyrhim filix joemina) has
indeed eclipsed the Polystichum in the range of fashions
assumed by her, a number of which are unique among the
ferns of the world, and does her best to rival it, by the
feathery character of her "plumosums," but is handicapped
by her deciduousness and consequent invisibility for six
months in the year, while the evergreen Polystichum under
congenial conditions can be kept beautiful the whole year
round. In the spring growth, too, the Polystichum
possesses an unique charm, particularly with its best
plumose forms, its new crop of fronds being then clothed
with almost snow-white scales, and rising in a series of
reflexed coils of a surpassing beauty of its very own. For
all-round charm on the most varied lines, Polystichum
angulave must therefore be recognised as an easy first
among our native species, and in the foremost rank in the
Fern world generally. Great as have been the achieve-
ments of the selective cultivator in connection with this
species, fresh triumphs are being frequently added, an
example of which has recently come before us, raised by
Mr. R. Bolton, of Warton, near Carnforth, from a mixed
sowing of a number of fine forms. To give an idea of the

i85

enormous stride made, we reproduce an ink-print of a pinna
of this variety (P. ang. plumosiim ramuiossissimum R, Bolton),
as compared with a normal pinna. "'^ The result of this
expansion, multiplication, and repeated ramifications of
the divisions is an overlapping and piling up of frondage,
which transforms the normal and comparatively simple
flat frond into a dense and deep triangular mossy mass of
extreme beauty. Forms akin to this have been raised by
H. Stansfield, of Sale, but none have gone nearly so far in
their development as this, while the apparent exotic rivals
in the mossy way — the wonderful N ephvolepis exaltata Mav-
shallii compacta and Willmottae — are structurally on quite
different lines, owing their beauty, as they do, entirely to
repeated dissection minus ramification.

To the finer forms of both P. angnlave and P. aadeatuni
we have so often referred in these pages, and so many of
them figure nowadays in the trade catalogues of Messrs.
H. B. May and Sons, H. Stansfield, and others, that we
can only suggest a reference thereto by those who would
profit practically by our above remarks.

- See page i6i. Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

NEW FERNS [continued).
Lastrea f. m. Grandiceps Walton.

We have received a frond of this fine fern found by
Mr. J. W. Walton on Grinton Moor, Reeth, Yorkshire.
It reminds us strongly of the Carnforth grandiceps (Sim.), so
widely distributed by reason of its robust and branching
habit.

Asp. trich. ramosum.

Mr. W. E. Farrer of Oxford sends a photo of a variety
of asp. t. ramosum found by him near Carnforth, each
frond branching at the top into four or five divisions.

i86

As all the fronds were so characterized it is presumably
a constant form, though many years ago we found a
precisely similar form near Milnthorpe, which Mr. Barnes
predicted would prove inconstant, which it eventually
did. Col. A. M. Jones gives a nature print of this
variety. (See "British Ferns and their Varieties," by the
Editor.)

The Editor would remind the Members that Messrs.
H. B. May and Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of that uniquely beautiful fern, P. acnleatuni gracilli-
mutn Drueryii,

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES."

By Chavles T. Dricevy, V.M.H., F.L.S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
IDS. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

R 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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

* ^ ^

Stouc, 6rccnDou$c, and olDcr Plants
. . « arc also lardclp drown. . • •

* * *

Catalogaes of Ferns and other Plants oan be had post free
apon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 20.

. . ♦ ^be . . .

JBritieb Jfem
0a3ette»

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

3une, 1914*

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, VMM., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road, Acton, Londoft, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2. JUNE, 1914. - No. 20.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Odr Frontispiece (S. v. Crispum Grande Wills)

Lastrea Filix mas. Acrocladon (Dr. F. W. Stansfield)

The Reproductive Cell ..

A French Hartstongue ..

Selective Culture of British Ferns

The " Gracillimum " Shield Ferns ..

Lastrea Montana Cristata-Gracile Druery

Fern Experiences (W. B. Cranfield) . .

PAGE

187
188
189
192
194
196
200
204
208

EDITORIAL NOTES.

As at the time of writing the new season is only fairly
launched, we have naturally nothing special to record in
the way of new finds or acquisitions, nor, with two
exceptions, due to Dr. Stansfield and Mr. W. B. Cranfield,
has the Editor been enabled to strengthen his own contribu-
tions by emanations from other brains so much as he could
wish. He therefore once again emphasises his appeal to
the members, now a goodly number, to assist him by
providing him with their experiences or even enquiries in
a practical direction calculated to direct his pen into new
channels. New Members are also urgently wanted, and
present ones are asked to canvass their fern-loving friends
to that end whenever opportunity permit. With reference
to the August meeting to be held in the Eskdale district,
Mr. J. J. Smithies and Mr. Bell have very kindly visited
the locality on behalf of the Society, and suggested
arrangements which will be formulated and notified in
detail in July by special circular and will we hope lead to
a good assemblage of practical fern lovers, as the district
is rich in Ferns and a promising hunting ground.

A

X

i88

The "Gazette" stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will always be
sent on receipt of application from possible members,
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the "Gazette" and
all the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1913-14 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date •- to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

* The Hon. Secretary would take it as a kindness if such remittance
be made at once, as it fell due in August last.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE VAR. CRISPUM GRANDE WiLLS.

We are again indebted to Mr. C. B. Green for a photo-
graph of the very fine form of plumose Scolopendrium,
known as cvisptim gvande Wills, as grown by himself
from a division given him a long time ago from a plant
received in its turn from the original finder, Dr. Wills, in
Dorset. When given to the Editor it was accompanied
by the remark that it was the Doctor's best find of crispum,
and was hence named " grande." On his death it became,
we believe, confused with other crispums in his collection
of less merit, but happily its survival in our hands permits
of no doubt as to its origin and distinctness from any
other form by its great breadth and bold habit. It is
distinguished from Bolton's broad form, figured in No. 16
of the B.F.G., by its crenate and more crispate margins
and also by its habit of growth.

Editor.

1 89

LASTREA F. MAS. ACROCLADON.

Does anyone know anything at first hand of this
beautiful fern ? A coloured plate of it is given in Lowe's
** Our Native Ferns," and this is reproduced in our editor's
latest book on British Ferns. Mr. Lowe states that it was
raised by the late Mr. Clapham, of Scarborough, and this
seems to be all that is really known about it. I have
never spoken to anyone who has mentioned having seen
it in the flesh. It was probably unknown to Col. Jones, or
he would, I think, have figured it or mentioned it in some
of his numerous letters to myself. The published figure
is fortunately a very good and detailed one, and from it we
are enabled to judge what the plant was like. It was not
only like but, so far as I can see, it was identical with
Cropper's L. pseudo-mas apospora cvistata. There is the
same slender rachis, bearing the same kind of small dark-
coloured scales, the cresting and marginal cutting are
similar, and even the little streaks of brown in the
vernation can be matched in Cropper's plant. In all
probability the two plants have, or had, the same delicate
and miffy constitution, because Clapham's plant has
entirely disappeared while Cropper's only survives in the
hands of a few enthusiasts who are prepared to go to
considerable trouble in order to keep it. This latter
circumstance even would probably not have enabled it to
survive but for the discovery of apospory, and the fact that
the fern is very easily raised, and comes perfectly true, by
apospory and apogamy.

When the original plant was shown to me, about twenty
years ago, I felt certain, at the first glance, that it would
be capable of apospory, and this was promptly demon-
strated on trial, and it is from the plants thus raised that
most of the plants now in collections have arisen. If we
assume, as I think we may safely do, that acvocladon and
and apospora cvistata are identical, Cropper's "hit" con-
stituted really the third time this remarkable form had

been raised, because Mr. Barnes had raised an identical
form some ten or twelve years previously. Mr. Barnes,
however, could make no success of growing his plant
and, in despair or in disgust at its ingratitude for what he
thought good treatment, he eventually handed it over to
Forster of Salford " to see what he could make of it."
As Mr. Forster lived in the heart of a smoky town the
fern very soon died, without having been seen by more
than a very few people. To the best of my recollection,
however, it was identical v»^ith Clapham's and Cropper's
plants. There was the same limp habit, the same
yellowish green colour with occasional streaks of reddish
brown, the same cutting and cresting, and the same
difficulty in cultivation. Let us hope that the end of
Cropper's fern may not be the same as that of its two
predecessors, at least for a long time. Mr. Cropper was
probably the only person who ever grew a really healthy
looking and symmetrical specimen of this fern. His
success was probably due in the first place to the
extremely favourable conditions under which his plant
grew {i.e. in a greenhouse excavated out of a clayey hill-
side) ; secondly, to the inherent energy of a new seedling
plant ; and lastly, but not least, to the enthusiasm with
which he cared for his new baby. His untimely death
was a sad loss to the cult of a true fern lover. Peace to
his ashes.

The fact of an extreme form like this having been
raised three separate times encourages one to hope that
other lost ferns may be re-found or re-raised. What
Nature has done once she can do again, and it may be
that some of our present members may live to see again
ferns like Moly's and Wills's lost ane^ulare pulcherrinnnnSj
Benbow's and other vanished treasures.

F. W. Stansfield.
Reading, April 29th, 1914.

I am afraid that if Dr. Stansfield is unable to throw

any light upon the present whereabouts (or rather
existence) of this beautiful Fern no one else can ; but I
quite agree with him that the existing variety of LastveOr
pseudo mas percristata apospora raised by Mr. Cropper would
appear to be practically identical in form, if not in origin,
I think, however, it is somewhat more foliose and more
markedly percristate, and in any case it is undoubtedly
the most delicately beautiful of all the Male Ferns.
Despite its constitutional weakness, which seems incurable,
I have managed to keep it for a good number of years
after raising it by apospory from a pinna sent me by
Dr. Stansfield. This I pegged down close to the soil in
a small pan and covered it with glass, when at once the
apices generally began to produce prothalli in great
abundance ; and in point of fact, a single pinnule will in
time fill a small pot, the prothalli themselves appearing
to be proliferous, producing others from their edges and
spreading marchantia-like over the soil. These prothalli
are mostly slender, but some assume the normal heart
shape ; they appear to be devoid of the faculty of sexual
reproduction, and only produce a new generation by
the formation of asexual buds (apogamy), as has been
found to be generally the case with the assumed parent,
L.p. m. cvistata. Despite the aposporous origin of these
plants, which in the majority of aposporously produced ones
in other species are defective in make, they all come
perfectly true to type, due possibly to their asexual and
consequently more direct origin as simple buds. Another
result of this singular, if not unique, combination of
abnormal reproductive phenomena, is that the young
plants are produced with quite unique rapidity. Some
material which I supplied to Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S.,
for the microscopic study of apospory, are recorded by
him, and by Miss Digby who co-operated with him, as
having shewn visible plants in three weeks from the
layering of the pinnules on prepared soil, a period which

B

192

ordinarily would not suffice to perfect the prothallus
produced by a spore still less for the subsequent sexual
action. It is obvious from the above and from Dr.
Stansfield's remarks that the Fern must be grown under
glass ; given this, however, I have found little difficulty in
keeping it alive, and have fronds about a foot high in my
best specimen. In view, therefore, of its easy propagation
as described, its lease of life should not be a short one,
like that of its predecessors, especially as we have now a
larger number of British Fern lovers to take an interest
in it and study its simple needs. C.T.D.

N.B. — It will be noted that I have named this fern as
one of the ** pseudo mas " section rather than " filix mas,"
which I think is justifiable by its evergreen character, etc.

THE REPRODUCTIVE CELL.

Although in the '* Gazette " we rarely enter otherwise
than superficially into the biological aspects of Fern life,
preferring to deal with the variational phenomena and the
collection and culture of those Ferns in which these are
exhibited on the most striking or most beautiful lines, a
word now and again in the deeper direction may not be
amiss. Most of our readers know already that all organic,
i.e. living things, whether plants or animals, not only start
life in the shape of a microscopic little bag containing a corre-
spondingly minute quantity of somewhat viscous liquid, that
is, as a cell. Furthermore, all the subsequent growths which
eventually form the perfect individual are formed by cells
which are themselves the progeny, as it were, of the
original one which was endowed at the outset with the
power of splitting up into other cells. These later cells,
apparently spontaneously, but really by the guidance of
the parental influences originally present in the first one,
and subsequently transmitted to the others, proceed upon
a definite plan to reproduce, as a rule, the parental form

193

of organism, whether it be a miscroscopic monad or an
}£Iephant, a Sequoia, or Man himself, transforming them-
selves as they proceed into all the materials required.
Arrived at maturity, certain differentiated cells are thrown
off whose function it is to perpetuate the race by reproduc-
tion, and so the chain of life is continued. Of course, in
the vast majority of cases, this function is effected in such
a fashion as only the expert scientific biologist can investi-
gate, but when we sow a Fern spore — and here we are at
once on familiar ground — we start a life chain which is
less difficult to follow than most, as in the spore we have
a single detached cell, merely provided with a protective
husk, as a starting point. This spore lying on the surface
of moist loam (we must take this for granted, as we cannot
yet see it) will evidence its existence in a week or two by
appearing as a tiny green speck. The cell has swollen,
burst the husk and protruded, anchoring itself to the soil
by a feeding rhyzoid or root hair. It forms at first a short
chain of cells by self-multiplication, and then these begin
to multiply laterally as well, eventually forming a heart-
shaped green scale, from which finally emerges the new
generation in the shape of a young Fern.

The details of this process we have but recently given,
and hence need not repeat the point we are arriving at
being the difference between the ordinary structural cell, such
as the spore contains and of which the entire scale consists,
and the reproductive cell, or rather cells, concerned in the
sexual reproduction as distinct from mere structure. One
of the essential differences between a spore and a seed is
that the seed is the result of intersexual action, but the
spore is not. Hence at one point in the seed we have a
cell which contains the combined potencies of two parents,
but not necessarily those of the self-same two from which
that self-same cell originated, as cross-fertilization may have
occurred. This particular cell, however, in the seed is so
associated with a store of nutriment for the young plant as

194

to be indistinguishable except by the expert microscopist.
Hence our spore, as we have indicated, is a far simpler
starting point, and it is only later on, when the little scale
is full size, that what we may term the true reproductive
cells, male and female are engendered, the union of two
of which into one leads to the formation of a new genera-
tion. Now the curious point is this, each kind of cell, viz.
that which forms the male factor (antherozoid) and that
of the female one (archegonium), which lies embedded in
the heart-shaped scale near the indentation, inevitably is
engendered like all cells with the power of splitting up and
forming others, but at the crucial point, when its sexual
character is determined, half of the contained nucleus or
vital centre is thrown out or eliminated, so that eventually
both kinds of cells, male and female, are practically only
halves so far as their vital capacity is concerned, and this
capacity can only be restored by the subsequent union of
one with the other in the act of fertilization. Thus a
complete cell is again formed, now a truly reproductive
one, containing the combined energies of two parents
instead of being a simple structural continuation of one
and the same, as is the case with asexual buds. This
previous elimination of part of the cell contents to make
room for the subsequent complimentary half is a wonderful
provision of Nature. Without it clearly there could be no
chance of combination on sexual lines.

C. T. D.

A FRENCH HARTSTONGUE.

As involving an interesting point in connection with
spore sowing, we give a translation from the Revtu Horticole
of February ist, 1914, as follows : —

** The reading of the article which you have published
in your issue of January ist, 1914, on Scolopendrium vulgar^
sagittato grandiceps, induces me to communicate to your
subscribers the following personal observations, and to

195

confirm, I think, by completing it, the information given
by Mr. Charle T. Druery in his interesting "British
Fern Gazette." On a visit which I paid in 1894 ^o
Mr. Lloyd, he gave me a division of Scoloprndvium v. var.
Daedalea, found wild near Chapelle-Basse-Mer (Loire
Inferieure), and which he cultivated in his garden. In
this variety the frond, normal for some length from its
base, enlarges itself elegantly towards the summit into a
fan with incised lobes. Desiring, in my turn, to distribute
this pretty plant, I endeavoured to do so by spores, with
this result. The spores taken from the upper part of the
frond, dilated and profoundly altered, reproduced the
variety exactly and without exception, while, on the con-
trary, the spores taken from the frond where it had
remained normal reproduced solely the common normal
type. The experiment, repeated several times, has
always given the same results. If this observation is
of any interest from the genetic point of view, or only
from the practical horticultural one, I shall be glad that
I have communicated it to you. — G. Bouvet."

The variety, which is well reproduced from a photograph
of a single frond, is a good sub-ramo cristatum, the fronds
splitting near the top into two much-divided flat fans
forming an even crest. Opinions here have always been
divided as to whether any advantage is gained by selective
spore sowers by collecting only from the more marked
parts of the frond, and since it is obviously well to be on
the safe side, this is practically always done, hence we have
no data on the above lines. Personally, I have always
held the opinion that, with constant abnormal varieties, the
variational influence is pervasive — that is, it is in the sap
and general structure, and is not confined to the part which
is most affected superficially. But the evidence here is
pretty strong that this is not an universal rule, and it would
certainly be well in such cases as this, where parts of the
fronds retain their normal aspects, to make duplicate sowings

196

from thence as well as from the other ipa.r is, taking, of course,
every precaution not to mix them, and see what the results will
be. I must confess that without such very special precau-
tions it is difficult to see how such pure results both ways
were attained, since so soon as the spores began to shed
those from the crest would be scattered all over the frond,
and, though possibly to a less extent, vice-versci, and this,
of course, would lead to mixed results. In any case, it is
pleasant to find that our French friends find our little
" Gazette " of interest, as is evident by this note and the
previous one alluded to. C.T.D.

It is somewhat curious that Messrs. Veitch many years
ago, in the early days of the cult, introduced a French
Hartstongue, 5. v. Veloisii, on not very dissimilar lines,
but whether this is still in existence I am not sure. I had
it once, but lost it.

SELECTIVE CULTURE OF BRITISH FERNS.

For the amateur horticulturist there is undoubtedly no
more entrancing hobby than the selective culture of the
varieties of our native Ferns with a view to improvement
of type by means of spore sowing, as, happily, we can
testify by our own experience. For the first start in this
direction we must, of course, begin with a well marked
wild variety, a good sport, in the botanical sense, which,
as in the colloquial human one, will respond to proper
treatment in a handsome and reciprocatively generous
fashion. Nature in some way, which, so far no one has
succeeded in explaining, appears to endow all her living
creations with a faculty of now and again departing from
the ancestral conditions of structure and adopting new
ones in their stead, and owing doubtless to persistent study
of this fact in connection with our few species of British
Ferns by a considerable number of experts, and for a very
long period, these have been found to obey this law to such

i97

an extent that several thousand plants have been found in
the wild state which differ to a greater or less degree from
their associates of the same species. Among these,
naturally, the degree and nature of the difference observed
vary greatly, but, from the biological point of view, any
marked structural difference from the parental form which
is transmissible by spores is equally wonderful and
mysterious. In view, however, of the great number
of such variations which have been discovered and
accumulated, we have become in these latter days so
exacting in our demands for beauty and symmetry and a
thoroughbred character in every way, that a very large
number of the older forms have dropped out of cultivation
owing to defects, although when the "finds" were
but few in the infancy of the cult, they were regarded
as prizes, and christened as such under the names
of *' depauperatum," " irregulare," " interruptum," etc., etc.
In time it transpired that when the spores of a con-
stant "sport" w^ere sown, not only did they, as a rule,
reproduce the new type, but that they did so very
often in different degrees, some reverting more or less to
the normal, while others showed the new character on still
more marked lines, constituting an improvement from the
selective cultivator's point of view. Such improved plants
being grown on in their turn produced spores with the
same faculty, and thus in a few generations offspring
were obtained which it was difficult to impute to the
possibly comparatively feebly characterised wild ancestral
" sport." Cases also presented themselves of such striking
advances in the direct offspring of only a fairly distinct
sport as to arouse great doubt in the mind of the raisers
as to the correctness of the presumed parentage until
another sowing confirmed it. This was the case with
the wonderful Jones and Fox plumose soft Shield Ferns,
which arose in a batch of sporelings raised from a merely
decomposite wild find. It should, however, be remarked

here that such advances are almost invariably, if not quite
so, on the same characteristic lines, that is, the division is
merely increased in degree, no really new character being
introduced, but only an enhanced one of the same type.
Thus, a crested or tasselled form may produce heavier
tassels, a dissected one still greater dissection, and so on,
though, of course, the possibility is not excluded of a
secondary sport introducing a different character in con-
junction with the first, as happened in the case of the
wonderful "superbum" section of Lady Ferns raised by
the writer, in which in two generations the spores of a
perfectly non-crested fern broke into two distinct sections
of quite plain finely-dissected plumose forms and of
extremely heavily crested ones, retaining the plumose
character. With these preliminary remarks, we may now
come to the practical part of selective culture by the spore.
Here, of course, the fundamental principle is to start with
the spores of the best varieties obtainable, having in view
their improvement. This, too, should be done on system-
atic lines. There is little or no pleasure — to the connoisseur
none at all — in purchasing a packet of mixed spores and
sowing them. The result is invariably an innumerable
host of inferior types, for the simple reason that there is a
number of such whose spores germinate more rapidly and
assert themselves as young plants more quickly than those
of the elite^ which have, consequently, no chance, being
crowded out and suffocated in their infancy by the
''rogues," as they are termed. We have a vivid
recollection in this connection of sowing spores of an
unique fern which had been grown amidst a lot of inferior
varieties of the said description. A mass of prothalli (the
first product of the spore) was very (juickly produced, the
result being a dense crop of weed forms of Lady Fern.
Certain that we had sown a lot of spores of the desired
rarity, we carefully cut out these intruders with finely-
pointed scissors, but a second and third crop asserted

199

themselves in the same way, and had to be cut out as soon
as recognisable. Finally, however, the crop of prothalli
still left showed a new type of primary leaf, and the end
result was no less than three hundred plants of the type
required, all true and characteristic. The associated
"rogues" were thus seen to have arisen from the spores
of the ferns surrounding the rarity, upon whose fronds they
had scattered their spores with their accustomed liberality,
the two kinds being thus sown together.

The lesson taught by this is that it is well to gather the
spores of a good form as soon as they are ripe, thus pre-
cluding as far as possible that peppering of other spores,
which inevitably happens later in the season when the
neighbouring ferns are all shedding them freely and
scattering them in all directions. Our own plan is to
watch the plant we desire to deal with, and as soon as the
little spore pods or sporangia turn brown or almost black,
we cut off a fertile pinna and lay it back downward upon a
glass slip. In a few hours this sHp, when examined under
a microscope or a strong lens, will be found covered with a
possibly profuse crop of spores, each little pod having burst
and scattered its score or two of tiny reproductive bodies
over the field of view. Under the circumstances indicated
above, these will probably all be of the kind desired. We
then sow them very thinly on the surface of scalded soil in
small pots or pans, cover these with glass, and place them
in a Wardian case or elsewhere where plenty of light is
available without direct sunshine. A good plan, when
several sowings are concerned, is to bed these pots up to
their rims in cocoanut fibre in a larger pan, covering this
pan with one sheet of glass. The subsequent watering can
then be effected by soaking the fibre from time to time,
thus precluding the risk of disturbing the germinating
spores, which should be left severely alone. Care must
be taken to place the pan where there is no risk of intrusive
worms, since these would upset the whole arrangement.

200

In the growing season a faint tinge of green should be
perceived in a week or two, indicating that the spores have
started growth, and this will be followed by the appearance
probably of a considerable number of little flat green scales
or prothalli. When these are about the size ot herring
scales, in a week or two more, the first little fronds of the
new generation may be expected to show themselves, each
little scale bearing, as a rule, one, and at this stage the
sowing may be pronounced a success, given, of course, the
precedent conditions of a pure culture. The connoisseur
can generally recognise the species by the shape of the
first fronds. At this point, if the plants are crowded
it is well to prepare a large pan with good leafy compost,
preferably scalded, and prick out the little plants into it
an inch apart. In this pan the plants should grow large
enough for recognition, and it is precisely at this stage that
the interests of selective spore sowing culminates so far as
selection is concerned. Any plants specially distinguished
can be transferred and brought on, while inferior ones can
be eliminated and destroyed, we say, advisedly, destroyed,
since it is no part of the true selector's business to bring on
and so occupy space which should be devoted only to im-
provement, or, at any rate, replicas of the thoroughbred
parents.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

THE "GRACILLIMUM " SHIELD FERNS.

P. ACULEATUM PULCHERRIMUM GRACILLIMUM.

Although this unique example of sudden mutation has
already been referred to on various occasions, it occurs to
me that it is of sufficient interest to justify a general
usume of its history as follows : — In 1876 a labouring man,
named Beavis, found in a hedge, in the vicinity of Dr.
Wills' house in Dorset, a large specimen of P. aculeatum,
the unusual appearance of which induced him to take it to

20I

Dr. Wills', who at once acquired it, and by reason of its
peculiarly unique and beautiful character named it ** pul-
cherrimum." It differed from the normal form of the
species by its finer make and general slenderness, coupled
with extremely graceful terminals to the fronds, where the
lateral pinnae curve inwards and overlap each other as
they diminish to a long slender tip. The tips, too, both
of the frond and the pinnae, evince a slight tendency to
expansion. The plant in Dr. Wills' hands proved to be
of a very robust character, but produced no spores or at
any rate nothing which could be recognised as spore-heaps
proper. It thus acquired the reputation of being perfectly
sterile, but fortunately it proved to be fairly liberal in the
production of lateral offsets of a vigorous character, so that
in time divisions found their w^ay to all collections of note.
Mr. G. B. WoUaston, of Chislehurst, one of the foremost
pioneers of the British Fern cult, was one of the first
recipients, and it was through him that some time in the
eighties the writer obtained a specimen. This in its turn
throve robustly and produced numerous offsets, which were
separated, propagated from, and distributed to a favoured
few. One of these divisions was given to Mr. C. B.
Green, of Acton, and being planted in the soil under
glass in a few years became a magnificent specimen, so
fine indeed that when seen by Dr. Stansfield and the
writer on the occasion of a visit it was subjected to
extra careful scrutiny for possible spores, particularly
as experience had shewn that with some reputedly
barren Ferns of extra plumose types, although obvious
spore heaps were not visible to the naked eye, a lens
revealed that isolated sporangia or spore pods occurred,
resembling tiny black dots, and that these contained
perfect spores capable of yielding plants. It was
precisely from such that the writer raised some thirteen
plants from the unique P. ang. div. pi. Baldwinii, the finest
of the Jones and Fox plumosums, from the only specimen

202

existing in Mr. E. J. Lowe's possession, and which the
owner considered was perfectly sterile but kindly per-
mitted the writer to take the few capsules which he
discovered on investigation. Naturally the opportunity
thus presented for propagating so fine a form as " pul-
cherrimum " on a more liberal scale than the offsets
permitted, was not lost, and both Mr. Green and the
writer made sowings, but naturally without any anticipa-
tion whatever of the surprise in store. In due course,
numerous young plants appeared, but for some reason mine
were first in a condition for planting out in the open, where
it was soon perceived that a number of them diflfered
markedly from the rest in the greater slenderness and
length of their sub-divisions. These differences also
evidenced themselves later in those obtained by Mr. Green,
and it soon became clear that roughly thirty per cent, of
the about loo plants resulting were of an entirely new
character and worthy of all the attention that could be
devoted to them. As they grew on, it was recognised that
the majority of the plants were quite of the parental i.e.
the " pulcherrimum " type, a few were reversions towards the
normal, but singularly enough rather of the " angulare "
character than the " aculeatum," which suggests, together
with the comparative sterility, that hybridization may have
been a factor in the original mutation. The rest were
the " prizes " we have in view. As the plants grew it was
obvious that they had inherited the parental robustness of
constitution, and in due course two fine exhibition
specimens were shown by me at the Royal Horticultural
Hall, and these, being of sufficiently distinct types, received
two first-class certificates, the section being named " gracil-
limum " Druery, as indicative of the slender and graceful
character. Later Mr. Green, among whose plants a quite
distinct and plumose plant of great beauty and fine
dissection had appeared, obtained an Award of Merit for
that under the name of P. ac. pulch. plumosum Green, though
it as richly merited a first-class certificate as the others.

203

As the other plants developed in size it became obvious
that the segregation of influences which determined the
varied forms of the plants produced by the spores was of a
very definite character, since with very few exceptions, viz.
the reversions alluded to above, Mr. Green's plumose form,
and one or two other varieties, the plants were either dis-
tinctly and thoroughly of the slender *' gracillimum " descrip-
tion or true replicas of the parental " pulcherrimum." The
exceptions in my case are an extra foliose and very hand-
some "pulcherrimum," and a stiffly erect form also of
'' pulcherrimum," but with the pinnules subdivided or
rather deeply serrate. This was named " dimorphum,"
since for the first year or two it bore two distinct forms of
fronds of different degrees of cutting ; it has now, however,
settled down, and the name is only retained for the sake of
future observation. Despite, however, this adherence to
type, as might be expected, the plants, when mature,
exhibit some individuality of detail, and in one the incurved
and transverse nature of the parental frond tips mentioned
above has been transmitted so thoroughly that all the long
linear pinnules forming the slender subdivisions of the
pinnae are semi-circular in shape, curving inwards and
crossing over the secondary rachis or stalks in a peculiarly
pretty fashion. In some, too, the slight dilation of the
parental tips, also alluded to above, is emphasized so as
almost to indicate minute crests. Naturally, such a
success as this led to further subsequent close examination
of " pulcherrimum " for spores on the writer's own speci-
mens, with the result that plenty of material was found for
a further sowing, the results of which are practically
identical with those described, though many of the plants
are as yet but small, too small to display the culminating
characters, w^hich in the Shield Fern varieties generally
only show themselves to perfection in quite adult and well-
developed plants. By way of exeriment, spores which
were produced in quite normal abundance on some of the

204

original *' reversions " were sown, but only yielded a batch
of coarse and more or less normal plants of aculeatoid
type. A curious and unusual feature of the "gracillimum "
section is that while in the parent the pinnules, are, as on
the normal plant, widest at the base of the pinna and tapering
gradually to the tip, the reverse is the case in "gracillimum,"
the long slender subdivisions becoming longer and longer
towards the tip, so long indeed that the parental half-inch
length extends to over two inches in many cases, imparting
by their weight a peculiarly beautiful pendulous character
to the fronds.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

LASTREA MONTANA CRISTATA-GRACILE

DRUERY.

Amongst the now numerous recollections pigeon-holed in
my brain in connection with wild Fern finds, the circum-
stances attending the discovery of this beautiful variety are
sufficiently noteworthy, I think, to possess an interest for
my fellow enthusiasts, and therefore I venture to give them
in some detail. In the summer of 1888 I determined, as
usual under the impulse of the Fern fever, which had then
become chronic, to spend my week or two of vacation in
some region as out of the way as possible, where Ferns
were plentiful and the chances of a find increased by the
remoteness of the locality from those vandalistic visitors
and villagers who do their best, or rather worst, in so many
places to deplete them of their ferny charms. After some
study of the map I chose a little village called Sticklepath,
a few miles from Okehampton and on the very margin of
Dartmoor. We, I and my wife, reached there on the
Saturday and found comfortable though rustic quarters in
a cottage in the village, everything, as is usual in Devon,
being neat and clean, and the only objection in this

205

particular case being an adjoining smithy, wherein the
ancient industry, in that part, of manufacturing spades,
forks and other agricultural implements was carried on
with the aid of a ponderous hammer worked by water
power which began at, to us, an abnormally early hour, to
create miniature earthquakes which woke up something
more substantial than mere echoes, viz. ourselves. Being,
however, happily both of a philosophical turn of mind, we
compromised the matter, as it were, by getting up when the
turmoil began and thus adding an hour or two to the en-
joyment of the day. As soon as we had deposited our
traps, I sallied forth to survey the ground and found, as I
anticipated, plently of material in the hedges and bye-
lanes, and noticing one of these latter leading towards the
moor, marked it down for exploration on the following day.
Accordingly, the next morning, Sunday, breakfast being
done, I suggested a stroll to my better half, but she being
rather fatigued with the previous day's journey, and
possibly the earlier rising, suggested that I should go alone,
and being a Scotch woman, remarked more humorously
however than seriously, knowing me as she did, that it
would be wrong to go fern hunting on the Sabbath.
Accepting this in the spirit in which it was uttered, I drew
out my trowel and threw it on the table as a sort of pledge
that 1 would refrain from such villainous conduct. The
weather was glorious, the sky without a cloud, and the air
was full of the sound of the rushing waters of the adjacent
river. Making my way direct to the lane aforesaid I found
it barred at a short distance by a gate, on the other side of
which I found myself on a path by the side of a small
tributary stream from the moor. From the path down to
the stream was a steepish slope of some ten to fifteen yards
wide, and despite the Sabbath, my irreligious eye persisted
in noting that this slope was dotted over here and there
with fine robust specimens of Lastvea viontana, the
Lemon-scented Buckler Fern, two or three feet high. I

206

had not gone very far before one of these clumps, a
particularly large one, right on the bank of the stream,
and consequently at some distance, had a " funny " look,
differentiating it from the rest, a sort of crispness, slender-
ness, and at that distance an indefiniteness of the tips
which marked it out clearly from its neighbours. Forgetting
the day or my implied pledge, my feet ran away with my
head and the rest of me, including my eyes, and the next
moment I found myself standing entranced by the side t)f
an immense bush of a most beautifully tasselled and new
form of the species, which actually took my breath away
with surprise and delight. Gradually recovering conscious-
ness as it were of the practical world, the next question
was, "What is to be done?" My trowel, even if I had
had it, was obviously useless to grapple with a monster
like this, besides the Sabbatorial restriction resumed its
sway, and so carefully making sure of the locality of the
prize I picked a frond or two, put them into my hat and
returned to the cottage. With a sort of a deprecatory
cringe I refrained from speech and simply laid the fronds
on the table. My wife's first impression was that I had
brought some fronds from home with a view to a trap for
her, but examining them, their freshness and unfamiliarity
gradually brought it home to her that her poor husband
himself had been the victim of a satanic trap in the shape
of a golden bait of this kind temptingly placed in his way
on the day of days. Like a good Christian soul, however,
she forgave poor erring me, and even consented after
dinner to go and try and refind the prize under my guidance
as to its vicinity, which she successfully did, and thus
condoned everything. This, however, did not settle the
question of how to transport this ponderous mass of
vegetation to London as intact as might be. To effect
this, on the next morning I engaged a labouring man to go
with me with fork and spade to remove it, but found even
these inadequate until, happily, a quarryman with a horse

207

and cart was passing by, and with his aid the heavy mass,
about i^ cwt. I should imagine, was lifted and hoisted into
the cart, and eventually dumped in the front garden of the
cottage. My first act was to separate a strong crown and
send it with my compliments to the landowner, from whom
however I received no word of thanks. A large hamper
was obtained, into which the mass was dumped, and so
eventually found its way to London. On dissecting it, it
proved to have no less than thirty-three strong crowns, all
true to type, and in due course these found their way to
many collections. Curiously enough, not content with
this, the central core, whence these crowns were removed,
was thrown into a close frame with some Todeas, and in a
short time hundreds of tiny plants of the variety appeared
thereon from bulbils on the old caudices, by which a valuable
lesson was learned as regards easy propagation of this
species generally. Nineteen years elapsed before I had
an opportunity of revisiting the spot, when, being at
Okehampton, I determined to do so to see if by chance any
of the variety had re-established itself from spores. I
found Sticklepath quite unaltered, bar the smithy, which
did not appear to be at work. I found the lane, passed
through the gate, but then I found what changes a running
stream can efiect in time. The whole of the slope I have
described was gone, the path I traversed was now on the
very edge of a precipitous bank, the spot where the " find "
was found was right away on the other side of the stream,
and even some distance from it, and it was clear that had
it not been found by me, its lease in situ would have been
a short one, since already, when found, its roots were at the
water's edge, so that it must ere long have been under-
mined and washed away by the flood. Surely, then, the
Sabbath discovery was after all one of salvation instead of
perdition. Anyway, I have forgiven myself.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

208

FERN EXPERIENCES.
W. B. Cranfield.

I am conscious of having no important facts or discoveries
to record, so needs must generalise, in the hope that
some chance remark may prove interesting if not instruc-
tive. In a collection gathered from many sources, items
of interest occasionally crop up, such as the development
of a tiny offset or seedling received from a friend, a fresh
break in a batch of seedlings, and generally grubbing
around is a source of recreation and mild excitement in
the absence of hunting facilities. Every season most of
us resolve to raise fewer batches of spores, but I fear, as
is probably the case with many others, the resolution ends
there. An experiment which may prove of interest is a
fairly large lot of youngsters raised from Moly's Pol.
ang. dccompositum splendens, the reputed parent of the
Jones and Fox plumoso divisilohe section. The parent,
or reputed parent, passed into my possession with the
late Mr. Moly's collection, and when removing it from
Charmouth the finder was most insistent that great care
should be taken of it as he regarded it as historic. Time
alone will demonstrate the accuracy or fallacy of the
legend — at present, I can only say there is some diversity
apparent in the youngsters. Another sowing from the
Polystichum acideatnm foliosum (found by myself at Barn-
staple after the meeting in August, 19 12) has given me one
crested plant, the others all being alike as two peas,
evidently following the parental form. From time to time
notes have appeared in the Gazette on fern hunting, and
Mr. Roberts' article on his experiences suggests that his
want of success may arise from failure to recognise
variation in very small plants.''' In this stage a very keen

* Mr. Roberts has, however, been fortunate in finding P. viilg.
Rohertsii, as a very small specimen, and we have a promising form of
Asplenium discovered by him as a tiny seedling. — Ed.

209

eye is required to spot what may eventually turn out to be
a prize, a large specimen is unlikely to escape observation,
and would probably be annexed by anyone by whom it
was noticed, its survival being a matter of considerable
uncertainty.

In going through my ferns I have been struck this
season (1914) with the growth made underground com-
pared with the frond development. Two years ago I
started to make a new fernery on the north side of a
spinny extending partly along one side of my garden.
The ground was so foul with Celandine, that I was
compelled to burn it to clean it of weeds and seeds. The
burning finished, the land was divided into sections,
hedges planted, paths made, and a quantity of leaves
incorporated with the soil. In this the fern roots
revelled, but the hot weather of last year tried them
greatly and the fronds suffered. They have, however,
made fine fat crowns, and I am looking forward to having
something worth seeing to show my ferny friends this
season.

Whilst writing on the subject of Fern development, I
was privileged to see Dr. Stansfield's and Mr. Henwood's
collections of Polypodiwns with our Editor last year, and I
can only endorse all that has been written about them. I
have never seen anything approaching such cultivation
before, and I am, at a far distance, trying to em^ulate them.
Dr. Stansfield possesses probably the finest examples of
P. angulave pulchevvimtims extant, his specimens of Moly's
Vayiegatiim and Moly's Green I have never seen so fine
before. These two are, of course, great rarities, and have
been in that collector's hands, I believe, since their dis-
covery. Mrs. Thomson's form, whilst robust, had been
out of character for years ; a number of youngsters raised
from Dr. Stansfield's plant at East Lodge show no signs of
pidclieYrimnm character, but I am growing them on in the
hope that one regenerate may appear.

[To he continued.)

2IO

OBITUARY.

Mr. J. A. Martindale, Staveley.

It is with great regret that we have to record the death
of Mr. J. A. Martindale, one of the original pioneers of the
British Fern cult, which took place on April loth, in his
77th year, at Staveley, to the intense regret of a very large
circle of friends. In addition to his extensive knowledge
of our Native Ferns and their varieties, he was a general
botanist, an archaeologist, a student of natural history in
general, and furthermore was one of those invaluable
spirits who systematically record and published their
experiences of natural phenomena for the benefit of their
fellow students generally — a brilliant example for all of us.

The Editor.

At the last moment before going to press the sad news
reaches us also of the death of one of the founders of our
Society, Mr. John Anthony Wilson, of Millbeck Stock,
Bowness, Windermere, at the ripe age of 83, passing
peacefully away in his sleep on May 8th. To fern lovers
especially a visit to his nursery was ever an enjoyment,
both as regards the humourous geniality of the man
himself and his knowledge of the cult, many good finds
standing to the credit of both him and his wife, who pre-
deceased him by several years. This loss will be deeply
felt in the locality and by all those of our Society v;ho
knew him, as he was one of those striking ** characters "
whom to know was a pleasure and whose loss is irreplace-
able. His funeral was attended by over a hundred
members of the various Societies to which he had been
attached. C.T.D.

The Editor would remind the Members that Messrs.
H. B. May and Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of that uniquely beautiful fern, P. aculeatuvi gvacilli-
mum Dvuevyii.

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES/'

By Charles T. Drtiery, V.M.H., F.L,S.y

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones, of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net; in half morocco, gilt,
los. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

R 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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sires, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

^ ¥ ^

StODc, 6rccnl)0U$c. ana otbcr Plants
♦ . .are also largely aroiun. . . .

* * *

CatalogaeB of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
apon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 21.

. . . Zbc . . .

JBcitieb Ifem
(3a3ette-

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY,

September, 1914

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX,S,

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

p. ANG. PULCHERRIMUM H. StaNSFIELU Xo. I.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

SEPTEMBER, 1914.

No. 21.

CONTENTS

Editorial Notes

Odr Frontispiece , .

The August Meeting

Fern Experiences [continued)

Ceterach Officinarum

Notes on Mr. T. E. Henwood's Collection

New Finds in Hampshire and Devon

List of Members

page

211
2X2
213
218
221
224
229

231

EDITORIAL NOTES.

As we give elsewhere the particulars of the August
Meeting of the Society, our notes on this occasion are
confined to the repeated expression of the Editor's
desire that our existing members should assist him
by getting their fern-loving friends to join the Society,
and so by swelling the membership enable him to
improve the " Gazette " by increasing its contents arid
its illustrations. Furthermore, he would again impress
upon them that they should record their experiences,
since it is only by such records that these become of
value as contributions to general knowledge available
for mankind at large. As we have already pointed
out, the "Gazette" has become recognised by botanists
as constituting a valuable contribution to the botanical
literature of the world, and particularly to that of
"variation," the causes of which are so assiduously
but hitherto vainly sought for and theorised upon.
Millions upon millions of plants are raised and dis-
tributed every year, but it is practically only in the

A

X

2 12

British Fern direGtion that wild varieties are sought
for and recorded, and an account kept of the pedigree
of their offspring on really practical lines. Give, then,
the Editor all the opportunities you can of helping in
this direction.

The "Gazette" stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will always be
sent on receipt of application from possible members,
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the "Gazette" and
all the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1914-15 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

P. ANG. PULCHERRIMUM H. StANSFIELD No. I.

The photograph, kindly furnished by Dr. Stansfield,
represents a very beautiful form of the rare section of
*' pulcherrimum " Polystichum angulares, of which Dr.
Stansfield has already given an account in the "Gazette,"
Vol. I., p. 274. Several finds of this section are recorded
but the majority of them have proved inconstant, the
" pulcherrimum " character of elongated lower pinnules
terminating in prothalli (apical apospory), disappearing
entirely, or only cropping up at long intervals. The
form we illustrate, however, raised presumably from
one of these " finds," appears to be constant, and

2T3

shows the aposporous " pulcherrimum " character very
thoroughly and beautifully, the tiny crest-like expansions
of the terminals being actual prothalli, such as are
normally produced by the spore as a preliminary to
the sexual action, which results in a new generation.
This mode of reproduction, however, would appear to
be somewhat defective, since it is very exceptional
for the young plants so raised to be perfect, the great
majority being mere rags and tatters, and devoid of any
constitutional vigour.

THE AUGUST MEETING.

In accordance with the resolution passed at the
Annual Meeting of 1913 at Totnes, the n^eeting was
held this year in Eskdale, Cumberland, at the
Woolpack Hotel there, on Monday, August 3rd. The
locality in the picturesque vale of the Esk, embosomed
amid the Cumberland Hills, was naturally very rich
in the several species common to mountainous regions in
Great Britain, but unfortunately the weather was not
so propitious as it might have been, and was better
calculated to increase the beauty of the innumerable
cascades which seamed the hill sides with their snowy
torrents than it was to facilitate exploration, frequent
showers interspersed with Scotch, or rather Cumberland,
mists of the drizzle category forming a serious handicap.
Despite this, however, a few finds were recorded in the
shape of angustate and possibly plumose forms of Lastvea
montana by Mr. W. R. Boyd, whose octogenarian
activity and sharp-sightedness was marvellous; a very
attenuate lineare form of P. aquilina by Mr. A. Cowan ;
a very hard, leathery crispate form of same species by
Mr, J. J. Smithies ; a bright golden yellow variety of
L. montana by Mr. W. Bell; and a crispate Lastrea filix

2 14

mas, with all tips recurved, by Mr. C. T. Druery,
constituting the most marked examples.

Amongst the choicest specimen fronds brought for
inspection by Mr. Cowan may be mentioned two forms
of L. m. angustata, found in Perthshire, L. ;;;. foliosa
congesia, several distinct types of Pscudathyritim alpestre,
L. f. m. cvispa with very dense frond tips, found in Forfar
by him, and a quite recent find of his of P. lonchitis
cvisiatinn in the same county, also a very dwarf form
of L. dilatata (L. d. nana). Mr. Cowan, who has been very
successful in raising L. inontana from spores, showed also
fronds of L. ;;/. congesta cvistata and a beautiful L. ni. cuvta
cristata, not unlike A. f.f. gcmniattim on a small scale.
Asp. ivichomanes foliosuni found by him in Italy was also
admired. Dr. Stansfield exhibited fronds of a fine ramo-
cristate form of Bleclmuni spicant anomaUim raised by his
brother, in which the fronds justified the " anomalum "
name by being all foliose, with the fructification in the
centre instead of being borne marginally on much
contracted fronds, as in the normal species.

From the Rev. Principal Kingsmill Moore came a
densely crested, congested and plumose form of P. angnlare
raised by him from a " plumosum " in the Clifton collec-
tion, but a careful examination led to the opinion that the
cresting was due to a cross with an imperfect polydactylous
variety, which has long been recognised as allying itself
whenever possible with thoroughbreds and eventually
marring them with irregularities. As the plant is still
young naming was deferred on this account until further
developments. Very similar forms had been raised at
Sale by H. Stansfield, and had failed to justify the
expectations which their juvenile excellence had aroused.

The " sensation " of the meeting, however, was the
exhibition by Mr. J. Edwards of a series of fronds of
plants raised by him from P. aculcatiiui pnlchevrivinni, the
parent of the now renowned strains of P. ac. pulch.

215

gvacillhnum Dvtiery and P. ac, p. plumosum Green. The
fronds shown differed widely from both of these types,
being very foHose, and the remarkable feature of the
exhibits consisted in the facts stated by Mr. Edwards that
only this form appeared in his batch of youngsters, raised
be it remembered, from a division of the same plant,
F. acul. pulcherriiuuiii, which yields the other two strains in
question, so that the three strains had practically one and
the same identical parent. Mr. Druery and Mr. Green,
the joint raisers of the two first sections, had identical
results, viz. about 30 per cent, of gracillimum and one
plumosum, the rest, with very few exceptions, being true
pulcherrimums, and the few exceptions reversions more or
less to the normal, but on angulare lines rather than
aculeatum. Why, therefore, the spores on Mr. Edwards'
division (pinnae of which he exhibited to show that the
spores were borne on isolated sporanga in precisely
the same way as with the previous sowings) should
produce a quite different batch, containing none of the
other types, forms an insoluble enigma for the teratologist.
Mr. Edwards reports that the first batch raised consisted
of six plants only — three of the new foliose type, the other
three normal, but more like angulare than aculeatum.
This agrees with the reversions noticed in both Mr. Green's
and the Editor's crops. The parental (pulcherrimum) type
did not appear at all. The second sowing yielded about
30 plants, of which eight or nine are what we may term
Edwards' " foliosums," no parental forms, and the rest
reversions on the same lines as described. The third
sowing has yet to show its results. The nett result so far
is very remarkably different from the original one, since
while neither pulcherrimum itself nor a single plant of the
gracillimum section appeared, those which did declare a
difference were of another type altogether, though equally
beautiful, while the percentage of reversions was much
greater.

B

2 1 6

With regard to the business part of the meeting there is
little to note. The balance sheet, which we reproduce,
speaks for itself, as does the list of members, which we
append to this number, with their addresses, to facilitate
inter-communication. The President and officials were
re-elected en bloc, and a hearty vote of thanks accorded to
them, and to the auditor, for their services. With regard
to next year's meeting, it was resolved that it be held in
South Wales, and it was left to Mr. W. B. Cranfield, as
Hon. Treasurer, and Mr. C. T. Druery, as Hon. Secretary,
to pay a preliminary visit in the interimi, and to settle the
exact locality. As we have already some members there
who have reported good finds, we are secure in our
knowledge that good hunting ground will be found to
exist for the members' benefit in the way of fruitful
research. Let us hope that meanwhile the peace of the
world will be restored on healthy and permanent lines, and
that the present uncertainty and enmity, due to warlike
megalomania on the part of should-be friends, will have
become by then a thing of the past. Amen.

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, Bellast.

Mr. W. B. Boyd, Melrose.

Hot. Secretary : Mr. Chas. T. Druery, v.m.h., f.l.s.

Treasurer : ^Ir. \V. B. Cranfield, Enfield Chase.

Auiitor : Mr. J. J. Smithies.

Committee ;

Mr. T. Bolton, Warton. Mr. T. G. H. Eley, Burgess Hill,

Sussex.
,, J. J. Smithies, Kendal. ,, ^^^ Bell, Furness Abbey.

,, R. Whiteside, Lancaster. ,, G. Whitwell, Kendal.
,, W. E. Farrer, Lancaster. ,, W. Wilson, Kendal.

Together with the President and Vice-Fresidents as members ex-officio.

2 I 7

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FERN EXPERIENCES.

By W. B. Cranfield.

(Continued.)

When writing of development, congenial condiiions and
surroundings have so great an effect that measurements
are apt to be misleading. From time to time I have
wondered to what size some Ferns can be grown without
being subjected to forcing or artificial conditions. I have
a plant of Polystichum angidave plnmoso-divisilohnm Esplan
growing out-of-doors in a large pot in a sheltered position
and unprotected save for a few leaves in winter, which
plant measures as follows : Diameter, 6 feet ; width of
frond about the centre, 12 inches; width of pinnae about
the centre, 3 J inches ; number of fronds, 14. It is a single
crown, and presents a charming picture; it bears spores
freely, but my sowings have hitherto proved very dis-
appointing, nothing but much inferior forms resulting.
Another striking plant grown under similar conditions is
Lastvea pseudo vias polydactyla Wills, the dimensions of which
are: Length of fronds, 4 feet 3 inches; width of frond,
13 inches ; natural spread of tassels, 12 inches; number of
fronds, 8 or g.

In the notes accompanying the late Col. Jones' Nature
prints, reference is made to the peculiar conduct of Poly-
stichum angulare cristatuin ThonipsoncB, which commences
life w^ith the greatest promise, but with maturity becomes
an inferior gvandiceps. I can only say that my experience
of this fickle jade fully confirms the account given, the only
strange feature being that my plants are old specimens
resurrected from the Moly derelicts, which are going
through the same transmutation as seedlings, though
derived from bulbils. Following Dr. Stansfield's example,
I have grown a certain number of plants in pots, all of
which are more or less specimens. My chief difficulty is
in screening them from boisterous winds, which speedily

2 19

ruin a season's growth. Scolopendriums, especially the
cvisptim section, make charming specimen plants for the
house, and if a sufficient number be grown to enable them
to be changed frequently, they do not appear to suffer any
damage.

When the Society's meeting was held at iVrnside, Mr.
Henwood and myself went to see Mr. Whitwell's collec-
tion. We there saw a Scol. vul. sagittato cvispiim, which
Mr. Whitwell informed us was given to him by the late
Mr. Wollaston, and was a division of his original find.
The sagittation is most marked, and was most interesting,
as it appeared to be a counterpart of a similar form found
by Moly. With charming generosity, Mr. W^hitwell gave
both Mr. Henwood and myself small plants which he
had raised from his, so that I might compare it with
Moly's form. It is now sufficiently developed to pro-
nounce them distinct. They are both very fine. At Mr.
Whitwell's we also saw a magnificent (no other word is
adequate) specimen of Asplenmm tvichomanes incisuvi. I
find the Asplenia most difficult subjects to grow. They
seem to thrive for a time and then gradually dwindle.
Perhaps some member who is successful with them will
impart the secret of success. Subsequently we saw Mr.
Bolton's collection, and there saw a true variegated Scol.
crispum. I had a similar form of Moly's finding, and
again secured a division for comparison. There is, how-
ever, no doubt as to the distinctness of the two forms, both
are true vaviegatums.

For some time past I have been endeavouring to get
together a collection of dwarf or midget forms of the
various types of Scol. vulgave, but alas ! when many of the
so-called dwarfs are installed in congenial quarters, they
either assume normal or in some case abnormal propor-
tions. Three delightful small crispums, found by two ladies
in Dorsetshire and grown by them in pots, divisions of
which w^ere presented to the Editor and myself, and promptly

220

christened IMinor and Minimus, now seem to suffer from
Elephantiasis or some such horrible affliction, their
diminutive character being altogether a thing of the past.
The true dwarfs are delightful little plants, and of course
retain their character under normal conditions. I have
been wondering whether any of our members have been
successful in growing A.f.f. Givdlesionii in typical form.
I saw it in Mr. Smithies' garden, but he complained
that it was a miffy subject with him. I have it, but
in anything but a robust state, whereas the variety
grandiceps present no difficulty. Possibly it is like cur
Editor's A.f.f. haloihvix cristainvi, very partial to a glass,
in fact very happy when bottled.

A point upon which I believe consideiable divergence
of opinion exists is the application of manure to Ferns
generally. My experience is that both in pots and
planted out many of them are greatly benefited by
generous treatment. 1 grow a fairly representative
collection of Scolopendvmms in a long and deep frame. A
year ago I mulched them heavily with pig manure, and
the growth they have made and the crowns formed for
this year have more than justified the treatment. For
plants in pots of Scols,, Athyviums, Polystichums and Lastreas
I use Clay's fertiliser, which the plants appear to appre-
ciate without becoming coarse.

Some five years ago, I raised a large number of Lasivea
psendo mas cristata fimhriata Cropper. The seedlings
came generally true to type, but some are certainly im-
proved forms ; they were planted out in many positions
in the garden, both exposed and otherwise. This plant is
reputed to be sonjewhat tender, but that is not my
experience, what it may be in the north I cannot say.
Lastrea dilatata foliosa cristata Brourn is also quite hardy
with me, this hailing from the Azores. Its fronds are
now quite fresh and green ; it is a very beautiful fern.

Like roses and daffodils, some Ferns seem to have their

221

years. I have a very charming variegated Polystichiim
angulave, which was given to me by Mr. Harris of the
Zoological Gardens, Clifton. Last year it was a mass of
rags and tatters, in previous years it was perfect ; it has,
however, made a very strong crown, and I hope this year
it will maintain its previous form. As the fronds are
rather thin in texture, it may be that a cold wind had
aflected it. In the Gardens at Clifton is a plant of
Polysticlmm aculeaUim piilchevvimum Beavis. The plant was a
division of the original planted by Col. Jones. It had
remained a single crown, and was in anything but repre-
sentative character. This variety produces offsets with
comparative freedom, which makes the behaviour of the
specimen in question the more remarkable. The finest
plant I ever saw of this variety was in the late Mr. Barnes'
garden at Milnthorpe, the contrast between the two plants
was most striking.

Some of my young plants raised from spores of

pulcherrijiium, both of the parental form, and of the

gracillimnin section, behaved in a similarly unsatisfactory

manner. It takes a long time with careful treatment to

nurse them back to a healthy state.

In conclusion, I regret to say that my efforts to trace
Baldwiniij the tinest of the plumoso-divisilohums raised by
the late Dr. Fox and Col. Jones, have not been attended
with success ; and save for the dried frond in the possession
of our Editor, and the plants he raised from spores (the
best of which, fine as it is, does not equal the original),
I fear it must be regarded as lost to cultivation.

W. B. Cranfield.

CETERACH OFFICINARUM.

A recent visit to the Mendip Hills gave me an agreeable
surprise in connection with this Fern, which is commonly
known as the Scaly Spleenwort or Rusty-back, for although

222

I have seen it here and there in some quantity, I had never
met with it before in such profusion.

Wherever there is an old wall, a stone cottage, an out-
building, or even a pigstye, there this Fern is so much in
evidence as to become a veritable *' weed," and as such
seems to be quite disregarded by the natives. I have no
doubt the apparent contempt thus exhibited is on a par
with the answer I once got from a country lad who, when
asked whether he took any interest in wild flowers, said,
" No, sir. I sees too many on 'em ! "

Anyhow, Shepton Mallet is full of this little cryptogam ;
and from this town, say towards Bristol, the roadside
walls are literally covered with it ! Aspect seems to make
little or no difference to it, except that on the southern
sides, and consequently in the blazing sun, it presents a
more or less shrivelled appearance. How it is possible for
this Fern to exist under such conditions must have puzzled
many minds !

But we know from experience that when the conditions
become moist the plant is capable of resuscitation. That
the plant can stand long periods of drought or desiccation
is well known, but whether the foUowicg story can be
vouched for is another matter. In an old book on Ferns
it is stated that ** a lady in Ireland found among her dried
specimens one Ceterach, which had been above two years
in a portfolio in a very dry, warm room, and after planting
it in a pot and covering it close, she had the satisfaction
to see it come to life again ! " If this be true, then, for
" death " suspended animation must be substituted.

However, this great tenacity of life seems fully explained
in Kerner's " Natural History of Plants," where he says
" this fern, contrary to the habits of most of this shade-
loving group, grows on blocks and walls which are exposed
to the burning sun. In this fern the upper surface of the
leaf (frond) is smooth, but the under, on the other hand,
is thickly covered with dry hair-scales. In wet weather

22 ■^

the leaves are spread out flat, with the smooth surface
uppermost ; in dry weather they become rolled up, and the
under cottony side is then exposed to the sun and to dry
winds."

Then "it is usually seen that first the margins of the
leaves turn up, and then by degrees the whole leaf becomes
bent and rolled, so that the lower side is turned towards
the sun's rays, and the white felt of hairs functions as a
protective screen to the whole leaf." So there is evidently
much more significance in these scaly coverings than is
usually attributed.

In conjunction with this Fern, and growing with it,
were the Wall-Rue [Aspleniiim Ruta-Mnvavia) and the
Common Spleen wort (^A. Tvicliomanes), the former plenti-
fully and the latter occasionally; but what struck me as
more remarkable was the fact of a flowering plant — the
pretty little shining Crane's-bill [Geranium hicidiim) — con-
testing every inch of these old walls with it !

Thus there is, or was, a charming combination and a
pleasing rivalry between two representatives of widely
different orders, neither apparently acting to the detriment
of the other.

Although I was naturally and duly elated to see this
Fern in such amazing quantity, and spent some time in
overhauling it, I regret to say that I could not detect the
slightest variation worthy of the name, so true to its specific
character does this Fern remain. That variations do occur
I have had occular demonstration in the Editor's collection,
but it has never fallen to my lot to find anything but
normal.

The variety Crenatum, however, is, I am pleased to say,
recorded for the district in the Bristol Flora — an excellent
publication — and the recorder is Mr. R. V. Sherring,
F.L.S., a botanical friend and pteridologist. Thus I hope
some day to have the privilege of a closer acquaintance
with it.

224

As to culture this Fern is somewhat impatient, and I
cannot help thinking that the methods usually employed
are wrong. In nature one never sees this Fern on the
tops of walls, etc., but always on the sides, i.e. horizontally ;
whereas, most of us, if we attempt transplantation, especially
in pots, invariably set it up in a. perpendicular position.

In ** British Ferns and their Varieties," by C. T. Druery,
F.L.S., V.M.H., some excellent illustrations may be
found, but the author is not particularly enamoured of this
" remarkable Fern," due, no doubt, to the difficulty before-
mentioned of its non-amenity to successful cultivation.

C. B. Green.

NOTES ON MR. T. E. KENWOOD'S
COLLECTION.

Having been commanded — and it really was a command
— by our worthy Editor to write something for the ''Gazette "
I must comply, although but a bad writer, nevertheless, I
will do my best, feeling sure a charitable construction will
be put upon my poor and enforced efforts.

A stern injunction to say something about my
Polypodiums must in all humility be obeyed. First of all,
then, the majority of my Polypods are grown in a bed in
a span roof greenhouse, which is i 5 feet long, and 9 feet
wide, and which is ventilated along the ridge. This bed
was made up of loam, decayed leaves, and old mortar
rubbish, on top of this a fair sprinkling of bone dust was
placed, then about 4 inches of pure leaf mould (fortunately
I was able to get good decayed oak leaves). Into this
the ferns were planted, and having received a good soaking
were left alone for a time. I may say the bed is slightly
sloping, and kept in position by boards. The boards are
a mistake which, I hope, another day to rectify by a brick
wall. In due course the ferns commenced to grow, and in

225

a manner that pleased me much. But the beastly white
fly got into the house, and began its depredations upon
the young fronds, much to their disfigurement and my own
disgust. I began to fumigate the house, this procedure
undoubtedly killed the brutes ; but at the same time
damaged many of the tender fronds, which I did not
discover till some time afterwards. As the white fly soon
reappeared, I decided upon syringing with ** Abol "
insecticide. This had the desired effect of keeping the
pests down, and during last summer scarcely a frond was
discoloured. I believe the rather frequent use of " Abol "
keeps the fly out of the house. I mention this matter of
syringing because a fly bitten Polypod is a sorry sight to
look upon.

Now, as regards my general treatment of Polypods, I
will first of all say I never allow the plants to get dry — by
this I mean the soil is always kept in a fairly moist
condition — not wet or sodden, as the soil is too porous, and
the drainage too good for this to happen. In Spring and
Autumn I give a good top dressing of leaf mould to which
is added a little bone meal. I am a firm believer in the
liberal use of good leaf mould (oak for preference) in the
culture of the Polypod. With the bone meal it is
necessary to be careful and not over do it.

At all times a sharp look out is kept for slugs and wood-
lice. The former do not trouble me much, but the latter
are a nuisance, biting off the young fronds. As I keep the
floor constantly sprinkled during hot weather and the
boards at bottom are beginning to rot, the woodlouse is
living in a perfect paradise, as long as he can manage to live.
The house is shaded from the outside with a rather open
material, which is only used in bright sunshine. Such is a
brief and simple outline of my mode of culture and treat-
ment of Polypodiums which our Editor in a former number
considers to have been successful.

Perhaps it may be somewhat interesting if I give the

226

names of the varieties which I cultivate. As we enter the
house the Polypodium bank lies on the left hand side and
the first plant we come to is Hillmans ramosum : this makes
a fine plant, but is somewhat coarse. Semilacerum O' Kelly :
a really good thing. Dentatum O'Kelly : a graceful fern of
robust growth, it would make a fine basket fern, its
ultimate destination. Cristatwn : the old form with
immense crests, deep green fronds and of tine growth.
Pulcherriniiim Addison: this is a beauty, forming a bush
with fronds from 7 to g inches wide. Camhricnm in fine
character and vigour. Glomeratum Mnllins : with fronds
nearly two feet long and no two alike, is rather coarse, a fit
companion to Hillmans ramosum. 'Actiio angitstaUim O'Kelly :
rather graceful, but not of the elite. Cristatum Foster is
beautiful, in fine character and full of vigour. Barroivii :
a gem, quite a bush and in splendid form. Trichomanoides
Backhouse : a lovely thing, all fronds true. Prestonii : another
erem of the first water, strong and in fine form, Cristatum
Fox : equal if not superior to Foster's both in growth and
character. Grandiceps Parker : a most beautiful Poly-
pod, a fine bunch, not a big grower, fronds a foot high.
Hadwimi : very fine in character and robust in growth,
perhaps the best of the plumose forms. Cornubiense : fine
and beautiful. Multifido elegantissimum : strong and good.
Macrostachya O'Kelly : strong grower, and distinct. Umni-
lacevum Aldrenii : not in full character, but fine. Omni-
lacerum Bennett : a great beauty and a vigorous grower.
The Oxford Omnilacevum : in fine character, a veritable
bush, fronds 30 inches long, truly the King of Polypods.
Acuto Sevratum O'Kelly : in nice form, very distinct.

Caudatum OKelly : this is superior to macrostachya,
more caudate and with serrated pinna. Hyhvida: fine, in
the way of cornubiense, one of Clapham's I believe.
Semilacerum elegans of O'Kelly, but renamed Semilacerum
falcatum by Mr. Druery : a fine thing with long, rather
narrow fronds beautifully falcate.

227

Huichisomi — a trichomanoides — very pretty. Lyellii :
another pretty Polypod. Seinilacevnni Hawkins: very
strong grower. Coiimbiense f^Yandiceps Coivan : a great
beauty. Semilaccnim T. Bolton: splendid, the best semi-
lacerum I have yet seen. Auvito semilaceviim O'Kelly : not
a star. Auvito dentatum piilchrum O'Kelly: a young plant
that bids fair to become a very fine thing. Scuiilaccvum
O'Kelly : not good, sent by O'Kelly for SeniilaceYiim falcaiuni :
a donkey to a race-horse. Semilacevtim nndulatum : a fine
thing and good grower. Semilacernm rohnsium O'Kelly:
rightly named, a noble fern. Bipdo ^vandiceps : good.
Oakeleyce : a wee plant only. Rotiindaimn Green : an interest-
ing Polypod of small growth and rather inconstant.

Also two Canadian Polypods from Mr. Druery, with
tails as long as a wet week.

This ends the varieties grown upon this bed. In
another small house growinsr in pots I have Angustatnm
O'Kelly, a very good thing that should have been named
"elegans." Scvvatiim accisum O^KcUy, very dense; but no
gem. A seedling sent me in the way of Pulcherrimum, a
promising youngster. Two finds from Mr. Bell ; one is
a really good Polypod of semilacerum character, the
other is a crispy foliose variety, two good finds. A local
find of Dr. Stansfield, and two local finds of my own.
These three have got to be tried before anything can be
said of them. An omnilacerum from Mr. Hawkins, but
out of character. An interesting plant from Mr. W'hitwell,
one of Clapham's hybrids, Palmatum. Semilacevuni Hawkins :
this is a really good semilacerum. Covmituni O'Kelly,
Acnto servulatum longifolium O'Kelly, Tvtincatunt O'Kelly.
These three latter ones are but fairly passable.

This completes the list of Polypodiums grown by me. I
am very fond of the Polypodium family, a beautiful section
of the hardy British Fern, but first and foremost I place the
glorious Polystichum. Among these are to be found some
of the most beautiful jewels in the vegetable kingdo p.

28

What can compare to the delicacy and beauty of the
inimitable gracillimums of our Editor, or the exquisitely
beautiful pellucidums of Mr. Stansfield. I feel proud to
be the possessor of some half-dozen each of the best forms
of these lovely and enchanting ferns — thanks to the raisers.
Of Plumosums — who is there that dare say they are not
beautiful and captivating in the extreme. In mentioning
a few of these that I grow first must be a seedling from
Baldimnii, raised by the Editor, from whom I received it
and for which kindness I shall always feel extremely
grateful. The beautiful cutting and lovely appearance of
this plant is far beyond the power of my pen to describe.
The Editor has a sister plant of this growing and fiourishing
in a shallow pan with about an incli and a quavtev of soil to
eat, but which has buckets of water to drink during the
suumier months. If ever Baldwinii itself was much more
beautiful than these it must indeed have been a sight
worthy of the gods to look upon. All honour to Mr.
Druery for perpetuating " Baldwinii,'' which itself is
doubtless lost to cultivation. Densuni, Laxum, Rohustum,
Grande Pliimosmn and Tenue of Jones and Fox. Dissectnni oj
Pearson. Grimniondii, Esplan, Moly, Patey. Of Stansfield —
Cnpressoides, Dissectnni, Foliosnni, Fvondosuin, Magnificum,
Polydactyhon, Cvispatuni and Imhvicatmn. Plumosissimuni
Birkenhead. Piuniosuni magnificum, Edwards. Three or four
pseudo Esplans, all sent for the genuine article. Divisilohnms
Falcatum Moley, Falcaio decompositum Moly, Grande Jones,
Perfectum Jones, Productnm Fox, Rohustum Moly, Longi-
pinnatum and one or two others. Flabelli-pinnuluni.
Grandidens Fitt, Grandidens — own find. Inequale vaviegatiini
Padley. Gvandiceps Talbot, Grandiceps Abbott, Setoso
cuneatum. Cristato gracilc percvistatum Moly. Lineare Wells.
Decuvvens, own find. Hirondelle Wills. Pulchervinium
Beavis, P. variegatum Moly, P. polydactylnm Stansfield,
Pulcherrimum Moly. Dr. Stansfield had this lovely
thing in beautiful character last year. Grandiceps

229

Jacob Jones. This pretty well exhausts the list of

Polystichums.

[To he continued.)

NEW FINDS IN HAMPSHIRE AND

DEVON.

As a proof that assiduous hunting, even in counties
which do not rank with the ferniest, such as Hampshire,
can be productive of good results, we append extracts from
two letters, dated June i6th and July 2nd of the present
year from Dr. F. W. Stansfield, which speak for them-
selves. The Editor.

120, Oxford Road, Reading.

June i6th, 1914.

. . . Henwood and I have had a few hours in our old
hunting ground in Hampshire, and although we did not
touch any fresh ground but only went over our old tracks,
we found several things, to wit : two crested angulares (one
of which is not far oft WoUaston's North Somerset Poly-
dactyliini), a grandidens resembling Gray's {I.e. non-
truncate), and a variegatum — all angulares. We also left
behind several things of minor interest. These two short
lanes have now yielded in two visits : —

I. P. angulare quasi-perserratum (F.W.S.).

grandidens truncate (Henwood's).

,, non-truncate (F.W.S.).

polydactylum a la WoUaston (F.W.S.;.
cristatum (smallish crests) (F.W.S.).
variegatum (Henwood).
aculeatum grandidens irregulare (F.W.S.).

1 gave away the minor cristatum to a Mr. Butler who
was with us, and whose son is a new recruit to fern

2

3

4

5
6

7

2 30

growing. There are other lanes still untouched which we
want you to come and help to explore.

I am, Yours faithfully, F. W. Stansfield.

July 2nd, 19 14.

I returned home on Monday from a long week with my
son at Taunton. Most of the available time has been
spent in fern hunting. I was very much handicapped by
the hedges having been nearly all recently cut and the
ferns consequently showing little beyond the points of
mutilated stumps.

The finds were: —

1. P. ang. lineare, like lineatum Moly (T.S.).

2. L. f. mas polydactyla, thorough but not very good ;
left behind.

3. P. ang. grandidens (or dentatum) (a perfectly regular
and symmetrica] form).

4. Polypod semilacerum (Dunster). I suspect this may
be the same as your macrosorum. It was growing in a
chink of a high wall, straight in front of the hotel.

5. P. angulare divisilobum, neat and promising, much
mutilated, only two pinnae visible when growing.

6. P. ang. acutilobum, a very fine form, very lax and
with very sharp claws. Reminds one of Moly's divis.
falcatum in cutting. This, the best find of all, was on the
last day, Sunday (near a pub.). My son and I both
spotted it simultaneously.

I found one in place L. cemnla, which I fancy is rare in
Somerset. Cystopteris was only once seen (at White-
stanton). Ordinary Aspleniiims very abundant in places,
but rather local. Cctevach not very common. P. aculeatum
very fine and large near Chard.

The Editor would remind the Members that Messrs.
H. B. May and Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of that uniquely beautiful fern, P. aculeatmn gracilli'
mum Dvueryii.

-231

LIST OF MEMBERS.

(With Addresses.)

Aikman, Mrs. Dawson, Ferneyside, Gilmerton, Midlothian.

Atkinson, F., The Bungalow, Staveley, Newby Bridge, Ul version.

Askew, W. F., Junior, Fern Nursery, Grange, Keswick.

Allchin, F. A., Tredadwell, Fowey, Cornwall.

Aiken, Rev. J. J., m.l.. Manse of Ayton, Berwickshire.

Adkin, F. N., Westwood, Oaklands Road, Bromley, Kent.

Balmain, Miss, Woodland, Dumfries.

Boyd, W. B., Faldonside, Melrose.

Bolton, T., Fern Cottage, Warton, Carnforth.

Bolton, R., Holly Bank, Warton, Carnforth.

Bickham, Spencer H., f.l.s., Underdown, Ledbury.

Bunyard, G., v.m.h., Maidstone.

Buchan-Hepburn, Sir A,, Bart., Smeaton Hepburn, Prestonkirk, East
Lothian.

Bowles, E., Waltham Cross.

Bell, W., Maryville, Croslands, Furness Abbey.

Bolton, H., Yew Cottage, Warton, Carnforth.

Brown, T., j.p., lona, Antrim Road, Belfast.

Barrel, M. B., lo, Avenue d'lena, Paris.

Broadbent, J., Thornlee Fern Nursery, Grotton, Oldham.

Barker, W. A., The Glen, Backbarrow, near Ulverston.

Bayne, R. C, 14, Garrick Street, W.C.

Barton, H. D. M., The Bush, Antrim.

Box, Gibbs' Nurseries, Burgess Hill, Sussex.

Cowan, Alexander, Valleyfield House, Penicuik, Midlothian.
Cranfield, W. B., East Lodge, Enfield Chase, Enfield.
Cordrey, C, 23, Morley Avenue, Upper Edmonton.
Coverdale, W. H., Beech wood Scriven, Knaresborough.
Campbell, A., 68, George Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire.
Chapman, A., The Gardens, Westonbirt, Tetbury.
Crisp, Sir Frank, Bart., Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.

Duncan, Jas., Mints Feet Nurseries, Kendal.

Druery, C. T., v.m.h., f.l.s. {Hon. Secretary), Stanwixbank, 11, Shaa
Road, Acton.

Day, Miss M. A., Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge,

Mass., U.S.A.
Davidson, J., Sommerville House, Dumfries.

232

Dowell, Philip (Editor, American Fern Journal), Port Richmond, N.Y.,

U.S.A.
Dilworth, R., Dalegarth, Ulverston.

Day, Miss Constance R., i6, Burgoyne Road, Harringay, N.

Eley, T. G. H., Homelands, Oak wood Road, Burgess Hill, Sussex.
Edwards, J., Fern Holme, Oak Bank Avenue, Moston, Manchester.
Edelsten, F. A., The Elms, Forty Hill, Enfield.

Farrar, W. E., Oubeck, Galgate, Lancaster.

Francis, J., 3, Glan Aber Park, Chester.

Eraser, G., Ucluelet, British Columbia.

Fletcher, E., 38, Stanley Street, Heaton Park, Manchester.

Finch, T. J., Charlton Park Gardens, Malmesbury, Wilts.

George, Edward, Nassau, n.p., Bahamas, British West Indies.
Gordon, W., Victoria Road, Ma.xwelltown, Dumfries.
Green, C. B., Linden Villa, Argyle Road, Swanage.
Goulder, R. L., Woodcroft, near Chepstow.
Greene, Mrs. H. D., Grove Craven Arms, Salop.
Grimason, Mrs. N., 27, Grove Road, Windsor.

Henslow, J. G. W., 13, Victoria Street, Westminster.

Heward, Miss M. E., The White House, Warham, nr. Wells, Norfolk.

Hawkins, Rev. E. H., Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud.

Henwood, T. E., Auricula Villa, Hamilton Road, Reading.

Hemming, G., The Palace, Alexandra Park, London.

Hawkins, Miss, Kingston-on-Soar, Derby.

Hosford, Samuel R., Rose Bank, Magazine Road, Cork.

Holt, T., 29, West Road, Lancaster.

Johnston, G. Forbes, 163, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, N.B.

King, J. N., Carndonagh, Foxrock, Co. Dublin.
Kirby, A., 2, Llanclough Street, Cathay, Cardiff.

Love, W., 28, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow.

Lett, Rev. Canon H, W.,Aghaderg Rectory, Loa<4hbrickland,Cc.Down.
Lawson, G. C, Mayfield House, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire,
Laverton, Mrs. W. H., Leighton, Westbury, Wilts,

Moore, Rev. Principal H. Kingsmill, d.d.. Cedar Mount, Dundrum,

Dublin.
Marshall, W., v.m.h., Auchinraith, Bexley, Kent.
Moore, Sir F. W., v.m.h., Glasuevin, Dublin.
Murray, J. Campbell, j.p., Haggs Castle, Glasgow.

O "> ">

Margery, Mrs., Chartham Park, East Grinstead, Sussex.

Markendale, R. S., Ashfield House, Boston Spa, Yorks.

McKendrick, J. G., m.d., ll.d., f.r.s., Maxieburn, Stonehaven, N.B.

Meyer, C. J., Wellington Road, New Brighton, Cheshire.

Marshall, H. C, 8, Bryansburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down.

Marling, S. S., Stanley Park, Stroud.

Marsh, Miss S. A., Glenlyon, Holywood, Co. Down.

Morrison, W. T., 23, Gowrie Street, Bridgend, Perth.

McCleery, J. O., Ava House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.

Muir, R. A., Esq., log, Hope Street, Glasgow.

Milton, Edward, The Bungalow, East Heath Avenue, Wokingham.

Nielsen, P., Muirbank, Rutherglen, N.B.

Nay lor, E., Heather Bank, Hazelhurst Road, Bradford.'

Nation, J. (Plumber), Bisley, Stroud, Glos.

Ormerod, G, P., Ashgrove, Elland, Brighouse.
O'Brien, W., 4, Kildare Street, Dublin.

Patrick, Josh., 247, West George Street, Glasgow.

Pattison, C, Linwood, near Paisley.

Phillips, W. H., Lemonfield, Holywood, Co. Down.

Parsons, J. S., 235, Cowbridge Road, Cardiff.

Pickard, A., 2, Snow Hill View, Wakefield.

Perkins, Mrs. C. E., The Rectory, Hinton Parva, Swindon.

Pooll, Mrs. Batten, Road Manor, Bath.

Peary, D., Island Cottage, Leatholm, Grosmont, S.O., Yorks.

Porter, W., Beech View, Balmoral Avenue, Belfast.

Petty, S. L., Dykelands, Ulverston, Lanes.

Pain, Frampton, Arlington, Chase Ridings. Enfield Chase.

Roberts, W. Richter, Monkwood Cottage, Baldwyn's Hill, Loughton,
Essex.

Rogerson, Miss B. Stanley, Argaty, Doune, Perthshire.

Rugg, H. G., Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hamp-
shire, U.S.A.

Raschen, H. H., 84, Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport.

Relton, H.,Tyn-y-Rheol, Whitchurch, nr. Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Rugman, J. C, Plusterwine, Woolaston, near Lydney, Glos.

Railton, G. S., Senior Council School, Tewkesbury.

Rowlands, S. P., 38, Seymour Place, Fulham Road, S.W.

Stansfield, T., 9, St. George's Terrace, Taunton.

Smithies, J. J., Boundary Bank, Kendal.

Stansfield, Dr. F. W., 120, Oxford Road, Reading.

Smith, J. L., Fairbank, 286, Lytham Road, South Shore, Blackpool.

234

Smith, T., Daisy Hill Nursery, Newry, Ireland.
Scott, W., Cameron Hospital, Wiudygates, Fife.
Sergeantson, Rev. W., Acton Burvvell, Shrewsbury.
Sanderson, H , Eastmount, Galashiels.
Stansfield, H., Fern Nursery, Sale, Manchester.
Silva, F., The Grove Lodge, Sawbridgeworth, Herts.

Scott, W. D. T., The Gardens, Government House, Bulawayo,

Rhodesia, South Africa.
Sonnenschein, W. S,, High Morcote, Shalford, Surrey.
Shaw, W. J., 23, Ulsterville Avenue, Belfast.
Start, P., East Lodge Gardens, Enfield Chase.
Salkeld, Mrs. Mary, Greengate, Levens, near Milnthorpe.
Sheldon, J. J., Rosedale, Churchfield, South Woodford, Essex.
Thorrington, F. W., Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hornchurch.
Turner, T. H., Lynwood, Caversham, Reading.
Thatcher, Mrs. E. J., The Manor House, Chew Magna, Somerset.
Tucker, L W., Ferncroft, Woodah Road, St. Thomas, Exeter.
Thorp, W., Sorrentoville, Dalkey, Co. Dublin.
Thorburn, R. W., 68, Morris Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wilson, Willm., 7, Ferney Green, Kendal.

Wiper, J., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, British Columbia.

Wiper, E., 136, Simcoe Street, Victoria, British Columbia.

Whitwell, G., Serpentine Cottage, Kendal.

Whiteside, R., 8, Borrowdale Road, Lancaster.

Walton, J. W. , Finkle Street, Richmond, Yorkshire.

Williams, J. C, Caerhays Castle, St. Austell, Cornwall.

Whiteley, T. L., 206, St. Leonard's Road, Bradford.

Woynar, Herr H. Graz, Brockmanng 1S8/26, Austria.

W'are, R. A., 246, Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

White, E., 7, Victoria Street, S.W.

Whitton, J., V.M.H., Bellahouston House, Glasgow.

Wright, J. H., Courtlands, Rosemont Road, Acton, W.

While, W. L. Salusbury, Birstall, near Leicester.

Winslow, E. I., Lasell Seminary, Aubarndale, Mass., U.S.A.

Winser, Mrs. Ann C. C, Painswick, Glos,

Watson, W., Curator, Royal Gardens, Kew.

Walpole, John E., Highbury, Whitby, near Chester.

Woollard, J., 52, Churchfield Road, Acton.

Webb, S., 9, Waterloo Crescent, Dover.

Wood, Jas. Wallhouse, Torphichen, N.B.

Wardill, Chas. H., 4, Quay Road, Bridlington.

Watt, Oswald, Scourbank, Longtown, Cumberland.

44

BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES/'

By Charles T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.,

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones, of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
IDS. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

R 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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited. -

* ¥ *

Stovi, 6recitl)ou$e. and oibcr Plants
. . .arc also largely drown. . . .

* * *

Catalogues of Ferni and other Plants can be had post free
apon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 22.

. . . Zbe . . .

JBritieb fcvn
©asette*

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

December, 1914*

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., FX.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

(Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shcia Road, Acton, London, IV.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

ScoL. V. Drummondiae scperbum grandiceps. R. Bolton, 1914.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

DECEMBER, 1914.

No. 22.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (Scol. v. Drummondiae superbum grandiceps)

Notes on Mr. T. E. Kenwood's Collection (continued)

A Plumose Oak Fern : P. dryopteris plumosum

Wild Fern "Sports"

On Variation Generally..

Deferred Variation

Fern Hunting: Wild Finds and Seedlings

Fern Fronds for Naming

A Visit to Acton ..

PAGE

235
237

239
241
244
247
250
251
255
255

EDITORIAL NOTES.

As it is utterly impossible in these troublous times to
avoid some reference to war, we, speaking personally,
would point out that there is no better counterpoise to the
mental trouble which in one way or the other is inevi-
tably involved than the pursuit of a natural hobby in the
intervals between the too often depressing study of the
papers and the duties which the maintenance of existence
under changed and unfamiliar conditions and needs brings
in its train. Unfortunately, too, in our case, these con-
ditions are coincident with the practical closure of the
growing and most interesting season for Ferns, but, never-
theless, there still remains, as with all hobbies connected
with Nature Study, an inexhaustible supply of material in
collections of living plants with the study of which we can
while away the hours of enforced leisure. To those who
pursue the hobby intelligently, and who have accumulated
either by hunting, raising, or even by purchase or ex-
change, a collection worth having, there is no better time

236

than the winter to overhaul one's treasures and rearrange
them so that the evergreen section may have more room
for their display than in the growing season, when the
deciduous section are as a rule so assertive as to largely
encroach, under favourable conditions, upon their neigh-
bours. Still speaking personally we experience this to a
very large extent in connection with long established
Athyria, it may be of historical interest, producing huge
fronds four or five feet long and forming as specimens,
plants as much through, side by side with Shield ferns of
equal merit and dimensions, but of less altitude. These
latter, now that the deciduous fronds of their competitors
have died down and have been removed, can be given full
space for the exhibition of their long half-hidden charm.
Thus, though the Fernery may look barer, the labour and
thought involved in removal and readjustment is fully
repaid, and what is the main thing, while we are planning
this to the best advantage and doing the work, our minds
will now assuredly be entirely distracted from the troubles
and worries of the outer- world, which we are assuming it is
impossible for us in many cases to alleviate by labour in
other directions. Much, too, can be done in the way of
studying the literature of the cult, relabelling our plants,
compiling and correcting lists, and between the time of
writing this issue and that of the next, much, too, may be
done in the way of division and repotting in the first
months of the coming year. Meantime, too, we may
repeat our injunction regarding the risks of neglecting the
watering of the inconspicuous deciduous species, now
devoid of fronds and often quite invisible, but which in
Nature are never dry in the winter time. We have, how-
ever, we think, said enough to shew that there is always
something to be done and that by its doing we may benefit
ourselves and banish dull care in one of the best ways
possible. Finally, while praying from the bottom of our
hearts for a speedy reinstatement of a peace on permanent

X

and just lines, we beg our members to continue their sup-
port of the " Gazette " and to aid its Editor by contri-
butions to its pages and by obtaining new subscribers
among their fern-loving friends.

The "Gazette" stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will always be
sent on receipt of application from possible members,
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the "Gazette" and
all the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

The subscription for 1914-15 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,

London, W.

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

ScoL. vuLG. Drummondiae superbum grandiceps.

This very remarkable variety is peculiar in exemplifying
in a constant and extreme form the peculiarities of a
parent which, in itself, is very variable and would seem
indeed to be pervaded with reproductive vegetative cells
of, so to speak, different minds and thus, when isolated and
cultivated so as to form reproductive buds, produce plants
of great diversity. 5. v. cvispum Dvummondiae was found
many years ago near Falmouth by Miss Drummond, and
under cultivation produced robust plants consisting of
two distinct kinds of fronds. These fronds were all very
long and narrow, and with undulate or slightly frilled
laminae with the terminals branched out into several tips,
sometimes redivided and spreading out flatly to a breadth
of nine inches or more. In addition to this the midribs

238

were somewhat bent repeatedly switch-back fashion.
Some of the fronds, however, differed markedly from the
rest, which had plain edges, by having these edges deeply
cut so as to form fringes and such fronds had the other
undulate characters also enhanced, rendering these very
distinct and more beautiful than the rest. From this fact
it was clear that in some mysterious fashion, the mother-
cells, which start the formation of the future fronds, were
of different tendencies and hence asserted their structural
powers on different lines.

The writer when he made the acquaintance of this fern
noted that the tips of the fringes produced on the more
abnormal fronds under moist conditions, expanded and
became translucent, and was thereby induced to sever
some of these experimentally in the belief that, as with
other ferns producing similar growths, plants might be
raised aposporously therefrom, that is, that these growths
might expand, produce prothalli which normally is the
function of the spore and so reproduce the plant. This
turned out to be the case and, in his hands and others, a
considerable number of plants were so raised. As usual,
however, with ferns so produced, the progeny varied much,
the two structural tendencies we have described asserting
themselves in varied degrees. It would appear, however,
that now and again the, what we may term superior,
type prevailed entirely and hence in a few years, a visit to
Walton to Mr. H. Bolton resulted in the acquisition of
a small plant which eventually developed into one which
we named S. v. Dvummondiae supcvhum in which no
tendency to reversion appeared, while the fimbriated,
undulated and crested features were so considerably
advanced as to fully justify the new name. A very fine
specimen of this was shewn in our Frontispiece of March,
1914, as grown by our member, Mr. C. B. Green. From this,
however, it will be seen that the cresting character of the
variety still left much to be desired, though the rest of the

239

characters were splendidly brought out. About the time
of that publication, meeting Mr. R. Bolton, also of Walton,
as the writer had no good specimens in his collection he
very kindly offered to send a plant, and did so.

As none of the fronds were fully developed, it was assumed
to be identical with Mr. Green's plants, but late in the season
it gradually developed into the remarkably heavily crested
form we now illustrate and to which we can, only give the
name of " grandiceps " to distinguish it from its predecessors.
Clearly such a variety can only be done justice to as a pot
plant. As such it was potted up in a rough mixture ot
road sweepings in which it is obviously happy. Reverting
for a moment to our remark anent conflicting varietal
tendencies in one and the same plant, we may add that on
one occasion, one and the same base of a Drummondiae
frond, i.e. the bottom half inch by which it is attached to
the caudex produced two buds closely adjacent, one of
which became a very ordinary smooth-edged, uncrested
crispum and the other a characteristically fringed
Drummondiae.

C. T. D.

NOTES ON MR. T. E. HENWOOD'S
COLLECTION.

[Contimied.)

Lastreas I have but a few. The King Cristata.
Polydadyla Wills, a noble fern. Polydactyla Dadds.
Cristata Jimhviata, beautiful. Ravwsissima, Raviulosissima,
Pidchella, Stahlevii, a big grower. Flnctuosa, Crispa
gracilis, Flnctuosa cristata, Apospnra cristata Cropper,
beautiful, but miffy, gives about one or two fronds at a
time. Athyriums-Clarissimaj Kalothrix, Percristatum Driiery,
Gemmatum, Foecundulosissimum Druery, Frizellice, Congestum
minus, Congestum minus cristatum, Unco-glomeratum. Velu-
timini, lovely, a ball of moss. Congestum, several forms.

B

240

Crticiato covonans, Acrocladon, Acvocladon densum, VidovicR^

Setigevum cristulatum densiun. Also two or three good

crested forms. The Queen of the i\thyriums, Phimos2im

Dvuevy, grew so large last year that I was reluctantly

compelled to take it out of the house to make elbow room

for other good things. Aspleiiinm tvicJwmanes, Incisum,

Incisiim Clementii, the finest of all trichomanes (Bolton).

Bipinnatum, Cvistatum, Tvoggyense, Covfltiens. Also a

pretty slender form found by Mr. Alex. Cowan in Italy.

Blechmuns : Aitkiniamun, Anomalum, Concimmin Druevy,

Cristatnm, three or four forms. Glomevatum Matinder,

Plumosum Forstev, Serratuju, Airey No. i, No. 2, and a

very fine form from Mr. Smithies. Imbncato-erectinn, etc.,

Tvinervio-coronans. Of Ptevis aquilina I have two only,

VIZ. Congesta and Grandiceps. Scolopendriums, of

Crispums I have Nobile Bolton, a noble Scol. growing

to an immense size. Majus Moses, another fine thing.

Bozvden, Grande Wills fronds over six inches across.

Fertile, Cowhiivnii, StahlercB, Stansfield Roundstone, very

distinct. Keal, good. Crisptim A. Mo ly a. hea.utiiul thing.

C. cvistatum fimbriatuni Stansfield, fimhriatiim Stansfield,

Cristatum Moly, a beauty. Variegatmn T. Bolton, very

fine. Cvispum-sagittatum, Wollaston, splendid. V aviegatum

Moly. Drnrnmondce, Crispnni ninncatuni, a truly beautiful

crispum passed on to me by my great friend the late Mr.

James Douglas, who received it from the Exors. of the late

Mr. Lowe as a seedling. Capitattim — I have had this with

heads a foot across on a single frond — finder or raiser I

don't know. Dr. Stansfield thinks it a seedling from

C. Studdart. Sagittatuin projectnni Moly, a splendid thing.

Sagittatum Grandiceps Drnevy, most distinct, lately figured

in the *' Gazeite," Plumosum Stansjield, lovely thing. Limhos-

permum projectnm Moly, Hookeri, Ramo cristatum Moly,

Condensatnm Stansfield, fine and distinct. Grandiceps Cousins,

Hemionitioides cristatum, Glomcratum Jackson, a curious fern,

some of the fronds form immense heads, others are almost

241

normal. Whitwellii, Cvistato vivipanim O'Kelly, Cousensii,
Cyispissimum Stansjield, very pretty. Spivale corymbifernm,
Cervi cornu, Ramo viavginatum^ Pevafevens, Curiosum Stansfield,
Densum, and several forms of MuvicaUmi. I had almost
forgotten the Lastrea Montanas of which I have a few.
Congcsta, Angustifrons, Cnrvata, Gvandiceps, No. 2, Smithies,
Filifera Wiper, Covymhifeva Gavnett, and last, but best of
all, Dr. Stansfield's beautiful Plumosum. And here I may
say Dr. Stansfield has raised a most beautiful cristatum,
there is nothing else to compare to it, and singular enough
it was the only plant raised from the sowing. The Doctor
has, at present, but the seedling plant and it already shows
its beautiful and unique character. Yesterday I was
feasting my eyes upon this lovely Montana. Now, I would
like to say how deep is my gratitude to Dr. Stansfield, not
only for the choice, rare and beautiful ferns he has given
me, but also for the kind advice and guidance he has
given me in their cultivation. I would also like to express
my deep obligation to the Editor for the many acts of
kindness I have received at his hands. And also to Mr.
W. B. Cranfield, who has indeed been a friend to me in
generous gifts from his large and splendid collection.
Also to several other friends I am greatly indebted, other-
wise I could not have got together the collection I possess
and which gives me so much pleasure. I was tempted to
give the list of the ferns that I cultivate with the object of
showing that not only could the hardy British Fern be
successfully cultivated in a small town garden, but that
the choicest of them would thrive if only ordinary care and

attention were bestowed upon them.

T. E. Henwood.

A PLUMOSE OAK FERN.

P. DRYOPTERIS PLUMOSUM (StANSFIELD).

The beautiful little Oak Fern (P. dryopteris) with its
delicate fronds and particularly charming colour as of pale

242

moon-lit green, has long been regarded as deservedly so
self-satisfied that it has disdained to assume any varietal
form, and therefore no " sports " of any appreciable value
turned up to reward the hunter. This record has, however,
now been broken by the discovery of a very charming
variant in which, while the general habit of the plant is
unaltered, the fronds are so much more foliose or plumose
that the sub-sections deeply overlap each other, enhancing
the beauty materially, and adding another gem to our
Native Fern collections.

As its wider recognition and apparently even its survival
are due to our member, Mr. T. E. Eley, we think we
cannot do better than give verbatim his account of the
actual finder and the circumstances attending the dis-
covery. Under the heading, "How I Discovered Poly-
podium dryopteris plumosum," he writes :

Several times during my Fern-hunting expeditions in
the English Lake District I heard of a quiet plodding hunter,
Tom Christopherson by name, living in the district
between Windermere Lake and Kendal, and I resolved
that I would find him and have a good " Crack " about our
mutual hobby. One day in June, 191 1, when about five
miles from Lakeside I came upon an old chap progging
about under a hedge near Row, Westmoreland. With half
an eye we recognised each other as Fern enthusiasts.
Mutual confidences were exchanged, and in reply to my
query if he could tell me where I could find " Owd Tom "
Christopherson— as they say in those parts — he put out his
hand and said : " You can shake hands with him now."
Then I told him of the mighty things that had been
attributed to him, and when I mentioned that his niece was
one of my informants, nothing would satisfy the old fellow
but to imm.ediately make tracks for his domicile, two miles
away, where he introduced me to his "collection." His
Fernery was far from extensive, in fact it measured about
2 feet wide and 15 feet long, at the warm end of a

24

o

cottage. Well, I had an eye opener, for this space was
thickly planted with really good varieties of Ferns peculiar
to limestone, woods and wet banks, and to cap all they
were, without exception, interesting varieties, and had all
been found by him. We examined each carefully, com-
pared notes, and suggested names for his pets.

We were rapidly coming to tne end of the bed when I
spied a small salmon tin with two tiny Fern fronds hidden
amongst the larger growth. I whipped it out instantly, and
looking round I saw •* Owd Tom's " eyes all aglow, and he
remarked, " Ah, I thought you would not miss it." Well,
that was the Dryopteris respecting which our Editor has sent
me an urgent request to furnish details for his December
issue. Unfortunately, " Owd Tom " was in a delicate state
of health, and I think the fear of going over to the great
majority was upon him, and he wanted to make sure his
pet fern would be cared for if he want the way of all flesh.
He then and there promised that if I would tend and care
for his Dryopteris, he would give instructions that it
should be handed over to me in case of his decease. The
poor old fellow died in the Barrow-in-Furness Hospital
some little time afterwards. His Ferns were scattered
about, but fortunately the Dryopieris came to me through
his sister, Mrs. Smith, of Dalton, Lanes., as did also
part of a Polystichiim Lonchitis, which I showed at the
Society's meeting at Arnside. This plant was also found
by "Owd Tom" very near the spot where the Oak Fern
was growing on Whitbarrow Scar at an altitude of between
300 and 400 feet, and quite near the sea. The finding of
Lonchitis on this Scar has been confirmed by Mr. Sargeant,
a schoolmaster, and an enthusiastic botanist, at Barrow-
in-Furness. He and two friends found several plants near
the spot indicated to me by " Owd Tom." This find at so
low an altitude constitutes a record. Our Editor, Dr.
Stansfield, Mr. T. E. Henwood, and Mr. H. Stansfield are
each in possession of a bit of the Dryopteris, and I hope

244

that ere long every collection of Note will be further
enriched with a specimen which, without doubt, is a very
desirable addition to our beautiful British Ferns.

WILD FERN ''SPORTS."

It is a curious fact that despite the now very large
number of marked "sports" which have been discovered,
each one, as a rule, has its distinct characteristics, and we
believe it would be safe to say that no two so exactly
resemble each other as to be practically indistinguishable
when placed side by side. We do not include, of course,
such common forms as the merely forked Hartstongues
which are so frequently found where the species prevails,
and are known as Scol. vnlgare lohatum, or varieties which
occur so closely associated as to be legitimately assumed as
the offspring of one among the group. The crispum
Hartstongues, for instance, of which a considerable number
were found by Col. A. M. Jones in one lane in the
Chepstow district, were practically identical in form, but
can only be assumed, as they themselves are perfectly
barren, to be the offspring of some of the apparently
normal Hartstongues in the vicinity, in the blood or sap
of which the capacity of sporting in this direction was
implanted. Even in the crispums, however, a number
of diverse forms have turned up, and vary in outline,
development of basal lobes, width, length of stalk, outline
of edge and depth of frill quite sufficiently for recognition,
while if crests are developed they are nearly always on
different lines of division. The innumerable tasselled
forms of other species shew this individuality, as a rule,
markedly, though one would expect that mere multiplica-
tion of the growing terminals would be effected on similar
lines. Instead of this, however, the tassels vary in extent
of development from simple forkings to dense bunches;

245

they may develop on flat fan-like lines, or with spherical
corymbs with many grades between. As a rule, the
pinnae and minor divisions of a fern frond are replicas
on a smaller scale of the frond itself, as is well
seen in those forms known as ahasilohttm or medio-
deficiens. There the lobes of the pinnae next the middle
of the frond are reduced or lacking, leaving an open space
down the centre and in good forms also, in conformity with
the rule aforesaid, down the centre of the pinnae itself,
forming a pretty feature. Correlated with this, if we
examine the frond itself, the lowest pinnae are often absent
or reduced, showing that the influence pervades the plant.
Nature, however, ignores hard and fast lines, and hence
with a few crested varieties the minor divisions may be
well crested and the frond tip less so, or even not at all.
Thus it is with the several independent finds of P. ang.
gvacile cristatum, wherein the pinnules are well fanned, the
pinnae well crested, and the tip is only minutely divided.
It is somewhat curious that despite the fact that our best
plumose divisilobe forms of P. angidave, viz. the Jones and
Fox section, have been raised more than once from a merely
decomposite wild find, none of such a type have been found
wild, though the parent of them, P. ang. decompositiivi
splendens, must have scattered millions of spores in the
locality where it was discovered. Nevertheless, the first
time the spores were sown under cultivation a batch of these
beautiful ne\v forms resulted, so different from the parent
that neither Col. Jones nor Dr. Fox could credit their
origin until a second sowing produced similar results, thus
removing all doubt. There is, indeed, extremely little
evidence that very marked "sports," i.e. such as show
great departures from the normal lines, are the outcome of
gradational forms, i.e. forms of similar but less marked
character. Naturally when a good *' find " is secured the
locality is carefully searched, but there is no record of
successful endeavour to find linking types between such

246

■"finds" and the common specific type. Even that
extraordinary Athyrium, A.f.f. VictoricBy with its dupli-
cate tasselled subdivisions set on at right angles to
each other, has never been found again, although its
offspring through its spores show the new type invari-
ably. Nevertheless, the Fern as found was a long estab-
lished plant with several crowns, and must have scattered
hundreds, or even thousands of millions of spores before
it was removed and yet no replica has turned up in its
locality, though it has been searched assiduously over and
over again. The only approach to it was found by the
writer away in Devonshire in the shape of a merely
cruciate but not crested form, with a tendency to furcation
at the tips. That wild " sports," however, could produce,
under wild conditions, secondary sports in which their
character has been greatly enhanced, is proved by the
case of Scol. v. sa^ittato-lobatwii found in Cornwall. This
is merely one of the innumerable " lobatum " forms in
which the frond tips are divided into several, plus, in this
instance, the extension of this dividing tendency to the
two lobes at the frond base, which were lengthened and
forked to match but on merely fanned lines. The spores
on the fronds, taken, be it noted, from the fern when
found, and which, therefore, had received no cultural
stimulus whatever, yielded in the hands of the writer a
number of plants ranging between quite common Harts-
tongues and erratic attempts to imitate the sagittate or
barbed arrow type of the parent ; but with these there
appeared nine plants, all alike, in which the cresting had
been developed into dense corymbose bunches both at
the frond terminals and the basal ones. The result was
the practical disappearance of the blade-like portion of
the frond and the bringing together into a triangular
bunch of all three crests, utterly transforming the fern,
which was consequently named 5. v. sagittato gvandiceps.
This, had it been found wild, would certainly not have

247

been attributed to its parental form, among whose other
offspring there were moreover no gradational types, the
nine plants stood out clearly and definitely by themselves,
and when their spores have been sown, they have
reproduced themselves quite truly. Bulbils are occasion-
ally produced on the surfaces of the fronds of this variety
y{vide Frontispiece, December, 191 3).

C. T. D.

ON VARIATION GENERALLY.

(On glancing through our first Fern Book, " Choice
British Ferns," published as long ago as 1888 — as soon
indeed as we persuaded ourselves that we had accumulated
•enough experience to be able to distribute some of it in
printed form — we have thought that the following excerpts
from it might interest our present readers, the great
majority of whom we may reasonably assume to be un-
acquainted with a book which has now been out of print
for many years.)

We are constantly brought into contact with the
phenomenon of variation, since it is precisely due to its
existence that we are enabled to discriminate John Smith
from Tom Robinson, and to single out, without the
shadow of a misgiving, all our numberless friends and
acquaintances, male or female, from the myriad similar
human beings with whom we find them associated.

The saying that " variety is charming " is universally
accepted as a true one, but few consider what the world
would be without it. Imagine, for one moment, for in-
stance, what a lively state of affairs it would cause in
society if every man or woman exactly resembled every
other. In Shakespeare's " Comedy of Errors " we see how
complex matters became owing to only two couples — these
both males — lacking this essential element of variety, the
imbroglio of mistakes between masters and men, and,

248

worse still, between husbands and wives, being endless.
If, then, this uniformity were to be carried a step further,.
and become general, we can easily see that the whole
foundation of civilisation would be undermined, and chaos
would come again ; the great question of " Who's who ? "
upon the more or less easy solubility of which modern life
is built, being thereby rendered a dark and impenetrable
mystery, until some beneficent fairy should step in and
restore the long noses, short noses, snub, Semitic and
Roman noses, thick lips, thin lips, big mouths like caves,
and little ones like rosebuds, etc., which now render re-
cognition easy, enabling us skilfully to evade a bore on
the one hand and to buttonhole our unsuspecting friends
on the other, or to meet our new loves and avoid our old
ones, with a fair certainty of not reversing the process by
mistake.

Amongst our fellow-countrymen our powers of recogni-
tion in this respect are sharp enough ; but if we went, say
to China, we should find that the general characteristics of
high cheek-bones, slanting eyes, sallow complexions, short
noses, and pigtails, would necessitate a certain apprentice-
ship before we could easily detect the celestial John Smith
from the celestial Tom Robinson, though the difference
between the two, to celestial eyes, is probably striking
enough.

To descend a bit in the scale of creation. To the
ordinary observer it would be impossible to detect, much
less define, the difference between one sheep and another
in a fiock of the same breed, yet the breeder will have no
difficulty in finding better or worse points among them ;
while it is notorious that many shepherds can recognise,
unfailingly, every sheep in their care. These external
differences between the individuals are further supplemented
by, and are partly the result of, differences in temper and
constitution, which represent what may be termed moral
variation, as distinct from physical. These differences,

249

subtle or manifest, characterise every individual thing in
creation ; so that it may safely be affirmed that there are
no two living beings, from the monad to the man, which,
however alike apparently, would not, if brought together
and compared, be found to differ, not only in one, but in
many respects — i.e. would betray variation.

The tendency of Nature is, by the free intercourse
among the various individuals of a species, to check the
growth of any type of variation in special directions, and
so to maintain a fair level of uniformity ; if, however, a
change of the conditions of existence be brought about,
then any variations which help existence under the
altered conditions will manifestly be fostered, and tend to
accumulate, because the individuals so favoured have a
better chance of longer life and more numerous offspring.
For instance — in order to keep to our subject — if a number
of Ferns be transported to a warmer or colder climate than
is natural to them, in the first place, only those survive
which are best fitted to stand the change, and in the
succeeding generations, all those of their offspring whose
constitutions vary ever so little in the right direction will
grow stronger, scatter more spores, and transmit their
greater strength continually, until, in course of time, the
balance will be restored, and a tribe of Ferns of a different
constitution, and, what is more to the point, of distinctly
different appearance, will be found to exist.

This is Nature's general method, which is a slow and
mercilessly extravagant one. But if we bring man upon
the scene, with his selective and protective power, the
process is enormously accelerated ; and, practically, ne
can do as much in the way of re-modelling a cow, a dog, a
pigeon, a flower, or even a Fern, in his own lifetime, as
Nature, left alone, would accomplish in thousands of years.
This re-modelling is effected by ihe constant selection by
the breeder, or horticulturist, or Fern-lover, of the types
nearest to his ideal one, and the rejection of all others, the

250

result, in most cases, being eventually the production of a
breed or strain possessing exactly the points aimed at.

[To be continued.)

DEFERRED VARIATION.

I have found it difficult to define a heading for the note
I have in view, the case being quite new in my experience.
Sometime back, in 191 3, I gave our member Mr. Woollard
several small seedling Athyria ex a pan of seedlings of
plumose and crested forms derived I believe from my own
*'superbum" strain. They varied considerably in type
but were too young to name, nor did they present such
definite character as in my judgment dictated special care.
They ranked, indeed, merely as the ** pretty ones," which
form welcome gifts to visitors but hardly rank with the
elite. Recently, however, Mr. Woollard brought for my in-
spection one of these plants, which this season had formed
eight or ten fronds all alike and some eight or nine inches
long. All these had heavy bunch or corymbose crests at
the terminals, which gave them by their weight a pendu-
lous habit, the side divisions were short and also bunch
crested, while the pinnules were prettily percristate, all
shewing clearly " superbum " blood but lacking the delicate
percristate plumose character of that section which appears
when the crests are smaller and the fronds flat and of
more normal outline. The singularity, however, of the
case was that while a symmetrical ring of fronds, as
described, had been produced during the season from a
single crown, two additional fronds arose to complete the
season's growth, and these were altogether on different
lines, being upright, of normal width and habit, with
their tips bearing delicately-fanned tassels, the side
divisions smaller ones and redivided into beautifully-
fanned pinnules on the most thoroughbred and beautiful
" superbum " lines. Both fronds were perfect and formed

251

a most striking contrast in every respect to the eight or ten
which preceded them from the same crown. The causes
of variation are sufficiently batfling, but this type of it is
more so than usual, since it does not belong to the category
of either seminal or bud "sports," neither can it be
imputed to change of environment, since the plant con-
cerned had been in the same pot all the season while
producing the earlier fronds of the corymbiferous type and
had not been shifted when it altered its mind as it were
and determined to close the season with fronds on another
plan. It now remains to be seen how it will act next
season. I should, however, be inclined to predict that the
new and superior type would then arise, the bunch type
being a sort of preliminary stage only. Let us hope so,
as it will then undoubtedly rank among the foremost of
the elite. C. T. D.

FERN-HUNTING: WILD FINDS AND

SEEDLINGS.

The question is sometimes asked, and perhaps more
often thought, " Why do you trouble to hunt for wild ferns
when there are so many beautiful things — far more than
you can find room to grow, and far better than anything
you can hope to find — which can be had almost for the
asking ? " Put in this blunt way, the question may well
seem a poser to the man who has little spare time, who is,
moreover, well past his prime, and who is possibly " fat
and scant o' breath." Nevertheless, the true hunter, the
man who has once tasted blood, goes on steadily hunting
whenever and wherever the opportunity may arise, although
his collection may be already crowding his accommodation
to its utmost limit. He can alwavs make room for a new
find even though he may have to give away something
better in order to do so. There is great satisfaction in a
day spent among the glens and fells of the north or in

252

tramping along the lanes and hedgerows of the south.
The normal ferns, when in wild health and luxuriance,
are so beautiful that a day is well spent if one sees nothing
else. There is always, however, the possibility of coming
across a "good thing," and the rarity of a valuable find
makes the prize all the more appreciated when it is found.
It is only the man who has hunted in vain for days or
weeks who can really understand the joy of success. The
wild find is the hunter's very own ; it comes straight from
the womb of Nature, and owes nothing to the work of any
previous hunter or raiser. Even though, as frequently
happens now, the find may have been equalled or sur-
passed by previous finds, it has an individuality of its own
and is entitled to rank as an independent entity. Let it
not be imagined that I wish to disparage or despise the
work of the raiser of new ferns. Far from it. We owe
very much to the work of fern raisers, both amateur and
professional, and many, if not most, of our most beautiful
varieties have been raised by cultivators. But, after all,
the raiser can only build upon the foundation laid by the
hunter. No cultivator would think of sowing the spores
of a normal form for the sole purpose of obtaining a new
variety. The game would not be worth the candle.
Nature, however, is perpetually doing the work on a large
scale, and the result of her sowings are there ready to the
hand of him who has the patience and the time to find the
treasures.

Another question sometimes asked is, "Why do you
make such a fuss about having a bit of the original find
rather than a seedling from it ? " There are doubtless
many ferns which come so true from spores that a seedling
is quite undistinguishable from the original. In these cases
the preference for the original is merely a sentimental one.
It is, nevertheless, a force to be reckoned with, and is
comparable to the demand (often at high prices) for copies
of the first edition of a book.

253

The great majority of ferns, however, vary more or less
when raised from spores. The seedlings are only approxi-
mately, and not absolutely, like the parent ; some may be
undistinguishable, some may be better than the parent, but
a considerable proportion are inferior, it may be only
slightly, but still inferior. If seedlings be again raised
from these seedlings it is obvious that in a few generations
the character may be considerably modified without any
great break having been observed. For these reasons it
is important that the original plant should always, as far as
possible, be preserved as a standard. Our Society is doing
•something by means of its herbarium to preserve an official
standard and record of named varieties, but it would be
better still if a record could be kept of the whereabouts of
living original plants. If desired, I would myself be willing
to keep such a record and to publish the particulars from
time to time. Of course, if a distinctly improved form of
any variety be raised it becomes itself a new departure,
and is itself an original. We must beware, however, of
giving names to seedlings which depart very slightly from
the original — that way lies madness and confusion. There
has been too much of this in the past, and new names have
undoubtedly been given to plants which were only modified
" states," or even inferior forms, of old varieties. Many of
these elaborate names will, in the future, have to disappear
as the differences which they were supposed to denote are
not maintained under cultivation. This redundancy of
names applies, in a less degree, even to wild finds : for
example a gentleman once told me that he had found
fourteen seedling ferns together under one rock. The
fourteen were grown on and given separate names.
Eventually they were exhibited before the Royal Horti-
cultural Society and obtained fourteen first-class certifi-
cates ! To-day the fourteen names have disappeared and
all, if known at all, are known under one name which was
not new when the find was made. A newly found variety

254

which is similar in its main characters to an older one^
but which differs in some small detail ought not to be
given a separate name, but should receive the name which
is descriptive of its character, being distinguished by the
addition of the name of its finder ; for example, in P.
angnlave we have plumosum of Elworthy, WoUaston, Moly,
Patey, etc., and lineare of James, Wills, Moly, Steadman,
etc. In the case of seedlings it is still more important
that names should not be given ruthlessly. A seedling
raised from another variety should not receive a name at
all unless perfectly distinct from its parent, and from all
other named varieties. In a distinctly improved form it
may be given the name which appertains to it, and have
affixed the name of the raiser, e.g. A. f.f. plumosum
Druery, etc.

Seedlings differing slightly from their parents, but
inferior in their main characters, should not receive names
at all, and it is much better that they should not be pre-
served— the rubbish heap is the place for them. There is
perhaps no great harm in their being sometimes kept for
merely decorative purposes, provided it is recognised that
they are merely seedlings and not named varieties. Fronds
from plants of this character are frequently sent to our
Editor and others to be named, and the senders are dis-
appointed to learn that no exact name can be given. This
matter has doubtless been mentioned before, but it is so
important that, at the risk of being tedious, I venture to
" rub it in " once more. Finally, I would say to the
hunter, "go on hunting," and to the raiser, "go on
raising," but please do not imagine that everything
raised, or even everything found, is new or requires a new
name.

F. W. Stansfield.

255

FERN FRONDS FOR NAMING.

Since a considerable number of fronds are sent to the
Editor for naming, he would feel obliged if the following
rules were observed : —

1. The fronds sent should either be carefully pressed
flat and placed dry between sheets of stout paper or card-
board so as to show their character to the best advantage,
or sent in a Iresh and undamaged condition in damp moss so
as to show them to the best advantage in their living form.

2. Each specimen should have a slip attached bearing a
number, so that it can be identified on return with the plant
concerned.

If it is desired that the fronds be returned, postage
stamps should be remitted to cover expense.

Furthermore, it should be remembered that it is prac-
tically impossible to name varieties safely from very young
fronds or much damaged ones.

How not to do it is exemplified by a large cardboard
box before us as we write, in the corner of which on
unpacking we find three small shrivelled fronds lying quite
loose, and which would have been in far better form if simply
placed between the folds of the accompanying letter at the
cost of a penny instead of threepence. These dried relics
have been placed in water, and may or may not recover
their form sufficiently to enable recognition. Vcyb. sap.
sat. The Editor.

The Editor would remind the Members that Messrs.
H. B. May and Sons, Edmonton, are distributing true
plants of that uniquely beautiful fern, P. aculeafum gvacilli-
muni Druevyii.

A VISIT TO ACTON.

On October 24th, in company with Mr. Henwood and
Mr. C. Henwood, I paid a visit to our Editor and Hon.
Secretary, Mr. C. T. Druery, at Acton. We were received

256

with the kindness and hospitality which is characteristic
of our host, no less than of other distinguished fern growers
whom we have visited. Being shortly ushered into the
fern house proper (the whole premises constitute a fernery),
our attention was first rivetted upon a particularly fine
form of Scol. v. crispum Dviuninondiae which Mr. Druery
had this year received from Mr. R. Bolton {vide Frontis-
piece). It differed from the usual type of that fascinating,
but somewhat disappointing, fern in having no normal or
inferior fronds, but in being thoroughly uniform in character
all through. The margins are deeply and finely fringed
throughout, while the fronds are terminated by heavy
crests, also finely fringed, which cause the " switch-back "
fronds to droop elegantly. Whether these fine characters
will remain permanently remains to be seen, but at present
the plant has every appearance of thoroughness and settled
character.

Another recent acquisition was a plant of the new foliose
or sub-plumose form of Polypodmm dryopteris, which was
found some years ago on Whitbarrow by Mr. Christo-
pherson, but for the introduction of which to the Society
and to general notice we are indebted to Mr. F. G. H.
Eley, who has acted as foster-father and guardian. It has
hitherto been thought that the Oak Fern could scarcely be
improved by any variation, but it must be admitted that
we have here a variety which is more beautiful than the
parent species, lovely as that undoubtedly is. I recently
saw this doing well at Mr. Eley's place, and I am indebted
to him for a plant of it. Near at hand was quite a nice
plant of Mr. Druery's A. f.f. halothrix cristatnin, which
hitherto no one else seems to have succeeded in persuading
to flourish. It is undoubtedly a difficult subject, and it is
appropriate that the raiser should be the first to really
succeed in its cultivation. Another plant noticed here was
Bhchnnni sp. revolvcns Drucvy found near Barnstaple in
191 1. It is quite thorough in its semi-tubular form, and
the finder has succeeded in raising a flourishing batch

257

of seedlings which already show the character quite dis-
tinctly. Emerging from the vestibule into the main temple
of fern-worship a bewildering array of large specimen
plants of rare and unique ferns meet the eye. Several
large plants of P. aculeatum gvacilliniwn, closely resembling
each other in general character, but ail varying in minute
points of detail, make an imposing show. These ferns are
now (end of October) at their best, and will doubtless
remain in full beauty all through the winter ; the peculiar
value of P. aculeatum as the most thoroughly evergreen of
our large-growing British ferns is here strikingly displayed.
All the gracillimums are gems of the first water, and I
venture to refer especially to P. a. gvacillimum dimorphum,
mainly because it has not, I believe, been hitherto
described. The fronds are somewhat narrower and pro-
portionately longer than in the other gracillimums, showing
more the outline of the parent pulcherrimum, but having,
along with the slender gracillimum character, a touch also
of plumosum, which makes a most charming combination.
A neighbouring plant is P. acul. plumosum Gveeuj a splendid
thing in which the pluQiosum character has been carried
to a pitch of perfection which it would have been difficult
to believe the species capable. Another fern to claim
attention was a fine piece of the "original" A. f.f.
Clavissima, and probably the only one which has been given
to the outer world by the family of the late Col. Jones,
with whose name this splendid fern is intimately asso-
ciated. Although at this season the fronds had assumed
the ivory-white of autumn, the fronds remained in the full
splendour of their form and habit. The long, raking
perfectly-formed fronds and grand symmetrical habit at
once distinguish the original from its aposporous offspring
and, fine as the latter can be when well grown, it must be
confessed that they cannot compare in grace and nobility
with the original. A small offset was detected springing
from the base of the main crown, and was immediately
detached and presented to the writer, a piece of generosity
for which I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude.

258

Another fern of ivory-white colour was a piece of my
own Lastrea montana phimosa, not large but well grown and
in splendid character. There can be no doubt that this
fern, like most plumose varieties, appreciates glass pro-
tection, and it is doubtful whether it can be induced to do
its really best without this artificial aid.

Other choice things noted were the celebrated seedling
P. ang. Baldwinii, still flourishing in its square pan, and
what is, perhaps, the next best of the plumose divisilobes
P, ang. div. pi. Esplan, of which many pseudo-forms are
in cultivation. The real thing, as here seen, is less finely
divided than Baldwinii, but is even more foliose than that,
or perhaps any other, form in general cultivation. It is
also distinguished by prostrate, rather narrow fronds
which give the plant a starfish-like character. Seedlings
of this form, which are often seen, run into densum and
Grimmondiae and are sometimes undistinguishable from
these. A. f.f. plumosiim Dnievy and pluniosntn pevcvistatum
Druery — grand plants — were still standing in pride, but
somewhat past their best for this season. A propos of
the latter it was after we had gone through the fernery
(only a tithe of whose contents I have been able to
mention) and were being shown some of our host's choicest
art treasures that our member, Mr. J. W. Woollard, was
introduced, bringing with him a fern which had been given
to him earlier in the season by ]\Ir. Druery and which
was believed to be a seedling from A. f.f. plumosum
percvistaUim. It seemed to have somehow caught a dash
of the setigerum character, and this, combined with the
plumose and percristate characters, produced an effect of
most exquisite and refined beauty. The earlier fronds
were heavily crested and plumose, but it was in the
autumnal ones that the setigerum character appeared,
with reduced but very symmetrical crests. This is a most
promising new fern and will probably be another triumph
of the celebrated " superbum " strain. {Vide also p. 250.)

F. W. Stansfield,

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES."

By Charles T, Druery^ V.M.H., F.L.S.^

With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones, of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net; in half morocco, gilt,
los. 6d. net.

An appendix consisting of ninety-six of the choicest of
the late Col. Jones' nature prints, which the author has
been kindly permitted by Miss Jones to use, renders this
book absolutely unique, apart from its comprehensive and
practical character in other directions. Certainly no
British Fern lover or Botanical Library should be without
it as the standard work on the subject, and it would be an
advantage to the author (the Editor of the Gazette and
secretary of the British Pteridological Society) if orders
for it were sent to him personally to his address as given
elsewhere.

FERNS.

* * *

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 obtainable in this
country.

At their Nurseries will be found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

^ ~ ^

StODc, 6rccnDou$e, ana oibcr Plants
. . . arc also laraclp grown. . . .

* * *

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
apon application to—

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 2. No. 23.

. . . ^be . . .

JBritieb ]fern
6a3ette,

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

flDarcb, 1915.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY, V.M.H., F.L.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Dniery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, IV.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

A. F.F. FEUCRIbXATUM SETIGERO-SUPEKBUM,

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2.

MARCH, 1915.

No. 23.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (a remarkable Athyrium)

The Wardian Case..

Ferns, etc., in Airtight Bottles

The Weevil as a Fern Foe

On Variation Generally {conclusion) ..

How I Removed my Fern Collection (T. G

PoLYPODiuM Calcareum (Dr. F. W. Stansfield)

Fern Experiences (Rev, E. H. Hawkins)

British Ferns Abroad (S. P. Rowlands)

H.

Eley)

PAGE

260
261
264
269
272
274
278

279

281

EDITORIAL NOTES.

As we are now entering once more upon the period
when our British Ferns are beginning literally " to stir
their stumps " at the commencement of a new seasonal
campaign, we may hope for the resumption of the interest
which has naturally been more or less dormant during the
"dead " se .^on. We also hope that it maybe attended by
the acquisition of new forms, both by search for the wild
and by spore selection, which latter, now that we have such
a wealth r' choice forms to sow from, should be all the
more succesiiful. In this particular connection the Editor
cannot help expressing his regret that, with a membership
of over 150, and with the stimulus which he endeavours to
impart through the "Gazette," so little of the correspondence
he receives points to activity in spore sowing on proper
selective lines and consequent results. Contributions to the
" Gazette " itself are also confined to far too few members,
though its columns are open to all really practical matter,
apart from the information which the Editor is always
ready to give to the best of his ability.

2 6o

Again expressing our hope for a speedy termination of the
war on just and permanent lines, and repeating our sincere
belief that absolutely the best antidote for any sadness
which its consideration involves, is the continued pursuit
of a favourite natural hobby like our own, we beg our
members not to relax their efforts to increase their
numbers, but to aid the Editor to the utmost by losing
no opportunity of introducing new ones.

The ** Gazette" stands alone as a publication dealing
specially with the British Fern cult, and it is the Editor's
desire to see all matters of interest in that connection
gravitate to its pages. Specimen copies will always be
sent on receipt of application from possible members,
and the small subscription of 5s. per annum — from August
to August — entitling to four issues of the " Gazette " and
all the privileges of membership, should certainly not form
an obstacle to joining to any real Fern lover.

X

The subscription for 1914-15 is now due, and the
Hon. Secretary would be obliged by its remittance at
an early date to his address, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,
London, W.

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

In our December issue, under the heading " Deferred
Variation," we gave an account of a very beautiful
Athyrium, which at the end of last season altered its
type of frond in a very extraordinary fashion, and as we
have fortunately been able, by the courtesy ol Mr.
Woollard, to secure a very good photograph of one
of the two fronds concerned, we have chosen to reproduce
it for our frontispiece, though refraining from definitely
naming it until another season confirms its permanence.
In any case, such a type is well worthy of record, even
if it prove dimorphic, as a careful inspection of the

26l

photo will show. As a temporary name, we call it
A . /./. pevcvistatum setigevo supcvhtiiii. C T T)

THE WARDIAN CASE.

The Wardian case is nowadays so familiar an object
that we are apt to lose sight of the immense revolution in
plant culture which the recognition of the principle involved
therein has led to. At the time when Mr. Ward grasped
this principle, i.e. that a closed glass case gave an
immense control over several vital factors m plant
life, an enormous number of plants were perforce con-
fined to their native habitats, since their removal and
transport involved drastic changes of temperature and
humidity which they could not stand, and hence the
attempts of travelling botanists to enrich our home
collections were in most cases nugatory. The accidental
development, however, of a tiny Fern in a closed bottle
inspired Mr. Ward with the idea that more than half the
battle would be won if similar conditions of equability
could be secured on a larger scale, and it is from this tiny
germ of thought that have grown many of the facilities of
transport to which we owe the vast extension of our
collections of living plants from all parts of the world.
For the amateur plant lover the Wardian case, with which
may be associated bell-glasses provided with appropriate
soil receptacles, should be of far greater use than it really
is, since it is the exception rather than the rule to find
such a case properly furnished and with the contained
plants in proper condition. To this several causes
contribute, firstly, the drainage arrangements are apt
to be bad, sourness of soil and unhealthy plants resulting
inevitably ; secondly, insufficient light is given and the
plants become drawn and unsightly ; thirdly, unsuitable
plants are introduced, both as regards constitution and
size ; arid, fourthly, there are frequently too many, the

262

result being a tangled jungle in lieu of a pretty group.
We propose therefore to deal with these evils seriatim.
To secure proper drainage the soil box should be provided
with an outlet pipe with an external tap, and, prior to any
soil being put in, the outlet should be carefully covered
with concave pieces of broken pot, a good layer of the
same being arranged as loosely as possible all over the
bottom of the box as well. Upon this layer spread
another of mossy fibrous material so as to form a sort
of mat to prevent the soil settling closely down into the
drainage layer and choking it. The soil, consisting of a
rubbly open compost of loam and peat or leaf-mould in
equal proportions, with a liberal dash of coarse silver
sand, may then be filled in, and is none the worse for
a mixture of pieces of free — i.e. porous — stone. Any-
thing, indeed, which will tend to prevent the soil from
settling down into a wet impervious mass is good, and
watering should be deferred until the plants are in, and
any little rockwork arrangement on the surface completed.
Every time the case is watered the tap below should be
opened until all surplus is drawn off, and, this being done,
it is clear that with such arrangements as are indicated a
stagnant accumulation is an impossibility.

As regards the second point of light, as much direct day-
light, but not sunshine, should be afforded as is possible;
the case if at a window should stand close against it, a
north or easterly aspect being best. At the best there is
always a tendency with window plants to get drawn
towards the light with some sacrifice of grace and vigour,
and the more top light or nearly top light we can afford
the less they will suffer in this respect. This really
hinges to some extent on our third point, the suitability
of the plants grown, which is a very material one indeed.
Where it is impossible to provide ample light filmy Ferns
and Selaginellas are alone available, and for quite cold

263

culture we suggest the former, especially Trichomancs
i'adicans, the Kiilarney Fern, and one or two native
Hymenophyllums, H. tiinhvidgense and unilateralc, while
if the case be a large one nothing finer can be imagined
than a specimen of Todea supevba as a central object with
the others around it. For such a group a rude rockery
must be constructed by heaping up the soil into a mound
and inserting lumps of sandstone or other porous rock all
over the surface. The Todea can be simply planted in
the centre in the ordinary way, but the others should be
tied on to the rock pieces, spreading their running roots
or rootstocks over their faces. Mulch them with a little
more compost so as to bury the roots, and finally, when
all is finished, drench the surface well in such a way as to
wash the mulching in, and so expose the rootstocks again
to the air. Selaginellas look very pretty for a time, but
grow as a rule too freely, and hence, if used, it is better to
grow them separately as representative specimens rather
than with other plants which they are apt to overrun.
Where a good north light is available the same rockery
system can be utilised for a group of dwarf or small
species of hardy Ferns, all the varieties of the Maidenhair
Spleen worts [Aspleninm tvichoinanes) doing well if planted
in chinks on the slope facing the light. A group of the
crested, incised, and other fine varieties of this species
would fill a case to great advantage, and, space permit-
ting, there are some charming dwarf Lady Ferns, Male
Ferns, and Hartstongues which would do capitally as
associates. Here, however, a word of warning as to
watering may well be interpolated. Never wet the fronds
at all is a good rule. Even the filmy Ferns are better
without if the case be kept close. The fronds have little
or no chance of drying when once wet, and hence any
decay is apt to spread.

Chas. T. Druery, F.L.S., \'.M.H.

{1^0 be continued.)

264

FERNS, ETC., IN AIRTIGHT BOTTLES.

In order that a definite record of a very peculiar case
in tliis connection should appear in print in so appropriate
a publication as "The British Fern Gazette," I reproduce
here my paper as read in December, 1908, to the Linnean
Society, with the explanation that the said Society having
informed me at the time that they could only insert it with
the remark that they did not undertake any responsibility
for its correctness, I naturally resented this as a slur
upon my reputation as a careful observer, and conse-
quently withdrew the paper altogether rather than
submit to it. In view of the evidence produced
I am confident our men:bers will approve my deci-
sion. I am the more induced to recur to this matter
as the identical bottle still exists in my fernery, with its
contents undisturbed, and, extraordinary to relate, at the
time of writing (January 28th, 1915 — that is, fully ten years
from its first installation, 1904) it still contains as a living
green plant one of the seedling Lastreas mentioned,
though, be it particularly noted, not a single drop of water
has been introduced during the whole period in addition to
the minute quantity originally present in the wet sand.
The tightly-fitting stopper has, of course, been used all
the time to prevent evaporation. The complete paper
runs as follows : —

The Hartstongue Fern (Scolopendvium vulgare) possesses
the faculty of producing a number of bulbils on detached
portions of the extreme bases of its fronds if these be
pulled away from the central caudex, laid upon wet sand,
exposed to light and kept close. i\s many as thirty-six such
buds have been noted on a single base about an inch long.
There are no incipient buds at the outset, and those
produced originate at any point on the surface, or on cut
surfaces if the bases be severed into several pieces, I
exhibit a glass-stoppered bottle showing such a base with

265

small plint produced from such a bulbil. About four
years ago it occurred to me to try how long such a plant
would exist if fresh air were entirely excluded, and I
consequently placed a small base about one-third of an inch
long, which had developed a bud, in a glass pickle jar,
closed by a glass stopper provided with a tightly-fitting,
rubber ring, the rim of the stopper also resting on the rim
of the jar. The jar being thoroughly cleansed, some
coarse silver sand, thoroughly washed and freed from
all organic matter, was placed in the bottom of the jar
to about an inch in depth ; the surplus water was drawn
off by means of blotting-paper, so that the sand was
simply saturated but not flooded. The base bearing the
bud with one minute frond was then dropped on to the
•centre of the sand, bud uppermost ; the stopper was
inserted tis^htly and wired over to prevent removal.

From that time to this growth has continued, the
Hartstongue has grown healthily season after season, its
fronds reaching the stopper, and, as may be seen, partly
filling the jar. In addition to the Hartstongue, two
seedling Lastreas have made their appearance, probably
from stray spores adherent originally to the base. A dense
mass of confervoid growth accompanies the Ferns, and
recently a small worm was noticed on the glass inside.
As water from the main was used, and confervas spores
were probably on the base itself, the presence of other
vegetation than the Fern intentionally introduced is
easily accounted for. The problem, however, is. Whence
has all the material been derived for so much vegetative
growth, considering that originally only a very small
piece of the base of a Hartstongue frond was introduced,
that the sand (quartz) was thoroughly washed, and that
the bottle being hermetically sealed, no fresh supply
•of carbonic acid gas was available for structural purposes ?
On exhibiting the bottle in May, 1907, to the Scientific

266

Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, the-
possibility of the bottle not being hermetically sealed
was put forward as accounting for the growth, and
consequently a thick coating -of sealing-wax was applied
over the interstice between the glass stopper and the
rim of the bottle. No check, however, resulted, and in
the spring of 1908, after the winter rest, growth was
resumed as actively as before, and the tronds, now
decayed, reached the stopper, as can be seen. Some
three months ago the wax was removed, and a neater
and more convincing sealing was effected by a coating
of fine enamel paint.

In my opinion, however, there has been all along, a
perfect exclusion of air, since had there been any circula-
tion owing to leakage, the small amount of water originally
present must have been materially reduced, whereas the
original condition of saturation appears to be maintained,,
despite the absorption by the vegetation. The amount of
carbonic acid gas in the small volume of air originally
present in the bottle, about 24 cubic inches, would be one
•three-thousandth part, equal about -008 of a cubic inch,,
and of that minute part only one-third would be carbon,
and the questions therefore arise. How have these plants
been enabled to fashion so much foliage with so little
material, and how is it that growth still continues appar-
ently unchecked ? I'^urihermore, there is the question of
earthy salts to be considered, the experiment having been
started with practically pure quartz sand, while water
from the main could only contain an infinitesimal portion.
I exhibit this bottle and also that first referred to which
was prepared in August last to make it clear how the
experiment began. In this case the sand has been boiled
and baked, and the water present in it is the boiled water
used to sterilise it. The bulbil, however, is developing
healthily, most of the growth seen being subsequent to«
installation.

267

I may, perhaps, appropriately in this connection refer
to a question suggested by this experiment, viz. How is
the supply of carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere main-
tained ? The tendency of terrestrial vegetation, especially
on forest areas, is not merely to absorb immense quantities
of carbonic acid gas for structural purposes, but, as we
see so largely evidenced in our coal formations, to lock up
a considerable proportion of the solid carbon, and put it,
as it were, out of circulation. The popular assumption
is that equilibrium is maintained by the fact that the
animal kingdom exhales carbonic acid gas and the vege-
table kingdom absorbs it and exhales oxygen, but although
this may account for a partial restoration, it is to my mind
a very partial one indeed, since there is not only the
annual lock-up of carbon aforesaid, but when we consider
the vast amount of the earth's surface occupied by vegeta-
tion and the comparative paucity of animal life, the idea
of any adequate compensation falls away. Vast areas of
forest land are all but solitudes, while the foliage must
absorb every day during the growing season an enormous
amount of carbonic acid gas, to judge by the growth of the
timber. To get at some idea of this, I applied to the well-
known authority on Forestry, Mr. A. D. Webster, who
informed me that the annual accretion of timber on a
square mile of forest land amounted to from 10,000 to
13,000 tons, according to the tree species, on the very
moderate estimate of one cubic foot per tree. On the other
side I turned to Prof. Huxley's estimate of the amount of
solid carbon as a constituent of the carbonic acid in the air
over such an area, and found it to be about 3,700 tons
carbon (Physiography, p. 84). Huxley estimates that wood
contains about half its weight of carbon, which means
that in much less than a year a forest area would entirely
exhaust the local supply, and following this up, we have only
to divide the entire earth's surface by the torestal area of

268

iriiilions of square miles, and ignoring sparser vegetation^
to arrive at a definite period of exhaustion, even taking
liberally into account the apparently inadequate sources of
replenishment through the animal kingdom, which would
simply extend such period in inverse ratio to its inadequacy.
Anyway, we arrive at the conclusion that within a quite
conceivable period the supply would be exhausted, and the
atmosphere be deprived of its present small proportion of
about I in 3,000 parts of carbonic acid gas, or i in 9,000-
parts of solid carbon.

On the other hand, however, we have abundant evidence
that active vegetation has been going on from the begin-
ning of the carboniferous epoch, when the immense
amount of carbon locked up in the coal seams was with-
drawn, as I have said, from circulation, and undoubtedly
the same process is going en now on a very large scale in
many parts of the world. Yet despite this continual draft
on the aerial resources, vegetation is presumably as active
as ever, and the inevitable question arises. How is the
supply maintained ? The oceans are locking up carbon in
their future chalk deposits — carbonate of lime, the sea-
weeds are like land plants in their structural needs, though
possibly unlike in their locking-up capacity, and as
animal life is entirely dependent on vegetation, there can
be no preponderence there to make up a deficiency.
Where, then, is the source of renewal of material to the
requisite enormous extent ? Decomposition doubtless con-
tributes sornething, animal exhalations something, man
himself is returning some of the long locked-up carbon of
the coal to the atmosphere, but what is all this as com-
pared to the drain of vegetation large and small, wild and
cultivated, which, except in arid deserts, clothes the land
with verdure, every living cell of which draws in and
breaks up its modicum of atmospheric carbonic acid, a
good proportion of which is solidified permanently.

Chas. T. Druery, F.L.S., V.M.H.

269

THE WEEVIL AS A FERN FOE.

A good many years ago, when my little book on
"Choice British Ferns" was published under the auspices
of Mr. L. I'pcott Gill, I was severely taken to task, and
justly so, by several fern-loving friends for having omitted
the Weevil {Otiovhyncns sulcatus) from my list of fern foes,
the simple fact being that, singularly enough, up to that
date my collection had entirely escaped. So far, however,
from the Weevil showing any gratitude for my omission
either to vilify him or to indicate means for his extirpation,
no long time elapsed before I begun to perceive mysterious
holes in, and bits out of, my choicest frilled and crested
Hartstongues, while now and again other species, such as
Lady Ferns and Male Ferns, developed their fronds in a
curiously faulty fashion, pinnaj and parts of pinna' failing
here and there in a way I could not attribute to their
innate capacity of variation. Day after day I searched
assiduously for the malefactor, but found nothing but
fresh holes and wider dilapidations without a trace of the
cause. Late one evening, however, I glided into my
fernery with a light, a visiting friend having very con-
siderately congratulated himself on finding a fellow -sufferer
from the semi-nocturnal Weevil, and there, sure enough, I
found several of the depredators hard at work nibbling
away merrily at my ferny pets in a ruthless fashion
peculiar to them and their succulent friends, the cater-
pillars. Thereafter not a night passed without a thorough
hunt, the number of captures gradually decreased to the
vanishing-point, and the damage eventually ceased. The
following spring, however, amongst other similar cases, a
small pan of very choice seedling Athyria began to Hag in
a most unaccountable manner, and presently a number
of fronds fell over, being quite severed from the roots.
At first I took this for the too familiar sign of the presence
of the leather-coated grub of the Daddy Long-legs

270

{Tipiihi oleyacea), just then rather prevalent among my
alpines ; but a careful hunt round about failed to discover
this pest in its usual haunts, and as in a day or so the
whole of the fronds were loose, and could be pulled out
of the soil with perfect ease, I turned out the pan, and
found snugly ensconced where the very heart of the fern
clump had been, some five or six fine fat white grubs
of my old foe the Weevil, which amongst them had
demolished every atom of roots, and the growing centres
as well, so that the plants were utterly destroyed.
Wishing to know whether continued immersion ot the
pots or pans in water would drown these larwe, and
obviate disturbing affected plants, I dropped the hatch
of youngsters into a tumbler of water, but on the third
day, although totally immersed the whole time, they were
all alive, and even a week later one showed enough \itality
to promise recovery if permitted. Hence, as in simply
wet earth they would probably li\ e much longer, immersion
is no safe remedy, though sometimes they will come to the
surface in a few hours and thus court destruction.

It will be seen, therefore, that the Weevil, in both its
larval and perfect state, is a terrible pest, but more
thoroughly destructive in the former. In the latter,
however, nothing can possibly be more annoying to the
fern cultivator than to find his chosen plants so terribly
disfigured as they become after a few \isits of this
marauder. One point, however, I have fairly established
by experience, and that is that although the Weevil is a
wandering, prowling insect, creeping often for long dis-
tances, and even from one frame or greenhouse to other
and distant ones, yet in nine cases out of ten repeated
search on a suffering plant will be repaid by a find, since
the same insect undoubtedly haunts a plant for some tiine,
taking up its (juarters in the soil or some chink in the \ icinity
during the day, and returning to its tit-bit at night.

^7

As regards remedies for the evil, fumigation is entirely
useless in the case of the adult or beetle form ; and as for
the larvae, anything which would kill them in situ would
certainly kill the plants they are preying upon. The only
remedy consequently is a thorough-going hunt, or rather
series of hunts, during the beetle season, May to Sep-
tember; and to conduct these properly the cunning
•of the foe must not be underrated. In the first place,
the dull, dark-coloured body of the Weevil is so exactly
the colour of ordinary soil that it cannot be distinguished
thereon unless in motion. This the Weevil seems
instinctively to know, and hence, if startled when on
the fronds by a sudden noise or bright light, it is very
apt to drop and " play possum " by lying motionless where
it falls. I have found, however, that unless the fright be
somewhat severe, they simply cling fast where they are
and can be easily picked off by the finger and thumb, and
executed thereafter in any way convenient. I have caught
a large number even in the daytime by means of a table-
spoon attached to a long stick. (Quietly inserting the spoon
beneath the culprit and then tapping an adjacent stem,
it invariably lets go and drops into the spoon, where the
"possum" tactics are useless. I have also established
the fact that although the grubs can stand immersion for
an indefinite time, the beetles cannot do so for more than
a few minutes, so that when their presence is suspected in
the soil of pot plants, and these be immersed in a pail over
the pot edges, all Weevils present immediately climb up out
of the water and can thus be easily seen and destroyed.

So far as the larvae are concerned, any plants which
show signs of their presence by flagging should at once be
shaken out and the roots washed ; the snow-white maggots
will then be seen and destroyed, and the plants, if re-potted,
may probably recoxer.

With rhizome-forming ferns, such as Polypodium vulgaye

272

and its varieties, the maggots may feed for a long time
without being discox-ered, burrowing into and tunnelling
the fleshy roots, and slowly undermining the whole plant
piecemeal. Its owner is only conscious of a continuously
decreasing upthrow of fronds, until a fine specimen
dwindles to nothing. Here, as in the other cases,
thorough washing out and remo\al of all dead and
decayed portions will assuredly reveal the maggots if they
are there; and these removed, recovery may be reasonably
expected.

ON VARIATION GENERALLY.

(Continued.)

This is usually the accumulated result of many small
differences, but not always. Nature every now and again
takes, as it were, a jump, the offspring of both animals and
plants being sometimes extremely different from the
parents, new breeds and strains thus originating which
would otherwise never have been dreamt of, and which, it
may be remarked, are not always capable of long survival
in the struggle for existence, their eccentricity being
against them, and not in their favour ; or, as we have said,
it may be obliterated by crossing with the common form.
Ferns, especially, seem gifted with this power of producing
dissimilar offspring, since many of the more marked and
extraordinary forms have been found wild, and quite
solitary in their peculiarities, no intermediate form between
them and the common having rewarded the most careful
search, either at the time or subsequently.

We are thus driven to the conclusion that such forms
are the direct offspring of one of the common b^erns in
whose company they were growing when found. The
two most striking varieties of Lady b^ern (Athyriuni Filix-
fcemina), Victorice and acrocladon, are examples of this; and
so, of course, are all the entirely barren forms, such as the

273

many wild finds of the frilled Hartstongue (Scolopcndviiim
vtilgave, var. cvispinn), the Welsh Polypody [Polypoditun
vulgare, var. cainhvicum), and others, which, presumably,
must have originated from fertile — i.e. spore-bearing
forms — the only alternative being bud-sports — i.e. plants
varying from the parents originating from a bud on roots
or frond instead of from a spore, a thing which occasionally
happens in Ferns as in other plants, but which does not
alter the case one jot.

The subtle and wonderful change which must take place
in the mother-cell, whether of spore or of bud, is just as
striking and incomprehensible, especially when we con-
sider, not only that the resulting plant may assume a
totally different plan of growth, but is henceforth endowed
with the power of exact reproduction of itself, with all its
peculiarities, through its spores — if it be fertile — just as
constantly as its ancestors, for ages untold, had reproduced
themselves. This constancy may be regarded as the rule
with all very marked and symmetrical forms, but there are
some most striking exceptions, in which, though the plants
retain the abnormal form, their progeny revert more or less
to the common. We have ourselves raised a very robust
and heavy-crested form of Hard Fern [Blechnum Spicant)
from a wild find of similar character but smaller growth.
Strange to say, the sowing from which this splendid plant
originated w^as so nearly a failure that only the one plant
resulted, which, as stated, surpasses the parent ; yet when
spores of this more marked variety were sown, fully 90 per
cent, were absolutely common Hard Ferns ; two only
closely resembled the parent ; one far surpassed it ; several
are of a different type of cresting ; one is extremely drawf,
with fronds absolutely fan-shaped — and between these and
the common ones there is every grade of cresting, from
merely squarish tips to ball-like tufts. It is manifest that,
in the production of new and distinct varieties, such

274

iDconstaDcy as this plays an important part, though it
proves a sufficiently awkward factor where the propagation
of the parent form is aimed at in any quantity, the only
certain way being division of the plant itself.

It may be taken as a rule that when once the common
form has varied, the tendency to vary again is increased ;
hence, it has been possible — as in the case just cited —
starting from a wild find of distinct character, to obtain,
in a few generations, by careful selection, plants of con-
tinually increasing beauty.

The article then went on to deal with the various types
of variation with which our readers w^ill be sufficiently
familiar through the " Gazette " since its publication.

C. T. D.

HOW I REMOVED MY FERNS OVER THREE

HUNDRED MILES.

By T. G. H. Eley.
The "Fern Gazette" has an irresistible attraction for
me, and the articles written by our talented Editor, Mr.
C. T. Druery, Dr. Stansfield, and others, are a continual
feast. The two gentlemen above-named are, out of their
vast experience, giving us of their best knowledge, and
thereby enlightening the members of the B.P.S. into
the mysteries and intricacies of the Fern cult, of which
I, as a humble member, and a very badly smiit^n one
too, tender them, and to all other literary contributors
to the " Gazette," my sincere thanks. The one article,
however, which has enthralled me beyond all others
is Mr. Cranfield's " The Narrative of a Resuscitated
Collection." I often fancy myself in that Fern paradise —
the late Mr. Moly's — grubbing and delving amongst the
entanglements of a long-neglected garden, heaving up
huge clumps with mattock, crowbar, etc., followed by
the heartrending operation of reducing such clumps, bit by

^75

bit, to the dimensions of a cigar end, before arriving at a
wee bit of green caudex as a starting point. Then the
tender and anxious care, the earnest watchfulness for
the desired signs of life, and the eventual triumph of
rescuing a valuable and historic gem. Eh, mon ! such
would be a grand achievement.

Fortunately, in removing my Ferns from Furness Abbey
to Burgess Hill, Sussex, the conditions v.ere reversed. A
four-pronged fork, instead of a mattock, answered the
purpose of '- lifting," and for the smaller plants a trowel
sufficed. The collection of over eight hundred named
varieties had been got together in a few years, and their
condition for removal was all that could be desired ; they
had made excellent growth, but had not become unwieldy.
A considerable quantity of moss, old newspaper, and bass
was provided. A friendly wholesale provision merchant
provided egg boxes in sufficient numbers. These boxes
were strong and bound with iron bands. They measured
2 feet 10 inches long, lo inches deep, and 2 feet 9 inches
wide, and were amply ventilated, thereby preventing heat-
ing. Each plant was taken up with a fair amount of soil,,
well wrapped up in damp moss, papered and tied. A lead
label, i^ inches wide at top, tapering to |-inch at bottom,
and 5 inches long, with the stock book number stamped
on each, was enclosed. The stock book recorded the name
of the fern, from whom obtained or where found, and the
date of acquisition. Separate boxes were used for the
various species. Eventually the whole were packed tightly
in seventeen boxes, labelled, and then entrusted to the
tender mercies of the railway company, with whom I had
arranged for a covered truck to accommodate my ferns,
trees, shrubs, and plants, and I am glad to acknowledge
the great care with which they were treated in transit.

In the meantime a start had been made to prepare the
land for their reception at Burgess Hill, Sussex, which

2/6

consisted of three wide borders of an old garden. That on
the west side is sheltered by a high hedge, on the south
partly by a wall and tall hedge, and on the east by a brick
wall, on which I found ScolopeiiJvnim, Aspkniuiii Nigrujii,
and Aspleuitun tvichomancs growing wild. The western
border had been utilised for poultry keeping, the southern
for black currant bushes and manure heaps, and the
eastern border by a miscellaneous lot of trees and fruit
bushes, of which the latter were taken up and a few
replanted. The western border was tackled first. All the
poultry paraphernalia was pulled down and burnt, cemented
floors (not German in this case !) dug up, and the whole
bastard trenched and very liberally treated during that
process with well-rotted manure and lime rubbish where
desirable. The south border was treated similarly, but
with less lime. The whole of the east border was also
bastard trenched, heavily manured, and plenty of oak leaf
mould incorporated. Unfortunately, through the difficulty
in getting sufficient skilled labour, the work was long and
tedious. I was fortunate in being able to procure four
tons of fine oak leaf mould, six tons of top spit from an
old meadow, two tons of silver sand, a quantity of
charcoal, bone meal, and three loads of mortar rubble.
This was made up into suitable composts for each species.
Special care was taken to spread the roots out on the
prepared composts (the natural soil is heavy clay), a
shovelful, or more if for a large plant, was placed in
each station, and then another carefully worked around
the fern, the labels correctly fixed, and the whole after-
wards well mulched with fairly-rotted stable manure.
Each species was planted in groups, in order to facilitate
inspection and to simplify treatment afterwards. A length
of water piping was run the whole length of the garden,
with two stand-pipes, to which the hose could be affixed.
Water was freely used during the growing season. To

277

this and the manuring I attribute the splendid growth
that resulted, and the very few losses of plants sustained.

Mr. Druery, Dr. Stansfield, Mr. T. E. Henwood and
others who have kindly paid me a visit, expressed them-
selves as much impressed with my collection and the
growth attained in the few months that the plants have
been in their present position. I know there is a great
divergence of opinion about the use of stimulants lor
P'erns, but judging from the results in my garden and also
previously at Furness Abbey, where I used spent hops
freely — but which, unfortunately, I cannot procure here —
I am convinced Ferns will do well and luxuriate under a
generous treatment.

I now come to the glass, where I positively had to hack
my way through the rampant rubbish that had taken
possession of the houses. I actually had to dig out four
ash trees, three of which had reached the top glass.
Unfortunately, the houses were not structurally fitted for
beds, as in the case of Mr. Kenwood's at Reading. So it
had to be pots, and pots it is. The houses were thoroughly
cleaned out, an apricot tree absolutely smothered with scale,
dug up and burnt, and other rubbish followed the same fate
in due course. New shelves were fitted, the staging covered
with corrugated iron, and this thickly coated with silver
sand, the pots being placed upon this as they were filled.
All the species were carefully studied as regards the
compost given to them, and bone meal formed one of the
staple manures. Quickly three houses were filled with
Polypodmms mainly, but Asplenia, Blechmuns, the better
Athyrmms, choice Scolopendviiuns, ditto Polystichums, Gracil-
limiim Druevy making a noble specimen. ]\Iy new P,
Dryopteris phimosum, etc., are well represented.

Then came the turn of my sporelings, of which I had a
goodly number. A peach border was treated to a heavy
dressing of six inches of fine compost, and into this a large

2/8

planting of sporelings was made, and some time afterwards
4,000 were taken from the bed and boxed. I have a very
pleasant recollection of our Hon. Secretary and Editor
sitting in my garden, a table in front of him, a bucket of
water on his right, and a " no good " box to his left.
There we spent some hours selecting the good, bad aod the
indifferent. Mr. Druery made a happy suggestion, which
I have almost carried out, i.e. to plant primulas, small
bulbous plants, and other low-growing spring flowering
stuff between the Ferns, and I am expecting a very capti-
vating result, as in addition to the above, I have planted
3,000 wallflowers, kept dwarf, amongst them. My final
word is, treat your Ferns liberally, and I venture to assert
the result will give you great satisfaction

POLYPODIUM CALCAREUM.

My brother, Mr. H. Stansfield, recently pointed out to
me that this Fern is fragrant. It is curious that this
fact has not previously attracted attention, because the
fragrance is much more pronounced than in any other
British, or indeed exotic, Fern so far as I am aware.
The scent is very pleasant, and is something like that of
bergamot. When the Fern is grown in a somewhat dry
and sunny situation the scent seems to be more strongly
developed, and it is abundantly evolved if the fronds be
slightly agitated — they need not be bruised or crushed or
dried m order to produce it. It is possible that P. calcarctim
has been somewhat neglected in cultivation on account of
the superior attractions of its congener, the Oak I-'ern.
The limestone Polypody, however, is a graceful and hand-
some Fern, while its unique fragrance makes it worthy of
a place in any collection. It is, it anything, more easily
cultivated than dryopferis, because it will grow either in
sun or in shade and with or without lime, while the Oak
Fern only flourishes in shade and dislikes lime.
Reading, January i6th, 1915. ^'' ^' Stansfield.

279

FERN EXPERIENCES.

By the Rev. E. H. Hawkins.

Our " Fern Gazette " is always a source of pleasure and
a fund of information. I read it over and over again.
Possibly my experiences in the ways of success and
failure may start a correspondence which would be
helpful to us all.

I have some very good plants, due almost entirely to kind
and generous friends, and I have been fortunate enough to
happen on one or two good finds. Of these I am proud,
but my individual preference goes more — far more —
to those that have come to us from skilled British culture,
and alongside this one loves to raise ferns from spores.
Though the disappointments are many and the enemies
are innumerable, yet "hope springs eternal," and the
most inexpert of us may yet in the days to come point to
undoubted triumphs. What man and ferns have done
may be done again.

Most of us like our ferns grown in the open. On the
whole, this is best. Certainly, here in Gloucestershire,
so far as Polystichums are concerned — even in their
choicest variety — it is the most successful way. True,
they suffer from late frosts and strong winds, yet they
can be protected. If we go to the trouble of caring for
an early potato, why not much more for a beautiful
pl.umosum ?

But we like our glass houses dearly. If planted in the
ground and covered with glass, one notices a marked
improvement in all varieties, notably Scols. and Polypods.
There is one exception, the better sorts of Polystichums ;
they lack strength.

But there is a third way. For many reasons we all, I
suppose, use pots and pans for our plants — at least, I do.
I accept the fact that ferns so grown are not so large as
those planted in the ground. I not only submit ; I am

28o

content. I am quite satisfied with the medium size so
long as the shape be good and the plants healthy and
characteristic.

I have not by any means reached my ideal. I am still
a learner with three great requisites and necessaries — the
watering-can, the syringe and the light, and which
of these is the greatest necessary, I don't know ; they
form a triple alliance.

TheScols., Polypods. and Athyriums, poor things! do so
need the bath, or rather, to be exact, the spray of insecti-
cide. The Polystichums, on the other hand, are very
clean and self-respecting. But, oh dear, how they will
*' rust off" when grown in pots! And yet why should
they ? There must be a cause, and along with it, a cure.

This is my trouble and my failure No. i. My nearest
approach to success in this respect comes from plunging
one pot in another, going so far, even, as to insert compost
between the two pots. Even so, my troubles are not
over ; so I go on to failure No. 2 — the fronds being
prostrate in growth, they rot off or become discoloured by
contact with the damp soil, possibly, too, from inexpert
watering. My friend Mr. Henwood overcomes this
danger by resting the fronds on inverted oyster shells.

This year I adopted another method. Before the ferns
showed any signs of " rust " I put them out in their pots
in a sheltered corner in the open air, and J did not allow
them to vest in pans full of water, and then, when the dog
days were over, I restored them to their shelves.

That Polystichums can be well grown in pots, free from
blemish and large enough to satisfy anyone, I know to be
a fact. I have seen such with Dr. Stansfield, Mr.
Henwood and with our Editor. I should dearly like
to know the secret. If my failures lead up to a cor-
respondence in our June number, 1 should indeed be
glad, and so, I think, will many more.

[Replies in this conneciion will be welcome. — Ed.]

28l

BRITISH FERNS ABROAD.

By " British Ferns Abroad " we mean, of course, such
of our native species as are found also in other countries,
which signification indeed embraces them all, since we are
not aware of any one which is strictly confined to the
British Isles, and many indeed are almost ubiquitous.
This being so, it is naturally of interest when a British
Fern-lover can give us some information on the various
ways in which our indigenous species behave elsewhere,
and a letter from our member, Mr. S. P. Rowlands, who
has travelled in the United States (mainly Connecticut,
to which his remarks must be regarded as confined),
contains several interesting notes, which we reproduce.
He says, " A point that struck me was that Polypodinm
vulgare in America is almost entirely a rock plant. It can
be stripped off bare rocks by the square yard in mat-like
sheets. No doubt it does sometimes grow on trees and
in such positions, but I never saw one doing so. The
American Royal Fern is termed Osmunda vegalis, but I
couldn't get away from the idea that it had a very different
sort of look from our home-grown article. I do not know
if Lastvea thelyptevis ever grows in distinctly dry situations
in England (I've never found it here), but I saw hundreds
of plants in the States growing on strong dry ground,
which was certainly dry for months together, though I
cannot vouch for winter conditions. I was almost amused
out there to find that the local fernists would have eaten
their hats if only they could have found a Hartstongue or
even a Male Fern. Asp. tvichomanes is common, hwt Asp.
r2ita. miivaria rare. I have brought home quite a number
of roots, out of which I hope a good proportion will
survive."

Mr. Rowlands' notes, it will be seen, indicate a decided
difference between our local conditions and those under

2-82

which P. vidgarc and L. thdyptevis can thrive abroad, the
latter especially, which here grows in absolute mud, for
which its widely creeping rhizome admirably adapts it,
while dry, strong ground would appear to form an
impossible habitat. P. vulgarc in sheets on rock faces
is another anomaly, probably due to climatal conditions.
It is to be hoped that we may receive further notes
regarding the plants he brought over.

Personally, we have also had some experience of British
Ferns abroad. In the vicinity of Smyrna, for instance,
we found two such widely opposed Ferns as Ceterach
officinaruju and Gymnogvamma hptophyUa (confined here to the
Channel Islands), growing together in abundance along
m.ostly dry water-courses there ; while in Galician
(Austria) forests the ground in the winter was a solid mass
of crowns of our native deciduous species, so that in the
summer a veritable Fern paradise must be in evidence,
though we experienced as mucti as 29 below zero
Centigrade = 52° of frost F. Our member, Mr. Fraser,
of Uclnelet, British Columbia, who sent us a very
fine bipinnate Blcchmim spicaut, which, however, reverted
here to the normal, reports that this species is so rampant
there as to form a pernicious weed in his Rhododendron
nurseries. He has also sent us several marked forms of
P. vidgare, among them a slender growing serrulate form
which we have named P. v. gracilc Fraser, and another
which is almost an exact counterpart, though even more
marked, of P. v. macrostachya O' Kelly, found in Ireland.
0\er there these undoubted varieties were named as
distinct species, a curious instance of the ignorance of
classifying botanists as regards varietal capacity of one
and the same species.

C. T. D.

" A little nonsense now and then
Is relished by the wisest men,
And even Solomon, no doubt,
Was not a solemn 'un throughout."

As an antidote to what is vulgarly termed the " muUy-
grubs," our members may be interested to know that the
Editor has made arrangements with the Publisher of his
humorous book : —

"THE PIG'S TALE,"

A Goblin Story,
and other Recitations.

Published at 6/- net,

by which he is enabled to offer it to them for 3s. 6d., post
free. This book contains a considerable number of Ballads
in the style of Thomas Hood, and Recitations in that of
Ingoldsby, a claim which may sound rather magniloquent,
but which has been recognised as fully justified by many
good authorities when they have been read in public.

As the Editor is rather anxious that his friends may get
to know this side of his character, as well as that relating
to Ferns, he trusts this notice will not be in vain.

FERNS.

^ ^ ^

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 obtainable
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.

If f '^

Stove, (Breenbouse, anb otber plants
. ♦ ♦ are also largely grown, ♦ ♦ ♦

If If f

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had post free
upon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMOMTON.

VOL. 2. No. 24.

♦ . . Zbc . . .

JBritieb ]fern
0a3ctte.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

3une, 1915.

EDITED BY

CHARLES T. DRUERY. V.M.H., F.L.S.

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, 17, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.)

KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

PoLYSTlCIlUM ACUL. rULCHERUlML'M FOLIOSUM EdWARUS.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. 2. JUNE, 1915. No. 24.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Editorial Notes .. .. .. .. ,. .. .. 283

Our Frontispiece (P. acul. pulch. foliosum Edwards) .. 285

Fern Tassels

Mental Rambles in Fernland ..

The Wardian Case {conclusion) . .

Native Ferns : Why Not ? (Rev. Canon H. K

Our Hobby . .

List of Members

Contents of Vol. II., Nos. 13 — 24

286

289

295

Moore, D.D.) 296

299

304

309

EDITORIAL NOTES.

It is naturally with great pleasure that we can announce
with this issue the completion of a second volume (Nos.
13-24) of the " British Fern Gazette," constituting a record
in the literature of the British Fern cult, as the only previous
attempt to establish a periodical record in that connection
got no farther than the first number. x\t that time,
however, our Native Ferns in their varietal character were
still suffering from the ill-effects of injudicious selection
and distribution by the trade, which, by cataloguing and
sending out defective forms as of merit, led inevitably to a
great reaction after a period of appreciation due to the
really meritorious varieties which the pioneers of that time
had found wild. Despite, however, the public neglect of
these beautiful plants thus caused, the pioneers aforesaid,
the connoisseurs who "knew," to speak tautologically,
persevered both as hunters and collective cultivators, and
eventually, towards the end of the century, had acquired so
great a number of fine varieties, and, moreover, had by

2S4

virtue of this abundance so drastically ignored and
rejected the ineligible, defective, inconstant and un-
syrnmetrical forms, that it became possible to make a new
start in the direction of public favour by means of a
Society representing the cult.

The new start was humble enough, being the meeting in
1 89 1 of a small coterie of fern lovers in Kendal, West-
moreland, who founded the Northern Pteridological
Society. This was speedily joined by several recognised
authorities on British Ferns in other parts of the British
Isles, and hence was renamed " The British Pteridological
Society," as implying a wider sphere of influence.
Eventually, in 1909, as, although the subscription was
small, it was felt that the members really obtained
inadequate benefits in the shape of only occasional
papers, a resolution was passed that a quarterly publi-
cation, entitled "The British Fern Gazette," should be
issued, the writer agreeing to act as Editor of same.
That this idea was a good one was evidenced at once by a
large accession to the ranks of the members, and subse-
quently by the fact that the " Gazette " has more than paid
for the expense of its production, and forms now two
volumes of really practical and interesting literature,
bringing the data of the cult up to the present time. We
may here remark that a limited number of bound volumes,
price 3s. gd., post free, have been prepared for such
members as desire copies of Nos. 13 to 24. Vol. I. is out
of print. It is gratifying to the Editor that the " Gazette "
has become the generally recognised centre of information
relating to our British Ferns and their varieties, so that
eminent foreign botanists subscribe and refer to it as a
source of new and reliable data. In view of this he trusts
that the members will continue to aid him to the best of
their ability, by providing material for record and publi-
cation, and also by enlisting new members, and so enable

him to increase the contents of the " Gazette " and illustrate
it more freely, for which an increased income is essential.

As the Hon. Secretary has to now prepare the Balance
Sheet for the August meeting in Wales, regarding
which special notices will be issued in due course, he
hesfs the members, to whom special application is made

with this issue, for their unpaid subscriptions due Aus^ust,
iqi4, to spare mm lurther trouble by remutirifcr ttie
nceaiul (5s.) on receipt oi sucti notice to

II, Shaa Road, Acton, W. The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

P. ACUL. PULCHERRIMUM FOLIOSUM EdWARDS.

In our issue of September, 1914, we gave some account
of the remarkable origin of this strain in the hands of
Mr. J. Edwards, and we have only to ask our readers to
compare our illustration with any of those of the
" gracillimum " strain, not only of the same species
P. aadeattim, but also of practically the same plant
(since the parent was a division of the one solitary
Dorset find), of which the history is so well known,
in order to bring home to them the extraordinary
difference between them. The " gracillimums " originated
as direct sports from several sowings of the spores of
P. ac. pulchevriiiium to the extent roughly of thirty per cent
of the crops raised by the writer and by Mr. C. B. Green.
Only one showed a different character, viz. Mr. Green's
plumosum, which, however, still agreed with the rest in
its display of delicate, slender dissection. Induced by
these results, Mr. Edwards, finding some spores on his
division of the same plant, sowed these in the hope of
acquiring, if not the gracillimum type, at any rate a batch
of the beautiful parental one. Twice did he sow such

286

spores, but, unlike his predecessors, he obtained no

parentals, and only about eleven which were not reversions

more to the annulare type than that of aculeatum, thus

agreeing somewhat with Messrs. Druery and Green's

experience so far as reversions were concerned. All these

eleven, however, extraordinary to state, two in the first

crop and nine in the second, were of the beautiful and new

foliose type we figure, and not a single gracillimum nor

pulcherrimum appeared. This, therefore, constitutes one

more of those inexplicable varietal phenomena which

ferns present from time to time, and is, in our opinion^

unique in this case, as it is practically one and the same

parent, which in different hands, but certainly under

similar culture, has yielded such extremely diverse and

opposite results, tending in the one case to extremely

fine dissection and tenuity, and in the other to dense and

expanded folioseness.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

FERN TASSELS.

Amongst the innumerable curious features which
characterise plant life and enable us to classify it
into orders, genera, and species, those appertaining to
the tasselling or multiplication of terminal growths in
ferns rank with the most curious and inexplicable of alL
Ferns, as we know, form but one order out of many,
but it would seem that only in this solitary order does this
tendency appear to prevail throughout all species without
there existing any parallel phenomena in any other. The
normal development of a leaf or of a frond is similar, in so
far that each one represents an arrangement of stems or
stalks and mid-ribs as continuations thereof, such mid-ribs
then producing laterally a more or less complicated net-
work or system of veins, which form a framework for the

28;

support of, and channels of supply to, the cells, which are
the active, vital factors. It is in this way that such cell
systems become exposed to the light and air, which are the
first essentials of their activity. The air constitutes the
source of supply of the essential carbonic acid, while
the light of the sun, direct or diffused, or provided from
material stored up thereby in the past, forms as it were
the propulsive agent to the activity aforesaid through its
action on the chlorophyll contained in the formative cells.
Normally each leaf commences with the formation of
what is termed a mother cell, which is endowed with
the faculty of producing other cells, arranged on the
definite plan peculiar to the plants concerned, and when
this plan is fully completed there is engendered a series
of what we may term marginal cells, which close the
circuit, and the leaf or other structure is thus perfected.
A great amount of variation within specific limits is due
to changes in this limitation. Thus leaves normally
smooth-edged and of simple outline may cease to adhere
to this form, since the vein systems which normally
should close the circuits, as it were, do not do so, but
continue to grow on beyond the normal bounds, and
carrying the cell tissue with them, transform the simple
outline into a serrate one, and even by an extension
of this process produce pinnate, once divided leaves, or
even very decomposite or much-divided ones. This
process we see in many phanerogamous plants, and also
in ferns. In the latter alone, however, we find that this
capacity of extra foliar extension finds expression not
merely at the margins, but also at the terminal points.
This phenomenon may present itself to very varied degrees
from simple forking, to which length even phanerogamous
plants sometimes go, to extremely complex cases, where
very decomposite fronds, divided over and over again into
very fine divisions, have every terminal multiplied so as to

288

form tassels of greater or less extent. Here it is the
mother cell destined normally to close the circuits with a
pointed growth, which in plants thus affected fails to do
so, and proceeds instead to split up and form more or less
numerous supplementary growths to, in extreme cases, an
unlimited extent. Such an instance we have witnessed
in a tasselled form of Pferis sevvulata, one point of which
survived the winter, and in the following season began to
fork and fork again dichotomously, until eventually a huge
bunch, as large as one's fist, resulted. As a rule, however,
the multiplication is lim.ited by the cessation of fresh
division, the tassel being clearly complete when the
terminal is fully uncoiled.

A peculiarity of this phenomenon is that, judging by the
innumerable instances in which it has appeared both
under cultivation and under wild conditions, every genus
and species would appear to be subject to it, although,
singular to relate, so far, we believe, no fossil fern has
been found so characterised, and certamly it does not
present itself in any case as a specific feature. We
cannot, of course, assert that all ferns are subject to vary
in this way, but the fact remains that whenever a species
becomes largely propagated for trade purposes, sooner
or later tasselled forms arise from the spores, and these
inherit the capacity of producing the same type of off-
spring, generally on such lines as permits of selective
culture involving further development of character. It
may be thought that the phenomenon of fasciation, not
uncommon in phanerogamous plants, is identical with this,
but it is not. With fasciated plants we find it is true that
the mother cells multiply on abnormal lines, but they do
this usually, if not always, at an incipient state of growth,
so as to increase the number of stalks or stems which at
first grow together, but may subsequently separate to give
room to sidegrowths on as near normal lines as space

289

permits. The tasselled fern frond, on the other hand,
produces, as a rule, normal stalks and stems, and it is
only in the final stages of growth that the divisions and
subdivisions produce the tassels as purely terminal growths.
In some ferns it is true that the tendency to multiplica-
tion on abnormal lines is so pervasive that apparent fascia-
tion occurs at so early a stage that normally flat frondage
fails altogether to appear, and the whole plant becomes
one conglomerate bunch. In this way the specific character
may be so veiled that it is difficult to determine in two
well-known instances whether the plant is an Athyrium or
the entirely different Hartstongue, both resembling bunches
of moss. Neither, however, would on examination recall
fasciation to the mind. That this extra growth is due to
cultivation in rich soils or under specially close and
stimulating cultural conditions cannot be maintained in
view of the fact that some of the most marked forms
were found wild, while experience has led most variety
hunters to believe that the most likely ground for dis-
coveries is rough and broken land, where growth is rather
handicapped than encouraged to the utmost.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

MENTAL RAMBLES IN FERNLAND.

By an Amateur.

I have been requested by our worthy Editor to supple-
ment my notes and observations, as recorded in a previous
issue of the " Gazette," but I am afraid that during the
last few months, among our members, fern hunting has
been considerably curtailed, and our thoughts and observa-
tions have been restricted to our collections, or the memory
of past hunting expeditions. In looking back o'er memory's
page, it may be that we may recall some almost forgotten

290

incident that may be interesting, and start a train of
thought.

The first point that occurs to me is in respect to
Albinism, and variegation in ferns. Some years ago, in
my rambles, I came across a number of ferns with creamy
white fronds, and others that were intermixed white and
green. In noting the conditions under which these
abnormal specimens grew, I always found that the condi-
tions were bad. One specimen, a Pteris aquilina, with
fronds from three to four feet in height, was nearly pure
white, and it looked very beautiful among its normal com-
panions. There were several others growing near with
mixed green and white fronds, and in closely observing the
conditions around, I noticed that they grew a good distance
in a wood. The soil was swampy and sour, covered with
lichen and moss, and I came to the conclusion that the
unhealthy condition of the soil, combined with a very
limited amount of direct sunlight, had prevented the proper
formation of chlorophyll, or the green colouring matter of
all green leaves. Environment here played its part and
changed the natural appearance of the ferns.

I note also that the very opposite to the foregoing
conditions has its effect, viz. ferns growing under glaring
sunlight. I once found a colony of Hartstongues under
these conditions, on a rocky hillside. The ferns were well
grown, but with fronds of a beautiful golden yellow, with
deep brown midrib. I admired them, and in this case
as with the Albino Pteris aquilina, took specimens home to
test them, but in both cases, after they had become estab-
lished under more natural conditions, they returned to
their natural green shade.

As an amateur, I state matters just as I find them,
according to my observations and judgment, and I am
under the impression that environment plays a not
unimportant part as a primary factor in the cause of ferns

291

varying from the normal. My experience is that under
luxurious conditions ferns remain normal, and even under
cultivation I have seen ferns of undoubted quality grow
coarse, and in some cases revert to the common type.

A friend of mine, an enthusiastic fern hunter, some time
ago found in a wood an exceptionally good ramo-cristate
form of Lastvea filix mas, every frond true to character.
My friend took the trouble to pot it on the spot in its nati\ e
soil, but it is remarkable to state, all aftergrowth, with slight
exceptions, came quite normal. A change of conditions
and environment was quite sufficient to affect the plant to
such a degree as to force it back to the normal state.

It seems to me that in Nature there are various stages
of development in variation. One is the primitive stage,
just a " sport." This will, after root disturbance and
change of environment, revert to the normal type. The
change of character has been too recent to be securely set.
There are other wild finds where the new character is
more firmly established. These plants may remain true, yet
the spores sown from these may yield anything up to
75 per cent, of seedlings, in varying degrees, true to the
parent, yet the remaining number of plants from the same
sori will show the still strong and latent original normal
blood.

It has been quite a common experience of mine to find
depauperated specimens of ferns, especially the Lastreas.
Ferns will be found with half their fronds malformed, with
pinnae crested, cruciate, or parts missing. These fronds are
usually of the first growth in spring, yet on the same
plants will be found strong normal fronds of later growth.
I hare found scores of these depauperated specimens, but
always found them growing where the conditions were
poor.

Some years ago I made a special journey to the Clifton
Zoological Gardens purposely to see the fine collection of

B

292 ■

British Ferns of the late Col. A. M. Jones, F.L.S., and I
marvelled at their magnificent development and beauty.

Last year I paid another visit, and called upon our
genial friend, Mr. Harris, the superintendent. After
introducing myself, and stating how interested I was in
British Ferns, he very kindly conducted me round the
gardens, giving me a short history of this or that particular
specimen. We were passing a long row of Scolopcndvinm v.
cvistatnm, when he pointed out to me how portions of
certain clumps had deteriorated, for in the centre of a
grandly crested Scolopendrium, quite normal fronds had
made their appearance. It seemed to me that actual
reversion was taking place in plants known for many
years to remain true to type, and yet were growing under
conditions of the very best. So even with the best of
specimens, retrogression has to be checked and eliminated,
or deterioration would soon become general.

In my concluding remarks, one point I wish particu-
larly to emphasise, viz. that any of our members, fortu-
nate enough to find or raise a good thing, should have
sufficient interest in the progress of the British Fern cult
to feel that all such acquisitions belong to the British
Pteridological Society, but such acquisitions should be left
in the custody of the finder or raiser to propagate in the
interests of the Society, i.e. to increase and multiply as
early as possible, and distribute for the benefit of all
members sufificiently interested, who I feel sure are as
deeply concerned in the cultivation and preservation as the
originator. Personally, I have known several exception-
ally good things to be entirely lost through being retained
exclusively in the possession of one person. This is a
pity, for although Nature is ever prolific in change, she
gives no guarantee to duplicate any of her choicest
productions.

Distribution may be made by the sale, exchange or gifts

29

'>

of spores, or good stock can be placed in the hands of
Fern Specialists, who have the knowledge, conditions and
interest to preserve and perpetuate them.

Alfred Kirby.

While agreeing in the main with Mr. Kirby's very
interesting notes, and particularly with his suggestions as
to the propagation of meritorious " finds " and their dis-
tribution as soon as practicable amongst the members of
the Society, in order to ensure their perpetuation, to which
end indeed our Society has mainly been formed, we think
it well to supplement such notes by a few remarks in their
connection. Variegation, for instance, has often been
described in these pages, and Mr. Kirby's remarks have
been fully confirmed as regards the rarity of persistence of
this under culture. Where, however, such variegation
occurs partially or in patches, as in the case of P. aquilma,
further investigation will usually shew that it pervades
the colony concerned and crops up here and there, though
the great majority of fronds may not shew it. Some
Hartstongues have been found with the variegation
occurring in stripes, and these in our own experience have
not only persisted in throwing up fronds so characterised,
but in one recorded case a specimen infected three other
plants grown in the same pan, showing that it is really
a contagious disease or weakness, caught presumably
through the intermingled root systems. In other plants
this has, we think, been amply confirmed by grafts, and
Mr. G. B. Wollaston, one of our most noted fern pioneers,
had many examples in his garden at Chiselhurst of
variegated plants which arose, as he stated, from seed of
hitherto normal ones being sown amongst variegated ones
of other species or even genera. So much for that point ;
now for the several cases of Lastrea variation to which
he refers. L. filix mas is well known to all fern hunters

294

as very liable to produce " rogues," i.e. plants which shew
irregular variation even of a tempting nature, but which
is only temporary, the acquired "prize" (?) proving
normal when cultivated. Such plants rarely, if ever, are
found to be devoid of normal fronds, and if one of these
exists, our only advice to the finder is to leave it alone.
These, we believe, are due to damage to the crown or axis
of growth, and when we consider that the first crop of
fronds of one season is really started in the previous one,
it is easy to imagine that any injury to the tightly packed
group would result in subsequent distorted and irregular
growth with normal fronds to follow. On the other hand,
we scarcely agree with Mr. Kirby in his '* various stages
of development." We do not believe in a " primitive
stage just a sport," in which "the change of character is
too recent to be securely set." In a "sport" proper
worthy of the name, i.e. with definite characters through-
out on symmetrical lines, these characters are so far fixed
as to be fairly truly inherited, though it may be in varying
degrees, a few being even quite normal, though in our
experience this is rarely the case, as is also the entire
reversion of such finds to the common form. The examples
referred to at Clifton of such reversions may quite possibly
be explained by sporelings of the normals in the vicinity
arising in clamps of fine varieties, and in time establishing
themselves so strongly as to lead to a misconception of
their origm. In our own experience, now extending over
thirty years, we have never known of a marked variety
reverting as described. A plant may under very uncon-
genial cultural conditions lose much of a redundant
character by a sort of starvation, but if rescued in time
will certainly recover such character in proportion to its

recovery of vigour.

The Editor.

295

THE WARDIAN CASE.

(Continued.)

The fourth point means the provision of adequate space
at the outset and the removal of some of the plants if
they grow too large and shoulder their neighbours too
roughly. A crowd of foliage is a mistake ; all grace and
detail is lost, to say nothing of the weakness engendered
by the consequent struggle for light and room. This must
be borne in mind when first planting, as it is much better
to have the case a little bare for a time and then filled up
on healthy lines than to find immediately the plants start
growth that they overlap and handicap each other.

In planting there is, of course, room for wide diversity
of taste, and much depends upon the space and shape
of the case or other receptacle. A very handsome effect
may be produced by one bold specimen fern in the centre
of the background, so as to allow its fronds to arch over
freely to the front, the soil or rockery in miniature being
dotted with dwarf varieties or Selaginellas of the small
persuasion. So far we have treated of the Wardian case
on the original Wardian lines, i.e. as maintaining a con-
stantly humid atmosphere. It subserves, however, another
purpose — protection from dust and aerial impurities — and
hence in sunny windows or exposures, and with a greater
provision of air, it may be used to advantage for collections
of dwarf Cacti and other drought-loving plants, these
being either planted in dry rockeries or inserted in the soil,
pot and all, the pots being masked by pieces of stone. A
minimum of water and a maximum of light are the two
desiderata with plants of this class, while in the winter
they must be guarded from frost.

Chas. T. Druery, F.L.S., V.M.H.

296

NATIVE FERNS: WHY NOT!

By The Rev. Canon H. Kingsmill Moore, D.D.

Everyone who rides a hobby is disposed to express
wonder as to why so few get up and ride beside him ;
perhaps better results may be obtained by endeavouring to
picture the attraction of the hobby which carries us so well.

My hobby runs in the shape of Native Ferns. Our Native
Ferns enjoy the double advantage of being accessible
and manageable — they are, as a rule, easy to get and easy
to keep. There is no county in Ireland without its ferns,
and few which cannot boast them in abundance. To
stand at Killarney among Osmundas which reach to your
shoulder, to see the walls and the trunks of trees iti Cork
rich with miniature forests of the common Polypody, to
wade in a Sligo glen through roods of amazing Harts-
tongues, experiences such as these are enough to captivate
even a Cockney tourist. But such exceptional prodigality
is not needed to win and keep our Irish hearts. It is a
day of incessant rain ; I have just come for a week among
the Carlingford Mountains, and time will not w^ait.
Accordingly, I mock at the blasts and the waters ; the
hedges and the walls I want to explore give useful cover,
and in less than an hour three of our Spleenworts have
welcomed me. A similar walk in the afternoon adds four
more species, and this in midwinter. There are plenty of
signs to show that were it summer the list would have
been still further increased.

Of course all the species noticed are common. I have
been trying to emphasise the accessibility of our ferns. One
of the specimens, however, is seen to depart in a marked
way from the normal form ; it is as it were a *' variety "
in the making.

Here we come in contact with an inexhaustible source
of interest. The number of native species is small, under

297

forty-five ; and of these some are so rare that the collector
who has found, say thirty, has every reason to be well
satisfied. But varieties are endless. It is the special
characteristic of British Ferns that, to a degree unknown
in any other part of the world, they have spent their time
developing into all sorts of novel and beautiful forms.
One collector has been heard to say that he holds upwards
of a thousand varieties of a single species — the common
Hartstongue. Probably in such a case his friends would
make inroads on the total, by banning many as " too much
alike." But the mere fact that such a collection is thought
possible is enough to unfold long vistas of delight. In so
speaking, I do not mean to suggest that the discovery of
varieties which are both good and new is common. In
the lists of the "British Fern Gazette" I am credited
with one or two. I am not a great hunter, and even if I
were I have but scant leisure for the sport. Where I have
done a little, others, with keener eyes and more time,
could do a good deal. But while it is true that really good
"finds" are rare, departures from the normal forms are
so common that it is scarcely too much to say that I have
never gone fern hunting without meeting something of the
kind. Two days after the walks referred to above, an after-
noon stroll gave three variations of Lastvea filix mas, one of
which shows real promise. In their capacity for surprise
our Native Ferns have a fascination which appeals widely.
Wherever you go there is always the possibility of being
confronted with something that is new.

The second of the main characteristics of our ferns which
I set out for notice is that they are manageable ; if it is true
that anyone can find them, it is also true that anyone can
grow them. Of course there are heights, and depths, both
in the finding and the growing, but average results stand
open to all. And here another valuable feature emerges.
To put it paradoxically — the worse the site the better

298

they will do ; which, being explained, means that ferns
flourish where most other plants would fail. Once I
attempted a fernery in what seemed a very desirable
situation ; it had, however, a drawback which neutralised
everything else — the aspect was south. That experiment
resulted in wholesale failure. Choose some dark corner
where nothing will grow but the coarsest herbage, there
you may plant ferns with confidence, provided th^re is
shelter. Absolute shelter from wind, and plenty of shade,
these are what most ferns demand ; and they are also very
particular as to drainage. If the soil drains well ferns will
grow on the flat, but it is much safer to raise them, as the
most superficial study of the places they select for them-
selves will prove.

If I were to be betrayed into writing about the heaufy of
our native ferns, it would involve another paper. I shall
therefore content myself with brief mention of the species
which are both the most accessible, and which yield the
finest forms. For sheer beauty, Athyvhim iilix fcemina, our
common Lady Fern, stands out ; its varieties are very
numerous; some of them, as A.f.f. plnmosiim supevhum
cristafum (Druery) may be said to rival any ferns in
existence. Given good shelter, Athyrium f.f. may be culti-
vated with ease. The varieties of Polypodimn vulgare are
numerous and beautiful to a degree, which the type would
never suggest. One of them has fitly been termed
TricJiomanoides, from its close resemblance to the fine
cutting of a Killarney Fern. Polypodiums grow best in
light soil, for preference leaf-mould, with a dash of lime
and rubble. They take time to establish themselves.

A third species, which astonishes by the beauty of its
varieties, is the common Hartstongue, Scolopendrium
vulgare. The plumose varieties, S. v. crispicm, are ex-
ceedingly attractive. Lime in some form should be
introduced in planting.

Finally, it would be difficult to speak too highly of

299

PoJystichum anquJave and its splendid varieties. For
ease of culture the Polystichums are easily first, and the
beauty of such aristocrats as P. a. plnmosiim laxtim (Fox),
or P. a. plumosuni (Esplaii) can be exceeded, if at all, by
nothing but the most perfectly developed Athyriums.

OUR HOBBY.

There is apparently an enormous gap between the study
of the progress of events on the several fields of the great
and unparalleled war in which we are engaged and that
of the ferns which form our special hobby, but it is
precisely this great difference which must have rendered
that hobby a veritable boon to those who pursue it with
the interest it deserves during these troublous times.
There can be hardly any one amongst us who is not
personally troubled by the fact that relatives and friends,
including, it may be, one's own offspring in many cases,
are away at the front, either in the Army or the Navy,
and that at any moment we may learn of their loss in
some one or other of the valiant struggles in which they
have been called upon to take part. Ordinary literature,
and particularly the newspapers and other channels of
information, fails either, as regards the first, to distract
our attention, and, as regards the other, tends mentally to
obsess our minds with warlike ideas alone, and thus to
add to our worries. The man or woman devoid of a
natural hobby like ours, and precluded, for any reason,
from doing something tangible in the way of aid to our
defenders, is, indeed, in a bad case, but with such, and we
speak from personal experience, a quiet stroll amongst
our ferny pets, particularly at this present active season
of growth, becomes one of the greatest solaces and mental
reliefs that can be conceived.

In a good collection, probably every plant has its distinct

300

character, and it is of absorbing interest to note how these
characters are developed in their various forms from the
primarily similar coiled-up terminal on the rapidly-lengthen-
ing stalk of the rising frond, and to observe how the various
divisions expand and fall apart, and finally arrange them-
selves on more and more beautiful or curious lines in
conformity with the particular plan with which Nature
has endowed it. Go out into the woods where that
particular species prevails, and we may find thousands
of plants of it, all as practically alike as peas in a pod,
all equally displaying the same simple character and
cutting as we must assume have formed its peculiar
specific type for ages and ages. In one collection,
however, within the compass of precisely the same
species, we may find the greatest diversity of make;
no two examples are alike, unless they are of the same
varietal parentage. How is this ? If now we go back
to the woods and pursue our investigations further, we
may, if we are fortunate and persistently keen-si^^hted
enough, quite suddenly perceive that one amongst those
common and prevalent forms differs very materially from,
and it may be is far handsomer than, its fellows. If so,
we have found what is termed a " sport," and it is precisely
such natural and spontaneous gifts which have turned up
from time to time, and form the progenitors of the many
varieties which constitute our collections. The expert,
being thus enriched, carefully extracts the plant so found,
disentangles it possibly from a bunch of the ordinary type
amid which it is growing, takes it home, pots it up, and as
soon as spores are available, sows it with a view to its
perpetuation and propagation. Having done this, and in
due time acquired a crop, he will learn, if he does not
already know, that the youngsters will probably greatly
resemble the parent, but vary both ways ; some may revert
more or less to the ancestral or common type, but others

30I

will emphasise the new type, produciDg it in more marked
lines. It is in this way that many of the finest forms
extant have been obtained, though many of the natural
"sports" as found have been splendid from the outset.
The conscientious student of our British Ferns mindful of
these facts can find in every form an absorbing fund of
interest in its past pedigree and also its future possibilities
and if by a happy chance he has a series of spore sowings
in progress, involving such attempts at improvement, his
will be a peculiar mind indeed which will not be distracted
from war worries while he is inspecting a promising brood
of some hundreds, and is detecting here and there the
indications of future greatness.

A further source of interest of almost equally absorbing
character for those who are fortunate enough to possess a
collection of fine forms under glass, is found in the study
of these seedling ferns, which under such conditions arise
spontaneously in the pots and pans containing specimen
plants. Naturally every season myriads of spores are
scattered broadcast from the adult ferns, and given the
favouring close conditions of culture, yield numerous
varieties, so as to form a veritable hunting ground in
one's own premises.

The large majority of such ''strays " will be found even
in the best collections to be of little or no value, since there
are certain strains, particularly of Lady ferns, which are
not only peculiarly irregular in the offspring they produce,
but that offspring is so abundant and so assertive as to
become veritable weeds only meritmg the usual weed fate.
Here and there, however, prizes crop up derived from the
best forms, and as these show their character more or less
clearly while still young, careful study and extraction of
such, and their transference to special pots or pans to
encourage development, is bound in time to increase tne
collection with advantage. Under such circumstances we

302

have disGOvered, on several occasions, accidental crosses
of value between varieties which we have vainly striven
for by joint sowings. For instance, A.f.f. revolvenscristatuni,
the only tasselled tubular form we know of, and the
wonderfully delicate crested form of A. f.f. halothvix also
originated as a chance " stray." Recently, too, when
removing the debris of a specimen of this rarity in the
autumn, we found at its foot a most delicate aposporous
seedling Polystichum, the presence of which is a perfect
mystery, as we can impute it to none of the ferns which
we possess.

We might, indeed, multiply such instances on various
unexpected lines, but we think we have said enough in
favour of our contention that natural studies, " hobbies,"
as we have called them, form the best possible means
of distraction from these mental worries from which, nowa-
days, we are all suffering more or less. Amen.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.

*' BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES,"

By Chavlcs T. Druevy, V.M.H., F.L.S.,
With forty magnificent coloured plates, 319 wood cuts
and other illustrations, and 96 monochrome reprints of
a selection of the choicest varieties nature printed by the
late Col. A. M. Jones of Clifton, with his original notes
in extenso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half morocco, gilt,
los. 6d. net.

It w^ill interest the members to know that by the
enterprise of Alessrs. George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., the
author has been enabled to realize one of the pet ambitions
of his life, viz. the production, on practically untrammelled
lines, of a thoroughly up-to-date and well illustrated record
of our native ferns in their specific and varietal forms,
together with such information as to their history, culture
and biological peculiarities as will render the work a
thorough compendium of knowledge for the amateur's
reference plus indications of sources of knowledge
valuable to those who take an interest on the scientific
side. The addition of an appendix consisting of ninety-six
of the choicest of the late Col. Jones' nature prints,
accompanied by his contemporary notes, which the author
has been kindly permitted by ^liss Jones to use as a supple-
ment, renders this book an absolutely unique one, apart
from its comprehensive and practical character in other
directions. Certainly no British Fern lover or Botanical
Library should be without it as the standard work on the
subject, and it would be an advantage to the author (the
Editor of the Gazette and Secretary of the British
Pteridological Society) if orders for it were sent to him>
personally to his address as given elsewhere.

•^

04

LIST OF MEMBERS.
(With Addresses.)

Atkinson, F., The Bungalow, Staveley, Newby Bridge, Ulverston.

Askew, W. F., Junior, Fern Nursery, Grange, Keswick.

Allchin, F. A., Tredadwell, Fowey, Cornwall.

Aiken, Rev. J. J., m.l., Manse of Ayton, Berwickshire.

Adkin, F. N., Westwood, Oaklands Road, Bromley, Kent.

Aikman, Mrs. Dawson, Ferneyside, Gilmerton, Midlothian.

Balmain, Miss, Woodland, Dumfries.
Boyd, W. B., Faldonside, Melrose.
Bolton, T., Fern Cottage, Warton, Carnforth.
Bolton, R., Holly Bank, Warton, Carnforth.
Bickham, Spencer H., f.l.s., Underdown, Ledbury.
Bunyard, G., v.m.h., Maidstone.

Buchan-Hepburn, Sir A., Bart., Smeaton Hepburn, Prestonkirk, East
Lothian.

Bowles, E., Waltham Cross.

Bell, W., Maryville, Croslands, Furness Abbey.

Bolton, H., Stoneycroft, Warton, Carnforth.

Brown, T., j.p., lona, Antrim Road, Belfast.

Barrel, M. B., 10, Avenue d'lena, Paris.

Broadbent, J., Thornlee Fern Nursery, Grotton, Oldham.

Barker, W. A., The Glen, Backbarrow, near Ulverston.

Bayne, R. C, 14, Garrick Street, W.C.

Barton, H. D. M., The Bush, Antrim.

Byers, Henry Stagg, Cleator, Cumberland.

Box, Gibbs, Nurseries, Burgess Hill, Sussex.

Cowan, Alexander, Valleyfield House, Penicuik, Midlothian,
Cranfield, W. B., East Lodge, Enfield Chase, Enfield.
Gordrey, C, 23, Morley Avenue, L^pper Edmonton.
Campbell, A., 68, George Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire.

305

Chapman, A., The Gardens, Westonbirt, Tetbury,
Crisp, Sir Frank, Bart., Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.

Duncan, Jas., Mints Feet Nurseries, Kendal.

Druery, C. T., v.m.h., f.l.s. {Hon. Secretary), Stanwixbank, ii, Shaa
Road, Acton.

Day, Miss M. A., Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge,

Mass., U.S.A.
Davidson, J., Sommerville House, Dumfries.

Dowell, Philip (Editor, American Fern Journal), Port Richmond,
N.Y., U.S.A.

Dilworth, R., Dalegarth, Ulverston.

Day, Miss Constance R., i6, Burgoyne Road, Harringay, N.

Dulan & Co., Ltd., 37, Soho Square, W.

Eley, T. G. H., Homelands, Oakwood Road, Burgess Hill, Sussex.
Edwards, J., Fern Holme, Oak Bank Avenue, Moston, Manchester.
Edelsten, F. A., The Elms, Forty Hill, Enfield.

Farrar, W. E., Oubeck, Galgate, Lancaster.

Francis, J., 3, Glan Aber Park, Chester.

Eraser, G., Ucluelet, British Columbia.

Fletcher, E., 38, Stanley Street, Heaton Park, Manchester.

Finch, T. J., Charlton Park Gardens, Malmesbury, Wilts.

George, Edward, Nassau, n.p., Bahamas, British West Indies.
Gordon, W., Victoria Road, Maxwelltown, Dumfries.
Green, C. B., Linden Villa, Argyle Road, Swanage.
Grimason, Mrs. N., 27, Grove Road, Windsor.
Greggs, Mrs., 31 Leeson Park, Dublin.

Heward, Miss M. E., The White House, Warham, nr. Wells, Norfolk.

Hawkins, Rev. E. H., Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud.

Henwood, T. E., Auricula Villa, Hamilton Road, Reading.

Hemming, G., The Palace, Alexandra Park, London.

Hawkins, Miss, Kingston-on-Soar, Derby.

Hosford, Samuel R., Rose Bank, Magazine Road, Cork.

3o6

Johnston, G. Forbes, 163, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, N.B.

King, J. Lowcay, Carndonagh, Foxrock, Co. Dublin.
Kirby, A., 49, Elm Square, Roath, Cardiff.

Love, W., 28, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow.

Lett, Rev. Canon H. W., Aghaderg Rectory, Loughbrickland, Co.

Down.
Lawson, G. C, Mayfield House, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Laverton, Mrs. W. H., Leighton, Westbury, Wilts.
Laune G. F., Laurel Villa, Kenmure Avenue, Bishopbriggs, N.B.

Moore, Rev. Principal H. Kingsmill, d.d.. Cedar Mount, Dundrum,.

Dublin.
Marshall, W., v.m.h., Auchinraith, Bexley, Kent.
Moore, Sir F. W., v.m.h., Glasnevin, Dublin.
Murray, J. Campbell, j.p., Haggs Castle, Glasgow.
Margary, Mrs., Chartham Park, East Grinstead, Sussex.
Markendale, R. S., Ashfield House, Boston Spa, Yorks.
McKendrick, J. G., m.d., ll.d., f.r.s., Maxieburn, Stonehaven, X.B.
Meyer, C. J., Wellington Road, New Brighton, Cheshire.
Marshall, H. C, 8, Bryansburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down.
Marling, S. S., Stanley Park, Stroud.
Marsh, Miss S. A., Glenlyon, Holy wood, Co. Down.
Morrison, W. T., 23, Gowrie Street, Bridgend, Perth.
McCleery, J. O., Ava House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.
Muir, R. A., Esq., 109, Hope Street, Glasgow.
Milton Edward, The Bungalow, East Heath Avenue, Wokingham.

Naylor, E., Heather Bank, Hazelhurst Road, Bradford.
Nicholson, Thomas, Muirbank, Rutherglen, N.B.

Ormerod, G. F., Ashgrove, Elland, Brighouse.
O'Brien, W., 4, Kildare Street, Dublin.

Patrick, Josh., 247, West George Street, Glasgow.

Pattison, C, Linwood, near Paisley.

Phillips, W. H., Lemonfield, Holywood. Co. Down.

■->

o;

Parsons, J. S., 235, Cowbridge Road, Cardiff.

Pickard, A., 2, Snow Hill View, Wakefield.

Pooll, Mrs. Batten, Road Manor, Bath.

Peary, D., Island Cottage, Leatholm, Grosmont, S.O., Yorks.

Petty, S. L., Dykelands, Ulverston, Lanes.

Pain, Frampton, Arlington, Chase Ridings, Enfield Chase.

Roberts, W. Richter, Monkwood Cottage, Baldwyn's Hill, Loughton,
Essex.

Rogerson, Miss B. Stanley, Argaty, Doune, Perthshire.

Rugg, H. G., Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hamp-
shire, U.S.A.

Raschen, H. H., 56, Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport.

Relton, H., Tyn-y-Rheol, Whitchurch, nr. Ross-on-Wye, Hereford-
shire.

Rugman, J. C, Plusterwine, W^oolaston, near Lydney, Glos.

Hailton, G. S., Senior Council School, Tewkesbury.

Rowlands, S. P., 38, Seymour Place, Fulham Road, S.W.

Smithies, J. J., Boundar}- Bank, Kendal.

Stansfield, Dr. F. W., 120, Oxford Road, Reading.

Smith, J. L., Fairbank, 286, Lytham Road, South Shore, Blackpool.

Smith, T., Daisy Hill Nursery, Newry, Ireland.

Scott, W., Cameron Hospital, W^indygates, Fife.

Sergeantson, Rev. W., Acton Burwell, Shrewsbury.

Sanderson, H., Eastmount, Galashiels.

Stansfield, H., Fern Nursery, Sale, Manchester.

Silva, F., Coram Tower, Lyme Regis, Dorset.

Scott, W. D. T., The Gardens, Government House, Bulawayo,

Rhodesia, South Africa.
Sonnenschein, W. S., High Morcote, Shalford, Surrey.
Shaw, W. J., 23, Ulsterville Avenue, Belfast.
Start, F., East Lodge Gardens, Enfield Chase.
Salkeld, Mrs. Mary, Greengate, Levens, near Milnthorpe.
Sheldon, J. J., Brightside, Churchfields, South Woodford, Essex.
Stansfield, T., 9 St. George's Terrace, Taunton.
Small, Miss Janet, Brookland, D.C., U.S.A.

3o8

Thorrington, F. W., Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hornchurch.

Turner, T. H., Lynwood, Caversham, Reading.

Thatcher, Mrs. E. J., The Manor House, Chew Magna, Somerset.

Tucker, J. W., Ferncroft, Woodah Road, St. Thomas, Exeter.

Thorp, W., Sorrentoville, Dalkey, Co. Dublin.

Thorburn, R. W,, 68, Morris Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wilson, Willm., 7, Ferney Green, Kendal.

Wiper, J., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, British Columbia.

Wiper, E., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, British Columbia.

W^hitwell, G., Serpentine Cottage, Kendal.

Whiteside, R., 8, Borrowdale Road, Lancaster.

Walton, J. W., Finkle Street, Richmond, Yorkshire.

Williams, J. C, Caerhays Castle, St. Austell, Cornwall.

Whiteley, T. L., 206, St. Leonard's Road, Bradford.

Woynar, Herr H. Graz., Brockmanng 188/26, Austria.

Ware, R. A., 246, Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

White, E., 7, Victoria Street, S.W.

Whitton, J., V.M.H., Bellahouston House, Glasgow.

Wright, J. H., Courtlands, Rosemont Road, Acton, W.

While, W. L. Salusbury, Birstall, near Leicester.

Winslow, E. I., Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, Mass., U.S.A.

Winser, Mrs. Ann C. C, Adderley Rectory, Market Drayton.

Watson, W., Curator, Royal Gardens, Kew.

Walpole, John E., Highbury, Whitby, near Chester.

Woollard, J., 52, Churchfield Road, Acton.

Webb, S., 9, Waterloo Crescent, Dover.

Wood, Jas. Wallhouse, Torphichen, N.B.

Wardill, Chas. H., Field Villas, 4, Quay Road, Bridlington.

Watt, Oswald, Scourbank, Longtown, Cumberland.

309

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

(NOS. 13 TO 24.)

and Editor)

PAGE

255

117
79'
54

145
86

32
67
no, 113
136
45, 15S, 164, 185
136
41. 45. 53 (Frontispiece),

Acton, A Visit to (F. W. S.) . .

Adiantum cap. Veneris imbricatum

A.F.F. Victoriae (visit to spot where found)

Alpines and Ferns in Conjunction

Amateur, Some Troubles of an (S. P. R.)

Amateur's Notes and Observations (A. Kirby

Antherozoids

Apospory, Induced, in Ferns

Asp. ad. nigrum caudifolium

Asplenium marinum

,, trichomanes ..

,, viride . .

Athyrium filix fcemina Varieties 3, 12, 22

68, 79, 103, 120, 124, 125, 134, 157, 165, 179, 239, 256, 258

,, ,, ,, percristatum setigero superbum (Frontispiece), 260

August Meetings — Reports and Balance Sheets .. ..2, 109, 213

Blechnum spicant and Varieties (Frontispiece) 26, 38, 40, 41, 45, 73,

79, 109, 113, 120, 125, 134, 158, 214, 256
,, ,, revolvens Druery .

Botanists and Fern Fanciers
Bottles, Airtight, Ferns in
Bracken as a Mimetic Fern (C. B. G.)
British Fern Nomenclature

,, Ferns at R.H.S. Exhibition .
,. Abroad (S. P. R.)
Carbonic Acid, Query Supply . .

Causes Contributing to Variation (H. K. Moore, D.D.)
Cell Growth

256

36
264
180
70
22
281
267

72
6-

3TO

Cell, The Reproductive ..
Ceterach officinarum ramo-cristatum

(C. B. G.)
Culture, Selective
Cystopteris sempervirens cristata

fragilis

Dwarf British Ferns

Editorial Notes .. 1.25,51,75,107,131.155,187,211,

Excursion, Totnes

Experiences, Fern (Hawkins) . .

Fern Experiences (W. B. C.)

,, ,, (Rev. E. H. Hawkins)

,, Fertility

,, Fronds for Naming

,, Genesis (Pedigrees)

,, Hunting in Scotland

„ Winter (C. B. G.)

(Wild Fronds and Seedlings) (F. W. S.)
Notes — Scotland (W. R. R.)

,, from Derbyshire (W. R. R.)
Propagation in Bottles, etc. .. .. ..46,1

Resurrection

Removal (T. G. H. Eley) ..
Species and Varieties
Sports, How Found

X cLoodo •• •• •• •• •• ••

Variation

PAGE
192

. 50, 89, 159

221

196

91

105, 158

158
27, 119, 136

235. 259, 283

113

208, 218, 279

208, 218

279

lOI

255

17

77
55

Ferns

»»

Dwarf

Garden Varieties')..

How They Develop

in Airtight Bottles

Inconstant

251

151

166

21 (C. B. G.)

103

274

148

40

2S6

64, 72

82

27, 119, 136

72

92

• • 264

21, 30

311

PAGE

Ferns, My Native (H. K. Moore, D.D.) 175

,, New and Improved 13, 23, 49, 123, 154 {resume up to date),

157, 185, 229
Under Trees (F. W, S.) 133

Genesis Fern .. .. ., .. .. .. .. 17

Hartstongue, A French . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Kenwood's Collection (T. E. H.) .. .. .. .. 224,239

Hobby, Our . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

How Ferns Develop .. ., ., .. .. .. 91

Jones', Col. A. M., Polystichum Notes .. .. .. 139

Lament and Moral (verses), C. B. G. . . .. .. .. 57

Lastrea dilatata Varieties .. .. .. 41,60, 134, 165, 214

filix mas 3, 24, 35, 48, 79, 119, 120, 134, 158, 168, 176, 185,

i8g, 214, 239
,, acrocladon (F, W. S.) .. .. .. 189

,, hybrid .. .. .. .. .. ,. .. 115

,, montana and varieties 3, 39 (F. W. S.), 67, 79, 134, 164,

165, 204, 214, 241, 258
,, ,, cristato-gracile Druery .. .. .. 204

,, pseudo mas . . 3, 35, 48, 60, 84, 109, iig, 145, 158, 239

,, „ ,, percristata apospora . . . . . . 191

Members, List of . . .. .. .. .. .. 126,231,304

Mental Rambles in Fernland (A. Kirby and Editor) . . 289

Native Ferns. Why Not ? (Rev. H. K. Moore, D.D.) .. 296

Nature versus Culture in Fern Variation
New Finds in Hampshire and Devon . .
Nomenclature, British Fern
Notes on Some Rare Ferns (A. C.)

Obituary
Osmunda
Our Hobby

Osmunda regalis

58.81

229

70

163

210
3
299'

312

PAGE

Pedigrees (Genesis) of Noted Ferns .. .. .. .. 17, 53

Pest, A Serious Fern (H. Kingsmill Moore, D.D.) .. .. 14

Pinnae, Pinnules and Pinnulets .. .. .. .. 43

Polydactylous Polystichums . . . . . . . . . . 34

Polypodies. Our Native .. .. .. .. .. .. 137,168

Polypodium calcareum .. .. .. 170, 171, 278 (F. W. S.)

,, dryopteris .. .. .. .. .. .. 94, 170

„ „ plumosum .. .. .. .. 241, 256

,, phegopteris .. .. .. .. .. .. 170, 171

,, vulgare and varieties 21, 31, 37, 44, 108 (Frontispiece),

149, 153, 154, 162, 165, 168, 169, 172 (Kenwood's

Collection), 177, 226
Polystichum aculeatum .. .. .. .. .. .. 159

,, ,, gracillimum .. .. .. 24,200,257

„ „ foliosum Edwards .. 214, 285 (Frontispiece)

,, ,, plumosum Green .. .. .. 202, 257

„ angulare varieties 3, n (F. W. S.), 31, 44, 45, 47, 109,

114, 115, 120, 123, 125, 134, 139 (Col. Jones' Notes),

115, 159, 176, 177, 179, 182, 212, 22S (Kenwood's

Collection), 229
,, „ pi. Baldwinii .. .. .. 201, 221, 258

,, ,, pi. ramulosissimum R. Bolton (Illustration), 160

,, ,, pulcherrimum K. Stansfield (Frontispiece), 212

,, lonchitis .. .. .. .. .. .. 3,78,214

Pteris aquilina glomerata . . . . . . . . . . 22, 66, 180

Rare Ferns, Notes on Some (A. Cowan) .. .. ., 163

Root Room for Ferns .. .. .. .. 98, 115 (C. B. G.)

Scolopendrium vulgare crispum grande Wills (Frontispiece) 188

,, ,, ,, nobile (Frontispiece) . . 'j']^ 108

,, ,, Drummondia^ superbum (Frontispiece) 156

„ ,, ,, „ grandiceps

(Frontispiece), 237, 257

,, ,, saggitato-grandiceps (Frontispiece) 133, 246

,. „ Varieties 43, 44, 49, 87, 91, 97, 99, 109, no,

114. 117, 118, 123, 125, 136, 154, 156, 162, 178, 194, 239

Selective Culture . .
Shield Ferns, Our Native
Sports, Fern, How Found

„ Wild Fern
Stansfield, Dr. F. W. (Frontispiece to Vol. II.)
Syagrius intrudens (A Foreign Weevil)

Totnes Excursion, The (F, W. S.)

Vandalistic Botanists

Variation, Contributory Causes of (H, K. Moore, D

Variation Generally, On

,, Deferred
Varieties of Variation

Wardian Case, The

Weevil, A Foreign (H. K. Moore, D.D.)

,, The, as a Fern Foe
Wild Fern " Sports "

D-)

250,

PAGE
196

182

40

244

14

104

72
247, 272
258, 260

95

261, 295

14

269

244

" A little nonsense now and then
Is relished by the wisest men,
And even Solomon, no doubt,
Was not a solemn 'un throughout."

As an antidote to what is vulgarly termed the " muUy-
grabs," our members may be interested to know that the
Editor has made arrangements with the Publisher of his
humorous book : —

"THE PIG'S TALE,"

A Goblin Story,
and other Recitations.

Published at 6/- net,

by which he is enabled to offer it to them for 3s. 6d., post
free. This book contains a considerable number of Ballads
in the style of Thomas Hood, and Recitations in that of
Ingoldsby, a claim which may sound rather magniloquent,
but which has been recognised as fully justified by many
good authorities when they have been read in public.

As the Editor is rather anxious that his friends may get
to know this side of his character, as well as that relating
to Ferns, he trusts this notice will not be in vain.

yv

FERNS.

^ ^ ^

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 obtainable
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.

^ ^ ^

Stope, (Breenbouse, anb otbet plants
♦ . ♦ are also largelY? grown* . ♦ ♦

^ 1^ ^

Catalogues of Ferns and other Plants can be had yiost free
upon application to —

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.
I

New York Botanical Garden Librar

3 5185 00259 4388