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VOL. 1. No. 1.

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(3a5ette-

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

September^ 1909.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Secretary: Mr. G. WHITWELL, Serpentine Cottage),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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:Brit(6b fctn
©asette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

VOL. U Nos. 1 — 12.

EDITED BY

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

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.
1909 — 1912.

See page 3.

THE

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<^V»k.--

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, 1909.

No. I.

CONTENTS.

page.

Preface

I

Our Frontispiece ..

3

Our Native Ferns ..

5

The Life History of a Fern ..

8

Fern Hunting Episodes ..

II

Wild Sports in British Ferns..

14

Personal Fern Finds

18

N.B.— Partly inevitably, partly accidentally, the whole of this number is from the
editorial pen, the next issue, however, will contain interesting contributions by Dr.
F. W. Stansfield, Mr. G. Whitwell, and, it is hoped, other lovers of the cult.— Ed.

PREFACE.

A resolution was passed on August 2nd, igog, at the
annual meeting of the British Pteridological Society at
Kendal, at the suggestion of Mr. Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H.,
F.L.S., that a quarterly publication should be established
and issued dealing with British species of Ferns, particularly
from the varietal point of view. For many years the
encouragement of this special " cult " has been the object
of the Society, but as its records simply embraced reports
of the annual meetings, with only occasional additional
contributions of papers by the members, it was felt that
its utility was too circumscribed, and that in view of the
fact of the immensely increased popularity of the varietal
forms as decorative plants, it was essential to arrange for
greater publicity, and the periodical issue of such a
"Gazette" as that of which this number forms the
first issue. To the existing members of the " cult " it is
^ unnecessary to dilate upon the wonderful development
-^ in British Fern varieties, which has been brought about

J

by new " finds " and selective culture during more than
half a century since they last enjoyed popularity, but to
those outside the society, it may be well to state that at the
period indicated, the thoroughbred wild finds or "sports"
were comparatively few in number, and that, very unwisely,
a considerable number of inferior, defective, and inconstant
forms were propagated and distributed with the inevitable
result that the really beautiful forms were swamped. For
this reason popularity declined, and eventually the cult
was only pursued by a small coterie of enthusiastic fern
hunters, raisers, and selectors who maintained collections,
and by new discoveries and fortunate sowings have
gradually accumulated such an immense amount of material
that the new era of popularity is little likely to w^ane for
the same reason as previously.

The late Mr. E. J. Lowe's list of British Ferns, pub-
lished in 1891, records and describes nearly two thousand
distinct forms, to which many have been added since.
From this list and the subsequent acquisitions, the Society
compiled in 1901 "The Book of British Ferns," which
confined itself entirely to the thoroughbred, symmetrical,
and constant varieties which it deemed worthy of culti-
vation. This book, which is profusely illustrated and deals
in separate sections with both the popular and scientific
side of the " cult," brought the records up to the said date,
and is obtainable either from the Secretary , or Messrs.
Newnes, price 3/6, post free 3/9.

The literature of British Ferns is fairly copious, but in
the great majority of cases only deals with the normal
ferns, and hence, from the Society's point of view, may be
largely ignored. The exceptions are Britten's "European
Ferns," Moore's " Nature Printed Ferns," 1859, E. J.
Lowe's, "Our Native Ferns," 1867 (2 vols.), "New
and Rare Ferns " (i vol.), and the small pocket list
already mentioned, " British Ferns," 1891, plus those
above alluded to. It may, however, be confidently
asserted that the " Book of British Ferns," which is
profusely illustrated, is the only one which deals, from the

expert's point of view, with the best forms comprehensively
up to a recent date, and also gives in an appendix an
account of the remarkable results of their scientific study.

The object of the present " Gazette " is to bring these
records up to date, and to this end all lovers of fern
"sports" are invited to send to the Editor full particulars
of new ** finds " or fresh acquisitions obtained by selective
culture, sending fronds for consideration. These will be
acknowledged by post in any case, provided stamps be sent fov
reply, and a record will appear in the " Gazette" if quality
justifies it. A reminder may be given that it is the aim of
the Society to lead up to and encourage better and better
types, and, in view of the abujidance of good material, to
discourage inferior ones ; an object which the Editor will
strictly adhere to. An exchange column is contemplated,
but we reserve this question for the time being, contenting
ourselves in this issue with a cordial invitation to all British
fern lovers to send us any suggestions or matter for publica-
tion which they may consider in the interest of the cult,
and within the scope of this " Gazette."

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

Stanimxhank, SJiaa Road, Editor.

Acton, London, W.

P.S. — The Editor requests that this number may be
taken as an indication to those many friends who promised
their support that their names have been placed on the list
of subscribers, and, at the same time, of members of the
British Pteridological Society, and that their subscription,
5/- per annum (embracing four issues of the " Gazette "),
should be remitted to the Secretary, Mr. George Whitwell,
Serpentine College, Kendal ; or to the Editor, as above.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

The Fern frond depicted on our frontispiece* represents
undoubtedly one of the most remarkable "jumps" in
selective Fern evolution, as will be seen by a comparison

'•' From a photograph kindly provided by Mr. C. B. Green.

with a portion of a frond of the parent plant. The said
parent Poiystichum aculcatum pulcliervimum was found
nearly forty years ago by a farm labourer in a Dorsetshire
hedge, and since that time has only been propagated by

POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM PULCH EKRIMU M.

offsets owing to its infertility as regards spores. A few
years back, however, a few spores were found, and Mr.
C. B. Green, of Acton, and the Editor made a joint sowing,
with the remarkable result that about twenty plants of
altogether different types resulted amid a number of the

5

parental form, and a few reversions towards the normal.
The photo reproduced represents so far the most extra-
ordinary of these secondary " sports," but several of the
others are of wonderful delicacy of cutting, the parental
half-inch pinnacles being extended sometimes to nearly
three inches, and of almost hairlike tenuity. Two have
obtained first class certificates from the Royal Horticultural
Society, and a third, which is on quite different lines, and
is finely dissected and plumose, an award of merit. The-
appearance of these varieties established an altogether
new section among varietal Shield Ferns, and constitutes
an unique example among secondary sports.

C. T. D.

OUR NATIVE FERNS.

Although the rider of every hobby is apt to exaggerate
its importance, it is absolutely safe to say that amongst all
branches of the gardening hobby, that relating to our
native ferns in their varietal forms is unique in interest.
The British Isles, compared to many tropical or sub-
tropical fern lands, are poor in species, numbering only some
forty odd as against hundreds, but for some reason so far
inscrutable these few species have proved themselves to be
capable of assuming so many sportive forms as to far and
away exceed, in varietal diversity, all the rest of the ferns
of the world put together. This may, perhaps, be partly
imputed to the fact that while exotic ferns, of which so
many species have been introduced, have mainly been
discovered by general botanists who do not individually
examine the great numbers of plants they meet with, with
a view to discover the comparatively rare " sports," our
home ferns have been for more than half a century subjected
to that special and persevering search by expert fern,
hunters, which is alone qualified to earn success by the
discovery of new forms. It is a common thing to hear
from persons who have been visiting our ferny districts
that " ferns were there in thousands but only the common
ones," in obvious ignorance of the fact that wherever these

B

common or normal forms abound, there is a chance of
finding a "sport" and that when such a "sport" is
discovered it is usually a solitary specimen, and so mixed
up or hidden, partly or wholly, by its common associates
that a very keen eye and a persistent investigation of every
clump are required to detect it. Superficially, therefore,
the remark is justified, but let the expert take that district
in hand for a day or so, and he will be unfortunate indeed
if he does not return with a find or two, possibly rare or
new, but in any case constituting an interesting souvenir
of the locality. The " find," as we have said, may be
anywhere, old walls, pollard trees, rocky chinks, stone
dykes by the roadside, the sloping hedge banks of shady
lanes, or the ferny recesses of woods and glens, all forms
of habitat indeed may be teeming with normals from tiny
seedlings or dwarfed adults to shoulder-high specimens
forming a jungle. Thousands, or even tens of thousands
of these come under the fern hunter's eye in the day's
search, and then, perhaps, when almost despairing of a bag,
a tiny tassel or the tip of an extra finely cut or otherwise
varied frond is sighted, and lo ! on extricating the fern from
the crowd, all its fronds are seen to be so characterized, and a
more or less valuable gem is unearthed to swell the hunter's
collection. It is in this way that considerably over a
thousand distinct varieties have been found and recorded,
and it is in this way that that number is constantly being
added to by those who make a hobby of fern hunting from
the varietal side as distinct from those who raid the common
ones by the basketful, and in many cases have thus
destroyed Nature's raw material for long distances round
popular and otherwise ferny resorts. We, ourselves, have
been, more jocularly than seriously, accused of similar
vandalism when, after a week or so's search, we have
returned with a boxful of acquisitions, but there is a vital
difference between the two classes of collection. Follow
the ordinary raider, and we may often see the collected roots
subsequently thrown away when by neglect they have
wilted and lost their freshness, or if they reach home alive

they are dumped into the soil regardless of aspect, burning
sun or windy conditions, so that if they do not perish by
slow degrees, they can never develop the beauty they
displayed in their normal habitat. In short, it is safe to
say that the great bulk of ferns so removed are simply
destroyed. Follow now the fern hunter proper. He finds
a good variety, the roots of which after careful removal he
wraps in wet moss, packing the fronds also carefully to
prevent damage. Arrived home, if his find be a new one,
his first care is to collect its spores and make a sowing^
and the probability is that in a year or two he will have
provided all his fern-loving friends with specimens for
exchange ot otherwise, thus multiplying and perpetuating
instead of destroying. More than this, since the spores of
good varieties are apt to yield not only the parental type,
but also improvements in same, he may eventually be the
proud owner of a new race or section of beautiful ferns
which would never have seen the light had the original
" find " been overlooked.

Recurring now to the " unique" character of the British
Fern cult, it is truly unique in the sense that there is no
other race of w^ild plants which is capable of providing all
the material for splendid collections exclusively from home
mateviaL Take any other floral hobby we will, and when
we inquire into the history of a collection, we shall

inevitably find exotic or foreign influence to figure largely
in it, both as regards origin of the plants concerned and
also their raisers ; but with a few exceptions, which can be
counted on the fingers, consisting of varieties of such
species as are indigenous in other countries as well as
Britain and have been introduced by fern-loving travellers,
the British Fern cult is a purely national one, devoted to
native plants all found wild in our woods, lanes and glens
in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Channel
Islands, or derived from such wild parents by selection of
their progeny. Another point in their favour is that being
native plants, they are all hardy, with the exception of the
maidenhair and the sea spleenwort, which are confined to

our warm western coasts or sheltered caves and cliffs. All the
rest stand frost with impunity, and as they are lovers of
shady conditions which are unfitted for healthy floral
cultivation, they are particularly adapted for culture in
thousands of conservatories whence sunshine is largely
excluded by their position, while for shady rockeries in the
open a good collection can be made of abounding interest.
Finally, the British Fern cult or hobby possesses that great
advantage over what we may term inorganic hobbies,
such as bric-a-brac, postage stamps and curio collections
generally, in that it deals with the inexhaustible wonders of
Nature at first hand. The fern hunter in his quest
traverses the most beautiful parts of the kingdom, pursues
his rambles through them, enjoying fresh air and revelling
in lovely prospects in the intervals when his intently
roving eye can withdraw itself from the ferns which line
the way, and which, to the experienced hunter, rivet his
attention upon them by the recognised fact that at any
moment a prize may turn up to reward his perseverance,
and which, unlike the bric-a-brac or the postage stamp,
may eventually be multiplied ad infinitum if he deems
it precious enough to justify the trouble. C. T. D.

THE LIFE HISTORY OF A FERN.

As the thorough-going Fern student should know some-
thing more than the mere outward aspects of the Fern by
which he is enabled to determine the species, it will not be
out of place to give in as non-technical a way as possible, a
short account of how ferns differ from flowering plants, and
how, despite the absence of flowers and obvious seed, they
manage to reproduce themselves. In the first place, then,
Ferns belong to the spore producing tribes of plants as
distinct from the seed-bearing or flowering ones, and since
fertilization is an essential to constant reproduction and the
persistence of a species while the spore difl"ers from a seed
in not being the outcome of such fertilization, it becomes
necessary to know how and where this vital function is
fulfilled. A seed, as we know, simply requires to be sowa

to produce directly a root and leaf system without any
circumlocution whatever. The spore, on the other hand,
when it is sown simply germinates and produces a little
green heart-shaped scale (prothallus) closely attached to
the soil by a multitude of tiny root-hairs, and from this in
course of time a little fern rises, duly provided with root
and frond and capable of independent existence. This,
however, it has been shown, really springs from a properly
fertilized seed, and although the process is effected on such
a minute scale as to need a microscope to examine it, the
fertilization of this seed is effected in practically the same
way as that of the seed of a flower, the chief difference
being that the seed is embedded in the substance of the
scale, and germinates in situ instead of being detached and
shed to germinate elsewhere. If we reverse one of the
little scales aforesaid and examine it with a fairly good lens
we shall find on its under surface, like so many tiny pimples
scattered about among the root-hairs, a number of little
round projections (antheridia) and close to the indentation
of the heart on a sort of thickened cushion we shall see a
small cluster of larger and] longer hollow projections
(archegonia). At the base of each of these, deeply em-
bedded in the cushion aforesaid, is an embryo seed. At
the proper time, when under moist conditions the underside
of the scale is bathed in dewlike moisture, the little pimples
burst and send out a cloud of very minute organisms termed
antherozoids, which are provided with movable hairs or
cilia, by means of which they swim actively about in the
water and make their way towards the cluster of larger pro-
jections,traversing which they fertilize the seed at their base,
precisely in the same way as pollen fertilizes the seed of
flowering plants. This done, the seed perfects itself, and
eventually breaking through the lower part of the cushion
roots into the soil and sends up its first frond with a bud at
its base, and in this way a second generation of Ferns is
produced. From this it is seen that, after all, flowers are
practically borne by Ferns, but on a microscopic scale.
We may also gain a practical lesson from this, as it shews

lO

how moist conditions are essential to successful spore
propagation, especially at the critical period when fertiliza-
tion should occur. This is the normal life cycle of all
Ferns, but, thanks to careful study of the varietal forms, it
has been found that Nature has not only endowed Ferns
with a capacity to sport as far as outward appearance and
structure go, but that every conceivable variation of this
life cycle occurs. Normally, the succession is Fern, spore,
antheridia, archegonia, embryo seed and Fern again ; but it
has been proved that reproduction can take place, leaving
out every one of these stages either singly or even in the
lump, including the apparent paradox, the very Fern itself.
In the variant known as Apospory, the fern cuts out the
spore by forming the green scale direct.on its fronds, in that
known as Apogamy the embryo seed and its adjuncts are
omitted, the young fern appearing as a bud on the scale.
In such ferns as are bulbiferous, bearing young plants on
the fronds, the scale and all intermediate stages are, of
course, left out, while the final apparent paradox is solved
by the fact observed by Dr. Lang that the scale itself was
capable of producing spores direct, and, of course, if these
spores inherited that capacity, the Fern as we know it
would be omitted altogether, and only generation after
generation of the scale stage would exist. It will be seen
from these data that the cross fertilization of Ferns cannot
be conducted on the same sure and scientific lines as that
of flowers. With flowers we can take precaution against
self fertilization, and we can easily transfer what pollen we
will from one flower to a different one and be fairly certain
what pairs are united. With ferns, on the other hand, in
which self fertilization must be the rule and crossing a rare
accident, we cannot possibly either handle the pollen
equivalents or be sure that fertilization has not already
occurred. All we can do is to sow the two kinds of spores
together somewhat closely, or bring pairs of young prothalli
from dift'erent sowings into close juxtaposition before
maturity, flooding them then from time to time on the
chance that the roving antherozoids may thus be carried

1 1

from one prothallus to another and thus effect the desired
object. That cross fertilization does occur is abundantly
demonstrated by the existence of ferns in which two
distinct parental characters are united. The charming
lattice work and tassels of A. f.f. Victovae have thus, for
instance, been allied with the bristly character of A. f.f.
setigevum, and it is noteworthy that the spores of the
joint offspring reproduce the joint type truly and freely.

C. T. D.

FERN HUNTING EPISODES.

Although Fern hunting expeditions hardly belong to the
very risky or adventurous category, since the ''quarry"
however "wild" is never aggressive, it occasionally contrives
its best to baffle acquisition, and doubtless every *' hunter "
could relate anecdotes connected with difficulties of this
kind. Several years ago, while out hunting in the Barn-
staple district, I came to a low parapeted stone bridge
spanning a mill leat with a very rapid stream. About
7 or 8 feet down, near the crown of the arch, was a very
pretty spiral Hartstongue growing in a chink in the masonry.
I could just reach it with my stick, but if I dislodged it, it
would inevitably fall into the water and be swept away, as
the stream itself was not only swift but inaccessible.
Happily, the day being dull, I had my umbrella with me
and opening this I suspended it by a string below the arch
and subsequently managed to tickle the fern out of its
retreat with the extreme point of my trowel, until it fell
into the " brolly " and was promptly bagged fairly intact.

A somewhat similar case recently confronted me in the
Totnes district, but a far more baffling one. Here it was a
clump of a very pretty Polypodinm vulgare with regular
roundly-lobed pinnae, a form new^ to me. This w^as em-
bedded in a chink so low down that I could only just
reach it with the top of my walking stick. The river Dart
ran below, but even had I an umbrella, which I had not,
the above plan of suspension would not have fitted, since
the fern was growing within a few inches of a buttress

12

projecting at right angles, which would have left a large
gap between umbrella and wall, precisely beneath the fern.
Here was a puzzle, but determined not to go away minus
the fern, I cogitated for a while, and then being provided
with a ball of string, an indispensable part of a fern-hunting
outfit, I made a loose slip knot and coaxing this over the
fronds with the tip of my stick I managed to draw it tight
and lasso them. This done I lashed my open penknife (the
trowel was unavailable) to the stick, and leaning over cut
out a good piece of the embedded rhizome until the fern
swung out loose at the end of the string, which was then
drawn up and the prize bagged.

Last Christmas, near Torquay, I noted a very fine
crested Hartstongue about lo or 12 feet up a high wall,
quite out of reach — another puzzle, a country road and not
a soul in sight. Presently, however, when almost in
despair, I espied a lad in the distance, and, managing to
attract his attention, I hoisted him on to my shoulders and
under my instructions he managed to dislodge enough of
the caudex, despite its being tightly frozen in, for me to
establish a plant with, now a pretty specimen. I may
mention that in both these last cases, sufficient of the
fern was left for it to re-establish itself, only part being
taken. The acquisition of a fern, even when found under
easily accessible conditions, is not always without difficulty.

Last year I found a full-size Polystichnm angtdave, near
Seaton Junction, in a hedge bottom, and as it presented a
very marked abnormal character, I determined to get it.
To do so, however, I had to lie down and almost bury
myself in the hedge, the caudex being far back and wedged
so tight between the tree roots there that my trowel could
do nothing, and my only way of acquiring was to pull it out
by main force. Hence was presented the curious spectacle
of an individual with his head and shoulders half-way
through the hedge and his legs kicking wildly about outside
it. Result, a gentleman came riding by on horseback, I heard
him trot past and then stop and return, by which time I
had wrenched my prize free and extricated my head suffi-

13

ciently to hear him ask whether I was hurt, since he had
imagined that I must be struggling in mortal agony and
had come back to see if he could assist me. Thanking him
for his kindness and releiving his mind by an explanation,
we bade each other good e\'ening, he rode on and I pro-
ceeded to shoulder my booty and return to my temporary
nest.

As a rule the acquisition of a new find consists merely in
digging it up, extricating it from its common associates and
packing it in paper, adding moss or grass, or something of
that kind, damped if possible, to preserve its freshness,
since I have great faith in preventing an acquisition from
getting dry, so much vitality is lost if this precaution be
neglected. It may, however, happen that the find is an old-
established mass of so unwieldly a nature as to require
assistance. A case of this kind stands out vividly in my
memory as I write. One Sunday morning, leaving my fern
trow^el religiously behind me to secure me from tempta-
tion, I came to a brook on the edge of Dartmoor with
sloping banks, dotted here and there with clumps of
Lastvea montana, seen from an elevated path. Scanning
these clumps, one of them, some 20 yards away at the edge
of the brook strikes me as "funny-looking," something odd
and unlike the rest. Walking rapidly down the slope closer
investigation reveals that I have found a most beautifully
tasselled and slender growing variety, a gem of the first
water. (L. montana cvistato-gvacile, Dvuevy.) The clump
however, is about a yard through, a dense mass of
many crowms, altogether unportable ; what is to be done ?
Carefully noting the surroundings and putting a frond into
my hat to show to my better half, staying in the adjacent
village, I return, but can hardly persuade her that I have
made such a discovery until later in the day we return to
the spot and she finds it again in proof of my sincerity.
The next morning I engage a man, with a stout fork, to
assist me in lifting the plant, but neither he nor 1 can move
it until a quarry cart and driver coming along, we enlist
their services and eventually lift en masse i^ cwts. of fern

14

and soil and drive it triumphantly into the village, dumping
the mass into a huge hamper secured for the purpose, in
which it eventually reached London. Dissected, it proved
to have no less than 33 crowns, a number of which were
at once distributed far and wide among fern-loving friends.
Finds of such magnitude and quality are rare indeed, but
the chance of such discoveries always exists, especially in
unfrequented districts. Perhaps the most portentous Fern-
hunting episode in my memory is one which I escaped.

Hunting in the vicinity of Campsie, N.B., I found close
to the railway a very distinct form of Lastrea dilatata
(L. d. stipitato laciniata) about noon, and took the train from
Campsie Station back to Strathblane between 12 and i.
About 2 a cloud-burst struck the very spot I had been
hunting, and washed the line away for hundreds of yards, a
fortunate escape indeed, and I was glad the " waterspout "
had not '' found " me. C. T. D.

WILD SPORTS IN BRITISH FERNS.

[Abstract of Lectuve delivered to the Royal Horticultural

Society.)

If we study the literature of plant variation and especially
the references thereto in technical botanical works, we
cannot, in default of better knowledge, fail to derive the
impression that what are termed " monstrosities " by some,
and "distinct sports" by others are in some occult way
due to cultural influences. The very term"garden varieties,"
so often used in this connection, permits of no other inter-
pretation, especially when we consider that, until very
recently, the plants to which botanists applied this term were,
as a consequence, entirely excluded from purely botanical
study. They were dubbed " monstrosities," and regarded
in much the same way as most of us regard those terrible
things which may be seen at the Museum of the
College of Surgeons, and in similar collections. In the
case of most plants the varieties which we see in cultivation
and which form the bulk of our floral exhibitions, have

15

reached their present stage of development by long con-
tinued selection, generally by a considerable number of
breeders and consequent accumulation on diverse lines of
those small individual difierences which characterize seed-
lings. These differences being transmitted by inheritance,
and occasionally enhanced by what may be termed minor
sports, amounting eventually to such a transformation that
no outsider would impute them to their original parents.
As this accumulation of character occurs entirely under
culture, we may justifiably term the plants so obtained
" garden varieties." We may equally justly apply the term
to another large section of floricultural exhibits obtained by
hybridization, since in both cases the types are due to
human agency, controlling in certain directions the innate
tendency to variation in the one case and the power of
combination in the other case, while protecting the result-
ing plants from that purely natural selection which would
probably result in the destruction of most of them. As a
consequence of so much divergence of type being brought
about by these selective and combining operations in culti-
vators' hands, the opinion has gradually been strengthened
that it is culture which is the cause of the variability
displayed, more especially as the behaviour of purely wild
plants under purely natural conditions is comparatively
little studied and practically (with one exception) not at all
by cultivators for the market so as to admit of a proper
comparison of the two plant sections, viz. the wild and the
cultivated, as regards their relative variability. The one
exception exists in the case of our native wild Ferns,
which have now been my special study for over a quarter of
a century, and which represent absolutely the only group
of genera and species which, in their purely wild state, have
been subjected to singularly close scrutiny by a consider-
able number of skilled observers for over half a century.
These observers have devoted their attention to the dis-
covery among wild plants of ''sports," or markedly
distinct abnormal forms, and, thanks to a few of the most
prominent ones, a constant record has been kept of their

i6

finds and those of others, and although this record also
embraces a number of varieties subsequently improved in
type by selection of the progeny of the wild finds, those
raised are always so described, and cannot be confused
with the wild finds themselves. Moreover, and this as
another material point, the plants have invariably been
collected as living plants, and not merely as herbarium
materia], and having been carefully preserved and multi-
plied by off-sets and bulbils, the bulk of them are still
existent in British Fern collections. It is also worthy of
note that although all our native species, without exception,
are also indigenous to other temperate countries, and some
of them almost ubiquitous, this particular study has almost
exclusively been confined to the British Isles, and the
specimens extant are, therefore, with but a few exceptions,
truly British wild plants. We have, therefore; an immense
mass of purely unsophisticated material to deal with in
considering the comparative variability of this section of
plant life under wild and cultural conditions, while the
records are incontestible as regards their wild origin, and
in this particular connection are of the greater value, as
they were not compiled with any view to establish a theory
of variation, and are, therefore, quite unbiassed. The latest
and most complete record of this kind is found in the
late ^Ir. E. J. Lowes' "British Ferns," 1891, published
by Swan, Sonnenschein & Co. This is a descriptive list,
giving the date and locality of the discoveries, and the
names of the finders, together with enhanced types raised
by selection, these being marked " raised," with the raiser's
name. It is noteworthy that these latter are, in every case,
of similar type to the wild parent, though this may be as it
were emphasized, i.e. more marked. For a really new type
we have invariably to look to the wild fern. This fact,
ripely considered, goes far to prove greater variability
under wild conditions than under culture, instead of the
generally accepted converse case. We may now come to
the consideration of how far this fifty year record demon-
strates the proportion of wild sports to those which may be

regarded as " garden varieties'' proper, and on analysis of
the list we find that no less than 1,360, out of a total list of
1,717, originated in a wild state, i.e. 1,360 as against 357.
In this connection it may be argued that a far greater
number of variations may have occurred under culture,
but that owing to their inferiority they have not been
recorded. This is perfectly true, but is fully counter-
balanced by the fact that the record of wild sports is
subject to the same observation, since it only embraces
what the fern hunter considers to be acquisitions, and
ignores a vast number of inferior and defective " sports,"
which, from the biological point of view, are fully as
interesting as the others, and equally affect the question
of comparative variability. I have heard it mooted that
the immense number of "sports" found in the British
Isles, as compared with other parts of world where
ferns are plentiful, may be partly due to escaped spores
from the various collections scattered about the country,
but this idea, for several reasons, cannot be substantiated.
Wild sports, as a rule, have an independent individual
character of their own, and it is comparatively seldom
that more than one of precisely the same type has been
separately found, while escaped seedlings are easily
recogni/ied as such by the experts. For instance, in
a wood near Levens, in the Lake District, the gardener
at Levens Hall, Mr. Craig, who was also a fern collector,
scattered a great number of spores from abnormal ferns in
his collection. Even to the present day, examples crop up
in that wood. A few years back I went through it myself
and found several, but in every case I could at once name
the parent, and even had I not known the fact of the
sowing, I should have suspected it from the identity of
the types with those I am acquainted with. On the
other hand, I have hunted many localities, and found a
good many varieties under conditions where strays were
practically impossible, on hillsides and in glens, and by
the roadsides, and on the moors, Dartmoor and Exmoor,
far remote from any known collections, and in no case

i8

has there been a family likeness to previous finds as in the
case above cited. I doubt, furthermore, very much if fern
spores travel very far from their place of origin, except
perhaps by water agency. The spores, small though they
be, are dense and heavy, and though countless millions
may be annually shed, very few indeed reach the stage of
lern production, while many varieties, though fertile and
constant in their progeny, certainly are not so robust as
the normals, and would consequently be greatly handi-
capped as strays in their infant stages. This is furthermore
evidenced by rarity of varietal colonies, the finds being
generally solitary. For these reasons, therefore, I cannot
accept the theory aforesaid, that the number of wild sports
has been augmented by " escapes." All experienced fern
hunters seek the most remote localities, and it is mainly in
such that the " sports " recorded have been discovered.
This fact also disposes of the idea that artificial conditions
of any kind contribute to variability, or that change of
environment underlies it. Many of the most marked
forms have originated under conditions which must have
been identical for centuries and tens of centuries. They
are, moreover, when found, so closely associated or even
intermingled with the abundant normals that their actual
environment, aerial and terrestrial, is identical, so that it is
impossible to conceive a reason why Nature should have,
at one stroke, endowed them with such different styles of
structure or even different reproductive characters, as in
the aposporous ferns, plus the capacity of reproducing
themselves as truly and constantly as any species does.

PERSONAL FERN FINDS.

As, apart from the supreme incentive, viz. actual finds
of good varieties by himself or herself, nothing tends more

'■'■'- As many good fern finds have been discovered by ladies, for whom
the cult is peculiarly fitted, we should like to impress upon them the
fact that when we speak generally of hunters, finders, or raisers, or
write 'he" or •' him," as the case may be in the general sense, the fair
sex is always by implication included.

19

to encourage the budding fern student and fern hunter or
hunters than a definite knowledge of what has been effected
in the way of successful hunting. We propose in this and
subsequent issues of the "British Fern Gazette" to give
lists of recognized "sports," together with any interesting
data relating to their discovery, such lists being compiled
by the discoverers themselves. The editor would therefore
be glad to receive such data, but would ask his corre-
spondents to confine their records for publication to really
distinct and constant forms, ignoring such as are merely
curious and irregular, and therefore outside the scope of
those eligible varieties to which, in these days of abundant
good material, it is desirable to confine attention. Such
lists may also naturally embrace improved forms raised
from spores, and if such can be accompanied by good
photographs so much the better. As far as possible the
parent should be specified, or both parents if cross
fertilization has been successfully achieved. By way of
a start I (in this case I am forced to use the first person
singular) give the following list of my own finds with
localities, appending thereto a few notes regarding special
varieties which I have raised, since these figure both
largely and strikingly in my collection.

Original Finds.
Athyrium filix fcemina.

A. f.f. revolvens. Strathblane. Fronds rolled nearly into

tubes.
A. f.f. cristatum Kilrushense. Kilrush. Fine pendulous

tassels ; by far the best wild cristatum found.
A. f.f. oreopteroides. Devon. Fronds resemble L. nion-

tana.
A. f.f. Camserniense. Camsernie. Fronds resemble L.

montana, pinnae imhvicate.
A. f.f. medio deficiens. Innerwell, N.B. Centre of

frond and pinnae open.
A. f.f. medio deficiens. Strathblane. Centre of frond

open.

20

A. f.l. medio deficiens. Kendal. Centre of frond open.
A. f.f. deltoideum. Strathblane. Basal pinnae wide, fronds

revolved.
A. f.f. cruciatum. Loxhore. Apex of frond and pinnae

cruciate.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE.

S. V. spirale. Clovelly. Small ; very leathery fronds.

S. V. spirale. Ottery St. Mary. Thinner in texture.

S. V. spirale. Chelfham. Robuster than Clovelly find,

very thick.
S. V. transverse lobatum. Sidford. Roadside.
S. V. transverse lobatum. Colyton. Bank of brook in a

tree root.
S. V. ramo cristatum. Guernsey. Ramo cristate form ;

wall of bridge over stream.
S. V. corymbiferum. Sidmouth. Fine bunch-crested

form, in hedge.
S. V. angustato lobatum. Near Clieveden. Very long,

narrow fronds, digitate ends.
S. V. marginatum. Several places.
S. V. sublineatum. Penrhyn. Thick leathery fronds,

curved tips, row of serrate points beneath, both sides
/ midrib.
S. V. fissum. Camelford. On wall; very neat, fronds

thick.
S. V. serratum. Falmouth. Pretty viavginate form ; retain-
ing wall of garden in street, small leathery fronds.
S. V. cristatum. Penrhyn. Fan-like crest.
S. V. cristatum. Penrhyn. Bunch crest; churchyard

wall.
S. V. angustatum. Penrhyn. Developed fiat crests under

culture. (?) if constant. Churchyard. Not crested

when found, only narrow.
S. V. ramoso-cristatum Druery. Penrhyn. Developed

very finely, fronds branch into distinctly stalked ones,

each neatly crested. One tiny frond in hedge bank.
S. V. ramosum. Babbacombe. Cottage garden wall.

21

S. V. folioso cristatum. Babbacombe. Wall in street

byevvay. (?) A grandiceps, veins much netted.
S. V. ramo multifidum. Babbacombe. On high wall,

fronds resembling stag horns, but under culture

more foliose, very good. Proliferous.
S. V. ramosum. Babbacombe. Found as tiny seedHng,

two fronds broadly twinned, subsequent fronds

ramose
S. V. muricatum. Colyton. Surface well muricated up

centre
S. V. variegatum, Colyton. Light green, streaked with

darker stripes.
S. V. variegatum. Staverton. Rich orange-yellow fronds,

some mottled green and yellow.
S. V. latum. Colyton. Very wide, 4^ inches, found

alongside normal in hedge bank.
S. V. subcontractum. Colyton. Cordate base usually

contracted.
S. V, contractum. Colyton. Base narrowed for some

distance up.
S. V. gymnosorum. Kilrush. Narrow form, spores

without indusium, irregularly scattered on surface.
S. V. ramo cristatum. Staverton, igog. Fronds branched

and crested, here and there marginate.

Lastrea Dilatata.

L. d. stipitato-laciniata. Campsie. Pinnae and pinnules

long stalked and laciniated.
L. d. cristata. Clovelly. All terminals crested.

Lastrea filix mas.

L. f. m. mediodeficiens. Aberfeldy. Centre of frond

open.
L. f. m. cristata. Kilrush. Crested, defective a /^/^ms//.
L. f. m. polydactyla Grougarense. Grougar, N.B. Well

tasselled.

Lastrea pseudo mas.
L. p. mi. gracile. Loxhore. Slender form.

22
LaSTREA MONTANA.

L. m. cristato-gracile. Sticklepath. Slender fronds and

crests.
L, m. congesta. Aberfeldy. Congested.
L. m. truncata. Several places. All tips squared and

thorned.
L. m. plumosa. Kendal. Good plumose form.

POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE

P. ang. revolvens. Colyton. Very good tubular form.
P. ang. cristulum. Colyton. Very minute crests at

points of frond and pinnae.
P. ang. caudatum. Minehead. Upper half of frond

much narrowed.

POLYPODIUM VULGARE.

p. V. macrosorum. Minehead. Wide sub-bipinnate

fronds, sori very large and abundant.
P. V. longipinnatum. Killarney. Very long attenuate

pinnae
P. V. bipinnatum. Chepstow. Bipinnate.

P. V. bifido foliosum. Colyton. Bi and trifid and foliose.

P. V. crenatum. Milnthorpe. Crenate.

P. V. obtuso crenatim. Staverton, 1909. Round lobed

pinnae, here and there truncate and thorned.
P. V. bifido deltoideum. Devon. Basal lobes bifid and

very large.
P. V. sub-cambricum. (?). Glastonbury. Foliose form,

bipinnate.
P. V. adpresso-bilidum. Colyton. Bifid and pinnae

turned inwards towards midrib.

ASPLENIUM.

Asp. trichomanes cristatum. Holne. Fronds crested.
Asp. trichomanes cristatum. Loxhore. Fronds crested.
Asp. adiantum nigrum lineare. Penrhyn. Fronds

very slender and long.
Asp. adiantum nigrum caudifolium Dartmoor.

Dwarf llat-growing form, with linear pinnae yellow

lobed.

23

Blechnum spicant.

B. s. concinnum. Druery. Exmoor. Fronds narrow and

of uniform width, lobes like small scallop shells,

unique.
B. s. subconfluens. Several places. Pinnae confluent

near frond tips.
B. s. polydactylum. Wooda Bay. Fronds divided at

tips.
B. s. polydactylum. Colyton. Fronds divided at tips.
B. s. strictum. Camelford. Pinna:; serrate, good form.
B. s. strictum. Dartmoor. Pinnae serrate, good form.
B. s. contractum. Dartmoor. Lower pinnae short and

serrate.
B. s. rotundatum. Aberfeldy. Fronds narrow, almost
linear, with pinnae as round lobes.

Specialities Raised.

A. f.f. plumosum. superbum. Druery. Raised from spores

of A . /./. plumosiim elegans Parsons, raised from
Axminstcv pUimosiim, wild find, fronds very plumose
and finely crested, although parent quite devoid of
crest.
A. f.f. plumosum Druery. Raised from A . f.f .p. supcvhnm
Dvnciy, a magnificent form; nothing to compare to it.
A. f.f. plumosum superbum \ All sister plants to the last,
percristatum Druery. i.e. from same batch of

A. f.f. kalon [spores; all -crested to third

A. f.f. grandiceps - - - - j or fourth degree.
A. f.f. dissectum . . . .\

A. f.f. foliosum !- Same batch, but uncrested.

A. f.f. plumosissimum - -J

There are some half-dozen others of equal merit but
unnamed, the whole batch being most remarkable and
forming an easily recognizable section even in their off-
spring, of which a great number have been raised from
spores and bulbils which some of them produce on the
frond backs in conjunction with the spores. This is
inherited from the Axminster progenitor.

24

Polystichum aculeatum pulcherrimum Druery.
„ „ gracillimum.

The above, with a number of others, represents a most
remarkable new section of Shield Ferns raised jointly by
Mr. C. B. Green, of Acton, and myself. In some of these
the sub-divisions of the frond, only i inch long in the
parents, are as much as 3 inches in length, with splayed
tassel-like terminals. No two are precisely alike, and one
of Mr. Green's batch resembles the densum section of P.
angnlave, being tripinnate and dense. The parent, P. acul.
pnlchcrvwmm , was found nearly 40 years ago in Dorset, and
has reputedly borne no spores until a few were found from
which this wonderful batch arose in conjunction with a
number of the parental type and a few reversions strongly
resembling P. angnlare.

ScoL V. Sagittato grandiceps.
This fern is a very curious one. Its parent was a wild
find by Mr. J. Williams, St. Austell, who sent me for
inspection a frond taken from the plant when found. It
was merely a normal, with divided frond tips of the
lobatum type, plus an arrow-shaped base with fanned tips.
The spores sown from this, however, yielded, amid a batch
of more or less common ones or of the parental type, nine
plants, in which the whole of the blade of the frond was
suppressed, while the divided tips of the basal lobes and
the frond tips were transformed into 3 dense bunches close
set together, forming as a rule a triple bunch surmounting
a bare stalk. The fronds are also sparsely viviparous,
bulbils appearing on the surface. It will be noted that
these originated from wild spores and not after cultivation ;
a peculiar instance of how great a -varietal jump may occur
under purely natural conditions in the potencies of the spores.

A. F.F. Kalothrix cristatum.
This is a well crested form of the beautiful A. f.f.
Kalothrix, which appeared spontaneously in a sowing of my
own " superbum " section, no less than 7 plants originating
from one prothallus. So far it has remained very dwarf,
persisting in forming little tufts by lateral ofT-sets instead of
a larger single crowri. C. T. D.

= 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, 6rccitl)ou$e, and oilxr Planls
. . .arc also largcli? grown. . . .

* ^ *

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.

VOL. 1. No. 2.

. . . Zbc . . .

JBritieb fcvn
(Ba3ette»

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

December, 1909.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Secretary: Mr. G. WHIT WELL, Serpentine Cottage),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

DECEMBER, 1909.

No. 2.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Note .. ..

Our Frontispiece ..

Spore Propagation ..

Personal Finds — Mr. G. Whitwell's

FOLYPODIUM VuLGARE

POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM AND ANGULARE — Dr. F. W

Stansfield
Fern Hunting in Winter
The Hybridization of Ferns
Pioneers of the Fern Cult — Dr. F. W. Stansfield

PAGE.

25
26

26

29

34

38
40

41
43

EDITORIAL NOTE.

The Editor is happy in this number to be able to include
contributions from other fern lovers and students, and to
be thus relieved from a too prominent position in the pages
of the " Gazette," unavoidable in the primary issue, as the
" Gazette" is intended to be the medium of commiunication
between all lovers of British ferns. He cordially invites
contributions of any notes of mutual interest or enquiries
in that connection. An exchange column has been
suggested, and the necessary material being sent in by
members, its gratis insertion will form one. It is to be
hoped that the members will do their best to increase the
membership of the Society, already largely augmented
by the issue of the " Gazette." It may be well to mention
that a supply of the "Gazette" will be reserved for the
benefit of such members as may join subsequent to
publication, so that their subscription of five shillings
(payable either to Mr. Whitwell, the Secretary, or to the
Editor), covering the year between iVugust, 1909, and

26

August, 1910, will entitle them to all four of the quarterly
issues.

A copy of the " Gazette " will be willingly sent to any
one likely to become a member. All communications,
MSS., etc., concerning the " Gazette" should be addressed
direct to the Editor, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.

Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

This represents a very beautiful plumose form of Lastvea
montana, respecting which the finder. Dr. F. W. Stansfield,
furnishes the following note : —

On July 27th, igo8, I found near Nevin, Carnarvonshire,
a first-rate plumose Lastvea montana, which appears to be
quite distinct from other plumose forms of this species. It
is perfectly symmetrical and thoroughbred in character,
and, although perhaps less finely dissected than Mr.
Whitwell's find, is probably more foliose than any other
plumose form yet known. The pinnules are deeply incised,
but the lobes are broad and rounded, which causes them to
overlap each other very much, and are, moreover, curved
forward and undulated at their margins, so as to produce
a very charming, crispy effect in the fresh frond, which is
quite lost in a pressed one. The plant is, so far, quite
barren, and has only a single crown, so that it will be
some time before it can be propagated to any extent. It
has not yet attained full development, and will probably
show yet finer character when mature.

F. W. Stansfield.

Reading, Nov. 5th, 1909.

SPORE PROPAGATION.

Naturally, the first desire of a successful fern hunter is
not merely to secure the individual existence of his find,
but to multiply it, and, if possible, improve its particular
character by virtue of that general tendency to vary in
the offspring, which is inherent in all abnormal sports.
Although thoroughbred types breed true as a rule, their

27

offspring displaying the same characters as their parents,
it frequently happens that examples present themselves
in which these characters are emphasized, as it were,
constituting in many cases great improvement and en-
hancement ot their beauty. Thus normally pinnate ferns,
divided but once, like Blcchnum spicant, having sported
naturally into deeply serrate forms, the offspring of these
have gone farther, and, by exaggerating the serration,
yielded through their spores bipinnate or even nearly
tripinnate varieties, and this may be taken as an example
of possible variation with bipinnate normal forms, which
may yield from somewhat more divided sports, tripinnate
or even quadripinnate progeny of great beauty. This has
happened with PolysticJmm angtdare, in the case of the lovely
Jones and Fox section of divisilobe plumoswns, of which a
batch arose in a sowing of merely '* decompositum " spores.
Now, inasmuch as propagation by bulbils or offsets very
rarely results in anything but multiplication of the parental
form on exact lines, it is clear that if we want to improve,
we must have recourse to the spore. In this connection,
perfectly barren ferns are very few compared with fertile
ones, and although spore production certainly diminishes
as frond dissection increases, and thus in the most plumose
forms is reduced to a minimum, as a rule careful inspection
reveals that spores occur here and there, even perhaps as
minute clusters of two or three sporangia, or spore pods,
which the naked eye can hardly detect. A single pod,
however, is capable of yielding some thirty or forty plants,
so that even an all but sterile fern produces quite enough
progeny for any amateur to deal with. In such cases our
own plan is to carefully cut off the pinnules bearing such
pods, and lay them back downwards on a glass slip, such
as is used for microscopic objects. Placing this a few
hours later under the microscope, the pods will be found to
have burst, and the spores will be scattered over the glass
in their vicinity. By doing this, the confidence is acquired
that the variety is really sown, and that with proper care a
crop may be expected.

28

A few ferns are really barren, though producing ap-
parent spores in abundance, Asp. trichomanes confltiens to
wit, and the futility of sowing is seen at once on the micro-
scopic field, the assumed spores being seen as mere brown
snuffy dust and not as the regular little egg-shaped bodies
which perfect spores display. With thoroughly fertile ferns
the spores are so abundant that it is advisable to treat as
above but a very minute portion of a frond so that this abund-
ance may be fairly grasped, and also the absurdity of sowing
a score of thousands in a pot or pan scarcely capable of
accommodating as many hundreds.

It is a common practice to lay down an entire frond on
smooth paper, upon which the spores are shed in a few
hours so thickly as to produce a sort of brown replica of
the frond itself, such replica consisting of millions of spores,
and this, in the amateur's hands, constitutes a temptation
to sow too thickly, often with failure as a result, very thin
sowing alone giving the infant ferns a fair chance.

With these warnings we may now describe the actual
sowing. In order that the spores may not be upset by
intrusive worms or handicapped by spores of mosses and
confervae we fill a well-drained pot or pan with good fern
compost of loam leaf-mould and sand (2, 2 and i), and,
topping this with a few crumbs of the loam, we scald it
thoroughly with boiling water. Letting it cool, the spores
are scattered thinly and evenly over the surface. The pot is
then covered with a glass slip and put away in a cool well-
lighted Wardian case or greenhouse, out of direct sunshine,
and left severely alone. To prevent drying out, it may
stand in a saucer in which a little water may be kept.
Since a very small thimble or thumb-pot suffices for a fair
number of plants, a capital plan, where several sowings are
concerned, is to fill a square pan with cocoanut fibre and
pack the little pots, after sowing, in this, covering the lot
with one pane of glass. In this way the risk of drying out
is minimized, since it is only necessary to keep the fibre
moist. No water must be given overhead until the soil is
covered with the green growth produced from the spores.

29

When these are full size, about as large as herring scales,
tepid water overhead may help fertilization. Each sowing
should be numbered and registered in a book kept for that
purpose. Cross fertilization may possibly be effected by
sowing two varieties together on the off-chance, but self-
fertilization is the rule.

PERSONAL FINDS

BY

Mr. G. WHITWELL,

Secretary of the British Pteridological Society.

Mr. George Whitwell, for many years Secretary to our
Society, has been an assiduous Fern hunter in the Lake
District for about forty years, and has very kindly provided
the following list of his discoveries, with, in many cases,
indications of aspect, soil, and other data of interest both to
the fern hunter and cultivator.

Lastrea Montana.

Name. Where Found. Aspect.

angustifrons Patter dale .- North

Remarks. — Fronds erect and very narrow, gravelly soil, low
down on the hill side, whinstone rock, not many normals ;
there would be about forty or fifty crowns altogether.

angustata Langdale ... ... N.E.

Remarks. — Very narrow and erect, gravelly soil, a good
height up on the hill side, whinstone rock, two crowns-,
plenty of normals.

breviloba Kentmere N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnules evenly reduced, strong loam, whinstone
rock, not many plants, a good many normals.

cristata Frostrow N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae and fronds crested, strong loam, whinstone
rock, low down on the hill side ; there would be over loo
plants scattered about amongst normals, species not so
plentiful.

curvata Garsdale N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae curved downwards, dry stony hillside,
whinstone rock. When I found my first plants in 1883
there were a good many plants amongst normals ; species
fairly plentiful. I have also found other two good forms,
one which I consider the best of the type. Also found

in Eskdale and Rydale.

f

B

1

o

Name. Where Found. Aspect.

crispata Garsdale N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds crispate, pinnae undulated and crispy,
strong loam, whinstone rock, low down the hill side, one
plant with five or six crowns, species plentiful.

caudata Kentmere N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds and pinnae very caudate, strong loam,
whinstone rock, steep hillside, only a few plants, all
growing together, species plentiful.

crispa Kentmere

congesta Dent N.E.

Remarks. — Frond and pinnae congested, strong loam, whin-
stone rock, high on the hillside, two crowns, not many
normals.

deficiens Whitwell ... Longsleddale ... N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds defective, a strange-looking plant, stony
soil, whinstone rock, high on the hillside, about 20 plants
altogether, not many of the species.

furcillata Brotherswater ... N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds and pinnae furcillate, strong loam, whin-
stone rock, only a few crowns amongst normals, species
plentiful.

ingeqnalis acutiloba Cautley ... ... N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae uneven, acute, strong loam, whinstone
rock, only three or four crowns all together, species
fairly plentiful in the valley.

insequalis confluens ... Cautley ... ... N.W.

Remarks. — Pinnules unequal and confluent, gravelly soil,
whinstone rock, high on the hillside, only one plant,
species plentiful.

inseciualis extensa ... Hartsop ... ... N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnules very much reduced, strong loam, whin-
stone rock, high on the hillside, only a few crowns mixed
with normals.

interrupta Brotherswater ... N.W.

Remarks. — Pinnules much reduced, strong loam, whinstone
rock, high on the hillside, a good many plants all
together, species not so plentiful about.

interrupta rugosa ... Coniston N.E.

Remarks. — Frond interrupted and rugose, strong loam,
whinstone rock, only two plants, a fair amount of
normals, low down on the hillside.

31

Name. Where Found. Aspect.

latifolia Cautley N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnules broad, overlapping, strong loam, whin-
stone rock, only a few plants, low down in the valby,
not many of the species.

multiformis Garsdale N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds many forms, strong grower, strong loam,
whinstone rock, low down in the valley, only one plant,
amongst plenty of normals.

multifurcata Coniston N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae many times forked, frond not forked,
strong loam, whinstone rock, only a few plants scattered
about amongst normals.

pr3em.orsa ... Potterfell S.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae marginate, strong loam, whinstone rock,
not so many plants, about 20 or 30 scattered about
amongst normals.

pterophora Little Langdale ... N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds erect and rather narrow, pinnules
crowded, strong loam, whinstone rock, only two plants
amongst normals, species plentiful.

Var. plumosaWhitwell ... Potterfell S.E.

Remarks. — Fronds finely cut, foliose, barren, best of the
plumose forms, strong loam, whinstone rock, high on
the hillside ; there would be some 30 or 40 crowns all
together, some of them with fronds not more than six or
seven inches long, showing good character; species
plentiful.

stricta, Whitwell ... Cautley N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds erect, very narrow, gravelly soil, whin-
stone rock, mixed with normals, some 50 or 60 crowns
all together, growing on the high roadside, not many of
the species.

serrulata, Whitwell ... Garsdale N.W.

Remarks. — Pinnules unevenly reduced, distinct; growing
just on the division of the limestone and whinstone rock,
gravelly soil, one plant with four or five crowns, not
many normals, low down in the valley.

serrulata Troutbeck N.E.

Remarks. — Pmnules serrated, not so distinct as the above ;
I only saw one plant; species plentiful.

serrata crispa Kentmere N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnules evenly reduced, serrated and crispy,
strong loam, whinstone rock, high on the hillside, one
plant with four or five crowns, not many normals.

32

Athyrium Filix-fcemina.
Name. Where Found. Aspect.

apiculatum Potterfell S.W.

Remarks. — Pinnas narrow and caudate, yellow loam, whin-
stone rock, growing on the roadside, only a few plants,
not many of the species.

insequale extensum. ... Garsdale N.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae irregular, strong loam, whinstone rock,
high on the hillside, not many plants about.

insequale pinnulum ... Goniston ... ... S.E.

Remarks. — Pinnules as if eaten away, narrow fronded,
gravelly soil, whinstone rock, only one plant, species

plentiful.

medio. deficiens ... ... Crook N.W.

Remarks. — Basal pinnules wanting, whinstone rock, four
or five crowns all together, growing on the roadside.
Also found in Kentmere.

pterophorum Crook S.E.

Remarks. — Pinnules crowded, whinstone roclc, yellow loam,
three or four crowns all together on the roadside.

congestum, Whitwell ... Kentmere S.W.

Remarks. — Pinnules thick, dense, and crispy ; good form,
gravelly soil, on a bank by the river, four crowns all
together, species plentiful.

congestum crispum ... Wastdale

Blechnum spicant.

condensum Garsdale N.W.

Remarks. — Fronds congested, etc., sandstone rock, strong
loam, only one plant, species plentiful.

caudatum Borrackfold ... N.W.

Remarks. — Apex of fronds attentuated, yellow loam, whin-
stone rock, about 20 plants all together.

imbricatum Potterfell S.E.

Remarks. — Segments overlapping, gravelly soil, whinstone
rock, one plant, species plentiful.

paradoxum ... ... Banisdale ... ... N.E.

Remarks. — Three rows of pinnae, one plant growing in the
crevice of whinstone rock, species plentiful.

projectum Potterfell S.E.

Remarks. — Pinnae irregular, gravelly soil, whinstone rock,
four crowns all together, species plentiful.

1 ^

Name. Where Found. Aspect.

polydactyluni ... ... Potterfell ... ... S.E.

Remarks. — This variety and Strictum I found in the same
place as the above.

strictum Whitwell ... Dent..« S.E.

Remarks. — Fronds narrow and divided, yellow loam, whin-
stone rock, one plant growing in the midst of a tuft of
normals. Also found in Eskdale.

strictum serratum ... Eskdale

sub-serratum Burneside S.E.

Remarks. — Posterior margin crenate, gravelly soil,whinstone
rock, one plant amongst normals.

serrulatum Whitwell ... Lambrigg N.W.

Remarks. — Texture thin, serrulate, strong loam, whinstone
rock; a small seedling when I found it growing amongst
some more seedlings ; species plentiful.

super-bellum Near Kendal ... S.W.

Remarks. — Texture thin and fine, strong loam, whinstone
rock, one small plant growing in the centre of a tuft of
normals, not many of the species.

stricto-projectum ... Dent S.E.

Remarks. — Pinnse irregular, stony soil, whinstone rock, one
plant amongst many normals.

trinervium Dent S.E.

Remarks. — Basal pinnse very large, stony soil, whinstone
rock, one plant, not many of the species.

Lastrea Filix-Mas.'"''

cristata ... Kendal Fell ... S.W.

Remarks. — Growing in the face of the limestone rock.

grandiceps Near Kendal

polydactyla ... ... Longsleddale

Lastrea pseudo-mas.
cristata ... ... ... Great Langdale ... N.E.

Remarks. — Golden-coloured pinnae, crested pendulous, yellow
loam, whinstone rock, four or five crowns all together,
species plentiful. Also found in Langdale and Longsled-
dale.

■'^ Mr. Whitwell has recently sent us fronds of very fine
crested forms of L. /. m. linearis, raised by him. They range
from prettily tasselled types to fine grandiceps. — Ed.

n

4

Various.

Name. Where Found. Aspect.

Scol. vulgare Whitwellii ...Serpentine Walks... S.E.

Remarks. — Strongly ramo-cristate, limestone rock, one small
plant, very few normals.

Scol. V. bi marginatum ... Scout Scar S.W.

Remarks. — Fronds narrow, one small seedling, not many
normals.

Scol. V. multifidum ... Ribble Head ... S.W.

Remarks.— Crested, one small plant, limestone rock, species
plentiful.

Scol. V. undulatum ... Beetham S.W.

Remarks. — Fronds frilled, limestone, one plant, species
plentiful.

Lastrea dilatata crispa

Polypodium vulgare ramosum... Near Kendal... N.E.

Remarks. — Fronds divided at the base of the fronds, one
small seedling growing on an old thorn bush.

Polypodium Phegopteris interruptum Langdale...S.E.

Remarks. — Fronds defective, yellow soil, whinstone rock,
a patch about one yard square, the species not so
plentiful.

Cystopteris fragilis interrupta ...Kendal Fell... N.E.

Remarks. — Strong loam, limestone rock, one plant, species
not so plentiful.

Asplenium Ruta-muraria cristata ...Kendal Fell... S.E.

Remarks. — Limestone rock, one plant, species plentiful.
Asplenium Ruta-muraria dissecta... Kendal Fell... S.E.

Remarks. — One plant on the limestone.
Hymenophyllum unilaterale cristatum Langdale N.

Remarks. — A very fine patch of it.

George Whitwell, M.B.P.S.

POLYPODIUM VULGARE.

(The Common Polypody.)

In many parts of the country, from Land's End to John

o' Groats, the common Polypody may be seen peeping

out in the hedgerows and hedgebanks, from the crevices

and summits of old walls, in the forks and gnarled bark

crevices of old trees, and among the rocky debris of
secluded glens. In exposed situations it holds its own with
short stunted fronds of an inch or two in length, and in
congenial shade and moist situations we have found it with
fronds nearer two feet, hanging in pendulous bunches.
Normally, its fronds are long and narrow, consisting first of
a somewhat long bare stalk, which, continuing through the
frond, bears a row on each side of long smooth-edged,
tongue-shaped side divisions tapering to a bluntish point.
At the back of these fronds, if fertile, we may find each side
division to bear two rows of bright golden spore heaps,
looking under a lens like symmetrical heaps of ripe
oranges, the seeming oranges being capsules full of golden
spores, a beautiful sight to see. Occasionally, especially in
Wales, we may find the side divisions saw-toothed and
pointed, and even more or less subdivided, and in some
localities the tips of the side divisions are often divided into
two or three (P. v. hifidum), though rarely all of them.
Examining the plant more narrowly we shall find that the
fronds rise singly from a thick fleshy creeping rootstock
covered with brownish scales, something on the lines of the
Haresfoot fern {Davallia Canaviensis), this being firmly
anchored into the crevices or soil by a number of roots
proper.

No one, to see this simply constructed fern, could
imagine into what wonderful forms it has sported and what
splendid evergreen ornamental plants they constitute. In
our own Fernery we have the cream of these, numbering
about forty distinct types, all but one of which was found
as a wild plant, some in old pollard trees, some in walls,
some in hedges, and some in rocky crevices. Let us
walk round and take them as they come. Here is a
beautiful group in a hanging basket, one of the best ways
to grow the plant. It is a basin-shaped galvanized wire
one, about 15 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep,
suspended by four strong wires from a hook in one of the
roof supports, for it is very heavy. This was lined with
living moss to retain the soil and was filled up with a

3^

compost of loam and brown peat, half and half, with a
liberal dash of coarse silver sand. In this we have six fine
varieties : P. v. gvandiceps Fovstev, with heavy tassels
on all tips and fronds, 15 to 18 inches long ; P. V'
hifido-cvistatiim, a narrow form with smaller tassels ; P. v.
glomevaUim Mtillins, with curious bunchy semi - crested
fronds, no two of which are ever alike ; P. v. ptdchervimmn,
a giant form, with thrice divided broad fronds, a grand
variety ; P. v. gvandiceps Parker, bearing heavy crispy
bunch crests at the top of almost bare stalks, and finally
P. V. longipinnatuni, found by ourselves at Killarney, with
long slender side divisions about 3^ inches long and
pointed. These were originally planted on the surface,
burying the roots proper and pegging down the rootstocks,
and now, after some five years, they have taken full
possession and push their fronds from the sides as well,
forming a grand group. Each spring we give them a
mulch of burnt fern fronds, i.e. ashes mixed with a little
soil, and this seems to benefit them greatly, as they rise
with increased vigour every season. They also remain
green and fresh throughout the winter, and though frozen
in severe weather, the glass being their only protection,
they quite recover themselves when the thaw sets in, and
retain their verdure until the new growth starts to replace
them.

We next come to a series of pots and pans, the latter
accommodating specimen plants standing on (not in) red-
ware saucers, which are kept filled with water and are
usually filled with roots as well. The pans are shallow
and about 15 inches across, sufficient for a good plant to
attain its maximum development. Here we have a series
of the camhricnm or Welsh Polypody section, different
entirely from the above, except P. v. pulclierrimuui which,
however, they far exceed in the delicacy and extent of their
division. There are five types of these, all distinct, viz.,
P. V. camhricnm, the ordinary form of it, with fronds
nearly 2 feet long and 8 or 9 broad, the side divisions being
2 inches wide and deeply cut into long leafy-pointed sub-

37

divisions, somewhat overlapping each other, and of a thin
papery texture, as different as possible in every way from
the normal type ; next comes a distinct improvement on
this, P. V. camb. Prestonii, not so large growing, but much
denser and more finely cut; next another variant, P. v.
camb. Bavvowii, a stiffer and bolder grower and quite
distinct, but not so dense ; then P. v. camb. Hadwinii,
again distinct and very erect, and, finally, a form which we
believe to be P. v. camb, Oakleyce, a dwarfed caiubvicum
very finely cut.

In another grand group, close to these are plants of the
old P. V. cvistatum, prettily tasselled, and a form given us
by Mr. G. W. Wollaston, as found at Scarborough, with
heavier tassels.

We next come to one of the most remarkable forms of
all known as P. v. Cornubiense or elegantissimum. This
was found on an ash pollard in Cornwall, and has its fronds
divided over and over again into long slender segments, so
that they have almost a moss-like appearance at their best.
They have, however, a peculiar trick of reverting partially
to the quite common type, producing also fronds which are
beautifully divided but on coarser lines, the result being
that in one and the same specimen we may see a normal
frond, with a single pinnule finely divided, associated with
smooth-edged plain ones, or conversely, a finely divided
frond, with a single normal division, or a frond made up of
all three types, fine, intermediate, and common ; some
carefully selected forms, like P. v. tvichomanoides, display
this tendency less and sometimes hardly at all.

Mr. Clapham, of fern renown, managed to cross this
variety with P. v. hifido cristattini. described above, and we
have a specimen of this which, owing to this reversion
tendency, bears about seven distinct sorts of fronds, viz.,
normal, true bifido cvistatum and fronds, with these two
characters cropping up indiscriminately in conjunction
with the coarse and fine types of Cornubiense, tasselled and
plain, a very comical instance of want of determination,
as the fronds evidently start, with their minds, so to speak,

38

only half made up as to the form they should assume, and
this they change repeatedly as they progress.

Then we have saw-toothed varieties intermediate between
the common and the much divided types, and these on grand
and dwarf scales, and, finally, we have P. Schnei devil, the
offspring of a cross between the great exotic Phlehodinm
aureum and P. v. Covnuhiense, a giant Covmihiense with all its
vagaries aforesaid.

We think we have now said enough to show that our
common Polypody has capabilities of which probably most
of our readers were ignorant. C. T. D.

POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM AND

ANGUL.ARE.

By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

For some years I have had a plant under the name of
P. angidave phtnwsum grande, Moly, and have noticed all
along that it has a firmer texture than the majority of
augulaves, approximating to that of Pateyli. The cutting
and form of the pinnules, however, were those of angularey
i.e. stalked with square shoulders and more or less decom-
pound.

In the spring of this year the plant had a clean single
crown, but for some reason only half of the circle of fronds
developed, the rest remaining dormant, but still firm and
quite alive. These spring fronds were of the usual angulare
character, vigorous and very handsome.

Towards the end of July the dormant half of the crown
began to develop, and when the fronds were completed
they were found to be quite of aculcatuni character, i.e.
narrower than usual, of thick texture and glossy surface,
with stalkless wedge-shaped pinnules, but still plumose and
barren as usual. The plant thus presented the unusual
character of a single crown, one half of which was plumose
angulare, and the other half, plumose aculeatum ! Now (end
of September) a little offset is growing from the side of
the crown, the fronds of which are, if possible, still more

39

definitely aculeatum than the large fronds, but only because,
being smaller, they show less of the plumose character.
There is the usual " lobatum " type of young aculeatum, the
pinnules tending to become confluent and the edges of the
pinnules quite prickly. It would be interesting to know
the experience of other growers who have this beautiful
variety; I have heard from one (Mr. J. A. Wilson), who
has had the plant for more than twenty years, but who has
never seen any symptoms of acttleatnm about it.
Reading, September 27th, 1909.

This case is extremely interesting as evidence of the very
close relationship of P. aciileatum and P. annulare. Though
in the vast majority of instances the two species adhere to
their distinct specific characters as normals, among the
abnormal forms, and especially in some of the " gran-
diceps " types, there has always been dift^erences of opinion
as to which species they belong, and it is obvious that any
P. angulave sport, which involves a thickening of texture
or an approach to P. aculeatum make, renders certainty
impossible, especially as both species often affect the
same habitats and grow side by side. Quite possibly for
this reason the dubious forms may be natural hybrids, for
Mr. E. J. Lowe was the first to demonstrate that the two
species could be crossed, as was evidenced by his P.
hyhvidum, a cross between P. ang. Wakeleyanum, a cruciate
angulave and P. ac. densum, a congested aculeatum. A hybrid
origin might, of course, account for Dr. Stansfield's experi-
ence, and also for the intermediate '• sports " alluded to.
We have ourselves found a plant exactly of angulave cutting,
but equally exactly of aculeatum texture and lucent surface.

Editor.

PoLYSTiCHUM Angulare: Var Lineare Cristatum.

We have received a division of a very prettily crested
form of lineave from Mr. Joe Edwards, of Moston, Man-
chester. Neat tufted crests at all terminals, associated with

the characteristic form of lineave.

Editor.

FERN HUNTING IN WINTER.

Although we have only had one experience of winter
fern hunting in this country, we were so abundantly con-
vinced by that one that it was not only profitable, but in
some respects presented advantages over other seasons,
that we feel that we can honestly recommend it. The
deciduous species, such as Lady Ferns and most of the
Lastreas, are, of course, placed out of court by their invisi-
bility, but the evergreens, the Shield Ferns, Hartstongues,
Polypodium vulgave, Blechnum spicant and all the Spleen worts
retain their foliage in congenial districts in such good
condition that varieties may easily be recognised.

The main advantage in winter hunting is, that while in
the summer and autumn vast numbers of ferns are mixed
up and more or less hidden by various rank growths of
other vegetation, most of this, being deciduous, disappears
when frost sets in, and this permits of much easier inspec-
tion of the associated ferns than at any other time. A
handicap in the late summer months and the early autumn
ones is, that the mixed growth of wayside ferns and weeds
in the roads and lanes is ruthlessly cut down, for tidiness
sake, so that perhaps for miles, except in the higher parts
of the hedges and banks, nothing is left of the ferns but
the stumps of the fronds, so that the chance of detecting
variations is practically nil. Later on, however, there
arises a fresh growth of the ferns, so that by the time the
growing season is over they are again in evidence, to
reward the keen search of the variety hunter, should any
variety exist.

As a consequence of these facts, it will be seen that,
leaving the deciduous ferns out of the question, the whole
of the winter and the early spring present capital oppor-
tunities for hunting, and reduce the off-season to a
minimum. As a matter of fact, as mentioned in a previous
article, a winter hunt at Christmas in the Torquay district
yielded some very good finds of Havtstonguc, in a locality,
moreover, so much within the town limits, that ferns of
any kind were very scarce. One of these, found high up

41

on a brick wall, has proved to be unique, since it has turned
out to be one of the curious ferns known as dimorphic, i.e. pro-
ducing two distinct kinds of fronds both consistently abnor-
mal. In one set the fronds are papery and simple, with a
small finally divided tassel at the top, while in the other set
the fronds branch, the divisions bearing large much-divided
tassels of a somewhat bunchy character. In addition to
this, these latter fronds regularly produce proliferous bulbils,
singly or in pairs, at the point where the stalk enters the
leafy portion, and also in the angle at the point where the
branches diverge.

Bulbils are by no means uncommon on abnormal Havts-
tongues, occurring sometimes on the faces of the fronds, as in
O'Kelly's cvistatum vivipavwn, and sometimes when fronds
have more or less aborted, bulbils then being engendered on
the stump left. No case, however, is recorded of stem
bulbils of the class described occurring regularly on un-
injured fronds, precisely as they occur on the proliferous
Shield ferns. This fern was frozen so tight into the chink
it occupied that only a piece could be cut out, now a pretty
plant, and in itself was a good reward for a fern hunt of an
hour or two on a bright frosty day at Christmas.

C. T. D.

THE HYBRIDIZATION OF FERNS.

It may interest our readers to know that more than one
well certified case of hybridization, by means of con-
jointly sown spores of different species has been recorded,
and that the plants so produced are still in existence. Mr.
E.J. Lowe first succeeded by sowing a cruciate variety of
Polystichum angulave with a somewhat dense form of P. acu-
leatmn, the result being a cruciate acnleaUim. Mr. Schneider,
in Messrs. Veitch's nursery at Chelsea, also obtained the
remarkable hybrid named Polypodium SchneidevH, by sowing
our native species and variety, P. vulgare elegantissimum with
P. glaucum. The double parentage in this case is peculiarly
evidenced by the fact that although the fern grows as large

42

and as robustly as P. glaucum, it is an exact replica on that
large scale of the comparatively small P. v. elegantissinmm,
and is, moreover, nearly hardy. The evidence is farther
strengthened by the fact that P. v. elegantissimum is polymor-
phic, bearing several distinct types of fronds, viz. normal, very
finely dissected, and intermediate, i.e. more coarsely divided,
and the hybrid does precisely the same, even to the fact
that one and the same frond may display all three characters
in the most wayward way conceivable.

Among existing varieties of British Ferns there is a con-
siderable number of undoubted crosses. One form of
PolysticJmni angulare (P. ang. polydactyhim) appears to possess
an extraordinary faculty of imparting its polydactylo2is
character to any Polystichnm it is sown with. There are
scores of other varieties which have thus been rendered
polydactylous by conjoined sowing with this fern, and the fact
that the new character is due to this crossing and not
spontaneous, is practically proved by a parental defect
common to all the offspring, viz., pinnae here and there
which are not so characterized. I have seen a very large
number, and never found aa exception to this. Others
might be cited, but these are sufficient to prove beyond all
doubt that cross fertilization does occur, both between
species and varieties. Given, indeed, a somewhat dense
mass of prothalli of two kinds, and a flooding when they are
mature, the water must be pervaded by the fertilizing
antherozoids, which can thus find their way to alien prothalli
and so fertilize them. Given, too, a purposed crossing with
two distinct forms, and a percentage of progeny showing
both types conjoined, and we are certainly entitled to
attribute such result to cross fertilization, though we may
not have been able, as with flowers, to bring the two dis-
tinct reproductive elements together manually, as can be
done with pollen grains.

C. T. D.

43

PIONEERS OF THE FERN CULT.-

By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

Dr. (now Sir) W. H. Allcmin, a London physician, who
early devoted attention to ferns, and made some suc-
cessful finds. Author of a classification of fern
varieties which was probably never published.

J. M. Barnes, of Levens, Westmoreland. An enthusiastic
cultivator and keen judge of ferns. The most successful
among the early hunters in the north. Finder of
dozens of varieties of Lastvea montana, including several
of the very best. The fern authority of the Lake
district in his time. Died about 1890.

T. E. Bennett, Bletchworth, Surrey, deserves mention as
the earliest finder of whose discovery there is explicit
record, having found Polyp, v. omnilacenim in 1848.

W. C. Carbonell, of Usk, Mon. Perhaps scarcely a
pioneer as he was a fern pupil of Colonel Jones, but
he was a faithful stalwart during the dark ages of the
later seventies and eighties when ferns were most out
of fashion. He obtained much success as a raiser of
angulares, his divisilohes " stiptdatum " and *' longipinna-
timif" being among his greatest achievements. Found a
pretty persevvate angulave. A most genial and kindly
man. Bequeathed his entire collection to Kew
Gardens, thus founding a national collection of British
Fern varieties.

A. Clapham, of Scarborough, an enthusiastic cultivator,

hunter, and raiser of ferns, who flourished in the sixties.

His Scolopendvium Claphamii was probably the earliest

of the fringed cvispiims, and was for some time unique,

though now superseded by the modem fiinhriate cvispums.

Found a very fine form of A. tricJionianes incisum.

* These notes on the principal pioneer British Fern hunters and
raisers have been kindly compiled by Dr. F. W. Stansfield from his
personal recollections. They have been arranged alphabetically to
facilitate reference, and their order does not therefore indicate in any
way their relative status. The names of numerous other devotees to
the cult have been handed down to us in connection with their dis-
coveries, but the list certainly embraces those whose labours have been
of the greatest importance in the earlier days, and whose memories
should therefore be helddearby all lovers of our Native Ferns. — Editor.

44

F. Clowes, medical practitioner, of Windermere, is best
known as the first finder of L. remota as a British plant.
It was then supposed to be a new British species, but
is now, with good reason, believed to be a hybrid.
Found a marginate Polypody in 1854. •^- ^'^"^ota has
since been found by several other hunters.

John Dadds, of Ilfracombe, an early hunter and grower of
ferns. Did not approve of raising fern from spores, as
it " spoiled the market for hunters." He will, however,
be probably best remembered as the raiser of the
polydactyiotis Lastrea which is known by his name, and
which is the most graceful of that section. Finder of
AdianUim C. V. phimosum. Died about 1904.

C. Elworthy, gardener to Sir G. Trevelyan, Nettle-
combe, Devon, one of the most successful of early
hunters, being very active in the fifties. His P. nng.
pkimosum and roUmdatum, are well-known and still
standard forms.

William Forster, of Salford. A thorough-going enthusiast,
as proved by his success in growing ferns under the
most depressing conditions in the heart of a large town.
An early and successful hunter, though not one of the
earliest. A working man, whose scanty holidays were
all fern-hunts.

Edwin F. Fox, surgeon, of Brislington, found a rellexed
Athyriuin in 1850, and continued an enthusiastic lover,
cultivator, and raiser of ferns until his death about
1892. Was co-worker with Col. Jones in the produc-
tion of the plumose divisilohe strain of angulares.

Patrick Neill Fraser. An early hunter and cultivator
of ferns. Did valuable work for many years by pub-
lishing periodical lists of all the known varieties of
British ferns. Remained an enthusiastic fern-lover to
the time of his death.

Robert Gray, Alphington. The pioneer hunterof angulave
hrachiato-cristaUi?n, of which his form found in 1854 ^^^^^
probably the earliest, and, when in its best character,

45

is still unsurpassed, although probably a dozen finds
of the same type have since been made. Mr. Gray
found many other good varieties.

W. Barnard Hankey, of Cranleigh, Surrey, a skilful
cultivator and raiser and successful hunter ; found a
P. ang. brachiato-cristatum in 1866.

J. K. Hodgson and Mrs. Hodgson, of Ulverstone, were
both early fern lovers, growers, and successful finders
of varieties, both having good records in the sixties.
Perhaps their best find was an A. f.f. phimosum, made
by the lady in 1870. This is a beauty, and a true
phimosum, although somewhat ungallantly named siib-
plumostim.

Charles Jackson, of Barnstaple, an early and very suc-
cessful hunter of ferns. Found the first annulare
pulcherrimnm ; also Asplenium lanceolatum micfodon, A.
AdianUim-nigvtim microdon, and A. mavinum phimosum.
These ought to be sufficient to perpetuate his memory
for centuries at least.

J. James, Vauvert, Guernsey. A mighty hunter in the
fifties and sixties. His A. f.f. covymhifevum is still one
of the most perfect examples of pure cresting.

Captain (afterwards Col.) A. M. Jones. Great' as a
hunter and cultivator, but perhaps greater still as a
raiser of new varieties. Was the originator of the
plumose - divisilohe strain of angular es (among them
Baldivynii), which includes still some of the most
beautiful of British ferns. Raised a great number of
first-rate forms of angulare by crossing and otherwise.
No one did so much for ferns as did " the Colonel" in
his time. A faithful and generous friend, and the best
type of an English gentleman. Died suddenly in 1889.

Miss Fanny Kitson, a clergyman's daughter, of Torquay,
was an early admirer and grower of ferns, and a
hunter of varieties. Found several good things in
P. angulare and Scolopendrium.

46

Edward J. Lowe, F.R.S., etc. Well known as a
voluminous writer on ferns. Began to cultivate
British ferns in 1842, and continued an enthusiast
until his death, about 1900. A hunter of varieties to
some extent, but much more successful as a raiser, and
especially as a hybridizer. Raised a hybrid between
Scolopcndviwii and Ceterach, which, unfortunately, did
not live long to commemorate the achievement.
Raised a cruciate actileatum by crossing that species
with a cruciate angular e. A very genial man.

J. E. Mapplebeck, an early hunter and grower of ferns.
Found and raised many good things — perhaps his best
being P. ang. aerocladon, found in 1862, which remains
unique and is still rare. Still living.

James Moly, of Hawkchurch, Axminster, afterwards of
Charmouth. Probably the greatest and most successful
of hunters, especially among angulaves, of which he has
found literally hundreds of good varieties, including
many uniques. His greatest achievements are possibly
his pulchevrinmms, of which several are unfortunately
lost, but two of which still remain. His pUunosum
grande is probably the noblest purely plumose Folystichum
ever found or raised. It is intermediate between
angiilare and aculeatum. Has been also very success-
ful among Scolopendriums. Mr. Moly is still living.

Charles Monkman, of Malton, Yorks., an early and suc-
cessful hunter, especially among Athyviums. Found
A. f.f. aerocladon in i860.

Thomas Moore, Curator of the Botanical Gardens at
Chelsea, the " Physic Garden " of the Society of
Apothecaries, was the first writer to give systematic
names to varieties of ferns. A keen and critical
botanist, and an authority on fern species as well as
varieties. Author of " Nature-printed British Ferns,"
the plates of which have never since been equalled.
For many years the authority on British ferns.

47

Robert Moule, of Ilfracombe, another early Imnter, will
be remembered as the finder of A. f.f. Clavissima,
though many other good things went into his bag.
He also raised the crested form of Cystoptevis fvagllis.

Reverend Charles Padley, sometime Rector of Little-
hampton. Was a first-rate judge of ferns and a
mighty hunter of varieties ; probably in his day the
most successful hunter among migulares. Finder of
an early P. ang. pulchevvinmm, the best angtilave
tripinnat2im, and hosts of others.

Henry Parker, Weston-Super-Mare, found his very fine
Poly pod. V. gvandiceps in 1854.

G. S. Patey, formerly of East Hendred, Berks., now of
Newton Abbott, Devon, a successful hunter in the
sixties and seventies. His magnificent P. ang . phimo stun
(Pateyii), and his perserratmn will be an enduring
monument of his fame.

W. H. Phillips, happily still among us, has through the
greater part of a long life been an enthusiastic hunter,
cultivator and fern-lover. Has found a great number
of varieties among most of the species of British ferns,
the greatest number being angulares. Perhaps his best
find is P. ang. setoso-cnneatnm, which, however, has been
paralleled by Mr. Moly. President of British
Pteridological Society, 1904-5.

Robert Sim, of Foots Cray, a successful nurseryman,
grower and raiser of ferns. Raised L. pseudo-mas
ramulosissima.

Abraham Stansfield, of Todmorden. An excellent
general botanist. Began very early to cultivate
ferns, and published a catalogue in 1852. Did
much to popularize and extend the cult. Found
many good varieties, though perhaps nothing abso-
lutely unique. Was one of the first to deliberately
cross varieties, and raised a crested cruciate Atliyvinm
{Pvitchavdii cvistatum) about 1865 in this way. Also
made some very successful crosses between A. f.f.

48

plumosum and Craigii, and between phimosum and
congestum. Died 1880.

Mrs. Agar Thompson, sister of the Rev. C. Padley, was
the finder of many first-rate things, including a P.
ang. pidchervimiim, P. acid, acrocladon (1858), P. ang.
Thompsonice [cvistatnm).

George Whitwell, the esteemed Secretary of the B. Pt.
Soc, although not one of the earliest hunters, has been
one of the most successful in the north, having found
over twenty forms of Lastvea vionfana, including a
pkimosa, which is perhaps the best yet recorded. His
finds among Blechnmn include pavadoxuni which is
quite unique among ferns.

John Wills, of Chard, another medical fern-lover, and a
very successful hunter and grower. A pupil of Mr.
Moly as a hunter. Finder of perhaps the most
thorough of the angtdave pulchevrwmnis, though it is
doubtful whether this is now in existence. Also the
distributor of aculeaUim ptdchevrinium.

John A. Wilson, of Bowness, an early hunter, who is still
alive : found some good things in the sixties and
seventies, including Polypod. v, sevva, L.paleacea cvistata,
and vamo -cvistata, and L. montana crispatissima. Mrs.
Wilson was also a successful hunter.

George B. Wollaston, of Chiselhurst. Next in point
of time as an authority on names to Mr. Moore. An
enthusiastic hunter and cultivator of ferns. Finder of
many excellent varieties of P. angtdarc, of which his
acutilobuin and his plumosum are, perhaps, the ]3est
known. He it was who first defined and named the
three sub-species which make up the aggregate
Lastvea FUix mas of Presl. He was also the originator
of the descriptive system of naming varieties, which is
now generally accepted.

AMERICAN FERNS.

There are more than 300 Species of Fernworts
in the United States and Canada, and an immense
number of varieties. A majority of British ferns
are among the number. Read what the Americans
have found out about them in

TLbc jfetn Bulletin,

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

Many new Species and Forms have been
described and illustrated in its pages.

Annual Suhscription^ 3s. post free.

A Set of the 13 Volumes still in print will
be sent for 36 shillings, post free.

Sample Copy for a Penny Stamp,
Six Different Numbers for One Shilling.

Address— WILLARD N. CLUTE & Co., Joliet, III., U.S.A.

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.

* * *

stove, 6recni)ousc. ana oiDcr Plants
. . .are also laracip grown. . . .

* * *

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.

VOL. I. No. 3.

♦ ♦ ♦ wUv ♦ ♦ ♦

JBritieb fcvn
(3a3ette»

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

riDarcb, 1910.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Secretary: Mr. G. WHIT WELL, Serpentine Cottage),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE,

Vol. I.

MARCH, 1910.

No.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Note

Our Frontispiece ..

The King of the Male Ferns ..

The Naming of Fern Varieties

Fern Curios . .

The Decorative Value of Our Native Ferns

Some Ancient Uses and Beliefs in Ferns ..

The Jones and Fox Collection in the
Zoological Gardens ..

Spring Treatment of Hardy Ferns ..

• • • •

49

• • • •

50

r • • •

50

• • • •

54

• • • •

56

• • • •

60

• • • •

64

Clifton

• • • •

65

• • • •

70

EDITORIAL NOTE.

It is very satisfactory to be able to announce that the
issue of the " Gazette " has resulted in a large increase in
the membership of the Society, including several in the
United States and Canada. In this issue we are happy to
give several interesting contributions from members, and
trust that in future ones these may increase and constitute
a fund of practical information for fern lovers generally.
The Editor would also be glad to receive specimen fronds
of new finds or special raisings of obvious merit, or
photos of same, accompanied by stamps for return post-
age, if such be necessary.

As previously stated, the annual subscriptiDn of 5s.
(payable either to the Secretary or the Editor) entitles to
membership and four issues of the " Gazette," and to the
next issue we shall append a list of members to facilitate
that intercommunication which is one of the most inter-
esting features aimgd at,

50

A copy of the " Gazette " will be gladly sent to any one
likely to become a member. All communications, MSS.,
etc., concerning the " Gazette " should be addressed direct
to the Editor, ii, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W,

Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

This represents another of the very beautiful and,
indeed, unique section of P. acttleatum raised from P. ac.
pulchervimwn, one form of which was depicted in our
frontispiece to No. i, the parental form being also shown
on page 4 of that issue. This variety occurred in Mr. C. B.
Green's batch of seedlings, and, as will be seen, differs
very markedly from the rest of the " gracillimum" section,
approaching in foliose dissection and plumose character the
wonderful P. angulare divisolobes of Col. Jones and Dr. Fox.
It has been consequently named P. ac. plumosjun Green, and
deservedly obtained an award of merit from the Royal
Horticultural Society. Fortunately, this new varietal
section of the species, despite its extra delicacy of cutting
and appearance, has inherited the parental robustness of
character, though time has not yet sufficed to attain similar
size. The production of spores we think is doubtful, but
a tendency has already been shown to the production of
bulbils and offsets, which practically secure true propaga-
tion of the several types produced. The photo was kindly
supplied by Mr. C. B. Green.

Editor.

THE KING OF THE MALE FERNS.

Lastrea pseudo-mas Cristata.

We have before us as we write a splendidly grown
specimen of this truly regal British Fern, the fronds of
which are fully four feet in length, while the trunk, which

51

thirty years of proper culture has enabled it to develop,
adds a full foot and a-half and constitutes it a thorough-
bred British Tree Fern. This plant belongs to the hard
evergreen section of the Male Ferns as distinct from the
softer section " filix-mas," the common Male Fern, and
therefore is as ornamental in the winter, when foliage is
precious, as in the summer when it becomes one of a host
among deciduous species. It is heavily and symmetrically
tasselled at the tips of its fronds and pinnae, or side divi-
sions. This imparts a highly ornate character to it, far
and away eclipsing the simpler beauty of the normal form
of the species.

The original plant of this was found in Cornwall, and as it
is particularly generous not only of spores but also of offsets,
it has become very generally distributed, and even in those
benighted districts where the natives live up to their necks,
so to speak, in ferns, and yet don't know a Hartstoiigue from a
Lady Fern, we have been deluded into long walks by rumours
of So-and-So having a rare fern in his garden, only to find
that a specimen of the "King" has found its way there.
Both in Devon and in Kent this has occurred, in both
cases an apochryphal rumour existing that the fern was a
local find, a reputation we felt bound to destroy.

Thanks to the fertility above mentioned and the extremely
easy culture of the Fern, no collection exists without one or
more specimens, but this means little so far as adequate
recognition is concerned, for it should not merely figure in
collections, its hardiness, beauty and cheapness entitle it to
a place in every rockery as well as to a high post of honour
under glass. To attain the result, however, which we have
described, viz. the aspect of a Tree Fern, there is just
that touch of careful and persistent culture required, which
makes a fern plant precious. If we have nothing to do but
dump a plant into a pot and it straightway grows like a
weed, producing offsets in all directions and becoming a
bush, we are apt to think little of it, but if, on the other
hand, we can, by cliecking its exuberance in certain direc-
tions, induce it to assume a specially beautiful character

52

and then maintain it, we feel we have, as it were, a " finger
in the pie," aad that some of the credit is due to ourselves.
This is precisely the case with the " King of the Male
Ferns," that very gift of fertility in offsets above alluded
to has to be persistently checked if we want a Tree Fern ;
if we obtain a crown of the plant and instal it in a pot, in a
short time it will send up a charming shuttlecock of its
tasselled fronds and promise to be all right, but very soon
we shall find little fronds peeping out at the base of the big
ones and all round a little forest of youngsters will appear,
each one developed from a bulbil near the base of the big
fronds. These grow apace and in time we have a dense
bush in which the original shuttlecock is indistinguishably
merged, while the whole lot are fighting for existence in the
limited area of soil which should only serve for one crown.
Hence a mass of medium-sized fronds, pretty but mediocre.
If, however, so soon as these little basal fronds become
tangible plants we prize them off with a blunt knife, we
shall find them come away with a little bunch of roots, all
ready to give to admiring friends or pot up for additional
specimens. These removed, more will come in time, but
we must persist, and presently we shall see that the original
shuttlecock, freed from competition at its roots or contribu-
tions from itself towards a brood of youngsters, is fattening
up its crown tremendously as a preliminary to sending up
a circle of great robust fronds with double the development
of those in the bush. Each year this goes on until the
maximum height is attained and a trunk begins to form by
the annual crown always springing up within that of the
previous year at a slightly higher level, while the old
fronds, dropping in the late spring as they are pushed out-
wards by the new ones, leave their stumps as a contribu-
tion. All this time the youngsters will have been trying
to assert themselves, but as time goes on the tendency
decreases, and, finally, the old plant has obtained such a
foothold that if any appear they are too far from the ground
to become rivals, though they still should be removed.

Do

The trunk of our specimen by no means represents a
full-sized one, as we have seen very old plants with trunks
fully two feet high, but at this stage, unless grown in a
damp atmosphere and the trunk is frequently sprinkled,
the size of the fronds is apt to dwindle. This is due to the
fact that, like all trunk-forming or tree ferns, each year's
growth sends down its independent bundles of root fibres
from the bases of the new fronds, and these, naturally, if
they have to travel far down a dry trunk, are apt to suffer
on their way to the soil. The trunk is consequently
strengthened year by year, and is gradually built up by
these interlacing roots and the old bases of the decayed
fronds. Apart from its beauty, hardiness, evergreen
character and permanence as a pot plant, it is extremely
interesting from the scientific side, since investigation
has shown that its spores are peculiar in yielding fresh
plants without any fertilization process, simple buds being
produced on the prothallus, or little green scale, formed by
the spore. It is probably due to this simplification that no
fern is more easily raised from spores, and, indeed, it comes
up freely as strays among sowings of other kinds and in the
fernery generally. This faculty, however, does not prevent
variation, and several very different varieties have certainly
sprung from the " King." L. p. m. cvistata angustata is a
very narrow form of it, less robust, but very good, and Mr.
'Cropper has been fortunate enough to raise two lovely
refined forms of it, of such a delicate character as no
cultivator could have hoped for from such a stock. One
of these, L. p. m. fimhviata cvistata, has thin semi-translucent
fronds, prettily tasselled, and with a fine-toothed fringe on
all edges. This is a gem, and comes perfectly true from
its spores. The second one raised by Mr. Cropper is
presumably a secondary sport from this, though we can
only guess so. It is quite distinct, but much more
b)eautiful in its fringing, which latter feature, moreover,
is endowed with the remarkable faculty of growing out
into prothalli, upon which buds appear and produce

B

54

characteristic plants/'' We, therefore, see that the subject
of our remarks has many points of interest besides its
intrinsic beauty to recommend it, and, to our mind, by no
means the least of these is its longevity, since there are few
pot plants which wnll last their owner's lifetime without
depreciation, as will the '' King of the Male Ferns" when
once properly established as a Tree Fern.

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

THE NAMING OF FERN VARIETIES.

We do not propose in this note to enter into the vexed
question of nomenclature generally, which, in point of fact,
is no such bugbear to those within the cult as it appears to
be to outsiders, but to give a few suggestions as to the
distinctive naming of crested forms. The phenomenon of
cresting is fairly general among Ferns, and is evidenced in
all grades from a mere forking of the terminal points to
such a general branching of the frond that the normal flat
growth is entirely eliminated, and a mossy bunch results,
which may render similarly affected varieties of quite
different species all but indistinguishable from each other.
We see this, for instance, in the Lady Fern and the
Havtstongue, A. f.f. unco- glomevat urn and S. v. Kelwayii
dcns2im, both forming dense and moss-like masses, and
hence very similar in appearance. Much confusion,
however, exists in the naming of the simpler crested
forms as regards the extent of tasselled division and its

''■' In this respect L. p. vi. percy'istata apospora, as it has been named, is
botanically one of the most remarkable ferns we know of, since in it
are combined the two phenomena of "apospory," or production of
prothalU on the fronds, and " apogamy," or production of young
plants without a fertilization process, these originating as simple buds.
This involves such an economy of vigour that tips of pinnas laid down
and kept close have yielded plants in a week or two, and as the fern
prothalli bud out and ramify into others, a single tip is capable of filling
a pot with prothalli and yielding an indefinite number of plants. Un-
fortunately, in these plants there is a great lack of constitutional vigour,
and they rarely assume any great size. — C.T.D.

55

character. Broadly speaking, it falls into two sections,,
flat fan-like division and bunch division. The flat cresting
may be roughly graded thus: simple forking " furcatum "
or " furcans," confined to two or three divisions, digitatum
or fingered up to five or six, polydactylum up to ten,
multifurcatum up to a score, all these divisions terminating
in points and not dividing again, and all spreading in the
same plane — fan-fashion. If the primary divisions fork
again, we get true cristate or crested forms, and, still,
adhering to the flat expansion, we may term thetn
cristulatum, cristatum, or, in the case of divided ferns,
percristatum, if the pinnules as well as the frond tip and
pinnae are crested. When the flat mode of expansion is
replaced by a sort of radiating division producing tufts or
bunches, they become corymbiferous — " corymbiferum,"
and when these are large and heavy, the " grandiceps "
form is attained, provided the terminal bunch of the frond
is so characterized. An extreme form of this, producing
dense ball-like crests, may be termed globosum. All these
terms apply to fronds whose mid-ribs are not otherwise
divided than at the tips, but when these split up lower
down into branches, this character is indicated by ramosum,
ramosissimum, ramulosissimum, or, in extreme cases, con-
glomeratum. This ramose character is indicated in
compound varieties, i.e. in which other characters occur
in conjunction with it, either by the prefix ramo or the
addition of the names of the more developed grades-
mentioned above, thus ramo-digitatum or muricatum,
ram.ulosissimum.

These rules will cover a very large range of forms as a
guide to finders or raisers, but it must be remembered that
fern species have been endowed by their botanical godfathers
with names indicating different sexes, and since these sexes
are purely imaginary, in those terrible synonyms which are
the bane of all studious plant-lovers, one and the same
species may have been christened, say, John by one god-
father, and Jenny by another. Our common Male Fern,.

56

for instance, under the name Lastvea is treated as a
lady, and under that of Nephrodiiun as a neuter, and as
grammar, both Latin and Greek, demands a gender agree-
ment between the adjective and the subject, we must write
Lastvea filix mas cvistata. and Neplivodiiim filix mas cristatuni
to be correct.

The moral of all this is that though we have given all the
characters above mentioned the termination " um," ''a"
must be used instead where the specific name is feminine.
This is often shewn by an "a" termination as the neuter
gender is evidenced by "um," but not always. Ptevis
aquilina, for instance. It must, of course, be understood
that the above remarks only touch the fringe of the subject
of nomenclature, but, as we have said, they will assist in a
very large number of cases in which now considerable con-
fusion exists owing to the lack of guiding principles.

C. T. D.

FERN CURIOS.

Although it is our aim in this " Gazette " to encourage the
cultivation of our British Fern varieties in the direction of
improvement of type and enhancement of beauty, it is not
right to ignore entirely those curious " sports " which
Nature occasionally contrives, and which in their way are
even more interesting to the student of variation than those
which involve, to a large degree, mere extensions of growth
on otherwise normal lines. All the \iT\cx&?>\.e(l plumose forms,
for instance, are of this last description, and many others,
though varying much in detail, adhere in general structure to
the normal plan. As examples of the types we have in
view, we may take the various truncata varieties, such as
Lastvea montana truncata, A . f. f. excuvvens,L. f. m. tyuncata,Scol.
V. pevafevcns and covnutum, and several forms of P. vulgave.
In all these, for some occult reason, the growth at the frond
tip and, in the divided ferns, the pinnae as well, suddenly
stops and ends more or less squarely, the midrib projecting
for a short distance like a thorn. This peculiarity is truly

57

conveyed to the offspring by spores, and there is some Httle
evidence in favour of its causing a sort of prepotency in the
spores, as they certainly produce plants very freely ; and in
Col. Jones' records it is stated that in a certain wood near
Portishead S. v. pevafevens existed in abundance. A form
of this, raised by ourselves, shows the truncate character in
the basal lobes (S. v. tvipcvaf evens), and A. f. f. excuvvens^
shews it clearly, even in the pinnules. This would appear
to form a converse character to cvistatum, in which the
midribs are abnormally multiplied and extended instead of
becoming aborted, for that is what practically truncation
implies.

In the Hartstongue we have numerous instances in which
the normally smooth surface is broken up into roughnesses
of various types, rugose, muricate, marginate, supra and sub-
lineate and so on ; and in this case we have a curious parallel
in the crested Begonias among flowering plants, where the
surface of the petals breaks out into a sort of incrustation
on similar lines. This peculiarity is truly transmitted
through the spores, and as the late Mr. E. J. -Lowe
demonstrated by a very large number of crosses, can be
imparted to other varieties by conjoined sowing, not, it
must be said, always to their advantage, since in our
opinion a little chamber of horrors might be contrived by a
selection of many of these. Then we have the medio-
deficiens type in Athyvium, L. filix mas, and P. angulave, in
which the minor divisions of the pinnae next the midrib are
either absent or represented by little thorns, their aborted
midribs. This character, as a rule, puts the fern decidedly
outside the ranks of the elite, but by no means always,
provided it be on regular and symmetrical lines. An
Athyviuin found by us as a seedling at the roadside in
Wigtonshire has this character clearly shewn in the pinnae,
as well as the frond, with a pretty result ; and some of the
lineare sections of P. angulave partake of this character, and
yet are quite eligible fjr select collections. A number
of quite independent sports of Lady Ferns of this kind

58

have been found. There are, however, a few of the" curio "
tribe which are simply ugly, appearing to be affected with
a genius for going wrong in their structure. A form of
Lastvea found by Mr. Phillips in Ireland, L.f. m. monstvosa,
seems unable to perfect any of its parts ; and it is recorded
of another find of this description, of which, nevertheless,
the discoverer was very proud (this was in the old days,
before the reformation), which being shewn, we believe, to
Col. Jones without his being adequately impressed, the
finder said : " Ah ! but you should have seen it last season,
when there was not a single bit of it right.'' Near Aber-
feldy, a few years ago, we found a large bushof ^lale Fern
of this type, but it is doubtless there still.

Among the "curios" representing peculiarly eccentric
departures from the normal plan of growth, that wonderful
Lady Fern, A.f.f. VictovicB ranks as facile pvinceps. The
phenomenon of cruciation, or the formation of crosses, by the
juxtaposition of opposite twin pinnae or pinnules set on at
a wide angle to each other, is not common. It has been
found in P. annulare (P. ang. Wakeleyanum), in which it,
however, only partially affects the fronds, and in our own
find of A, f. f. cvuciatum in Devonshire, in which the
character is fairly evidenced both in the pinnae and the
pinnules, but in Victories it is so thoroughly brought out
that the fronds are like slender pieces of lattice work, and
the pinnae are composed of tiny crosses on like lines
throughout. To add to this marvel, long, slender, pendulous
tassels ornament the tips of frond and twin pinnae, consti-
tuting it an absolutely unique form in all the world. Here
we have a "curio" of such a thoroughbred nature as to
entitle it to the foremost place of honour in every
collection. The opinion has been expressed that the twin
pinnae are due to abortion of all but the two basal pinnules
of the pinnae proper, and that these are consequently
enlarged by concentration of energy and thus assume the
character of pinnae, which naturally grow at the same
angle as pinnules would have done and so produce the

59

effect described. In this case, however, there is not the
remotest sign of an aborted midrib as seen in truncate,
ferns.

. Another class of "Curios " is seen in the revolvens and
flexuose types, in which the fronds are either rolled up,
more or less, into tubes, or are eccentrically twisted. Both
of these types depart from the general rule that the frond
surface is arranged to catch as much light as possible, since
by their curves and twists a large proportion of the frond
is turned away from the light. Varieties in this direction
have been found in several species. P. angulareh.3iS afforded
a number, and we found a good one in Devonshire in 1908.
L. f. mas has produced, one, and A.f. f. revolvens, found by us
in Scotland, is a very fine example, the pinnae forming a
series of ringlets on each side the frond. Flexuose forms
of A.f. foemina have been found several times, and examples
have also turned up in Scot, vulgare of both types. ■ The
" revolvens " are naturally the prettier, and make handsome
pendulous-fronded specimens. Incidentally, we may
remark, that a successful cross between revolvens and good
cristate forms is well worth trying for ; so far, however,
our own efforts in that direction have been fruitless.
Curiously enough, in this connection, on our way from
Windermere Station to Bo'ness some years ago to attend a
meeting of our Society, we noticed that the Bracken on
both sides the road was a thoroughbred revolvens type, and
collecting a frond, we displayed it at the meeting where it
was much admired, while much amusement was evoked
when we pointed out that the majority of those present had
passed it on the road, but failed to " spot " it.

To finish these notes with a little anecdote somewhat
.akin to this, it is told by Mr. G. B. WoUaston, that he was
once accompanying an old lady on a fern hunt in a
Devonshire lane, when he observed a splendidly crested
Polystichum, which w^as being tickled by the feathers in the
old lady's bonnet as she was stooping beneath it to examine
something else. First sight, first find, is inevitable in fern

6o

hunting, and as she was passing on, he had perforce to call"

her attention to it, and she never forgavehim. The B. P. S»

was, however, kinder.

C. T. D.

THE DECORATIVE VALUE OF OUR
NATIVE FERNS.^I.-

The importance of British ferns for purposes of decoration
is derived from two distinct but highly valuable qualities,
which many of them possess. They luxuriate in places
where little else will grow, and they attain — in the case of
the finer varieties — to a beauty of form which is not easily
rivalled. The conditions which ferns demand will be best
realised by passing in review some of their typical haunts.
Not far from the town of Sligo is a remark-able glen, as it
is termed, but chasm would be the more suitable word ;
for a distance of some three-quarters of a mile the limestone
formation has opened, and the result is a cleft whose sides
sink, often perpendicularly, to a depth, at the deepest parts^
of as much as 40 ft., while the width is only about 30 ft.
From end to end the glen abounds in the most wonderful
specimens of the Hartstongue Fern (Scolopendrimn vulgaye}
that it has ever been my lot to see. Along the bottom they
grow so close together that, except upon the central path,
it is difficult to stir without crushing them under foot ; and
up the sides they climb, making every ledge their own, and
adorning the whole with a varied wealth of green which is
almost magical. Here, in addition to the limestone —
which is a great help, though not a necessity — we find two
pronounced features, shelter and moisture, and the moisture
is of the right kind. With the help of the general con-
formation, and the trees by which it is supplemented, the
ferns have got for themselves a home where no rude breezes
come and where the sun's rays are subdued. They have
also got the moisture which they crave; the drip and trickle
from innumerable springs finds its way gently down the

■''^ Reprinted by permission of ''Tlie Guardian."

6i

sides : in the few cases where the rock leans forward, so that
the water cannot rest, no ferns are seen; but wherever the
sides h'e back, and sufficiently retain the moisture, there
rich drapery has come. Constant moisture, never stagnant,
the glen supplies ungrudgingly. Even when the water
reaches the bottom it cannot stay; the general slope of the
ground, which is on the side of a mountain, carries it oft
to the sea. One other important lesson in connection with
the decorative use of ferns may be learned from this Sligo
glen — soil is of secondary importance. It is true that
the growth is taller and more vigorous in the deep
vegetable mould which has filled up the lower levels —
the best soil will give the best results — but many a fine
fern grows where it can have little but shelter and
moisture for its comfort. Nor is this an isolated pheno-
menon. One of the most interesting " finds " in my collection
was taken from a limestone wall beside a public road. The
wall was built against a hill with a northern aspect. There
was constant moisture percolating from above, and the aspect
ensured shelter from the sun, but there was nothing of the
nature of soil. Nevertheless, from top to bottom the
masonry was covered with Hartstongues. Similarly, in
limestone districts, where shelter and moisture are granted,
disused kilns often become so overgrown as to suggest that
the real object of their construction w^as to demonstrate
what Hartstongues can accomplish in the way of decoration-
Typical fern haunts, which further illustrate the need of
shelter, are the rifts or clefts, as in the Arran Islands,
where the Maiden-hair [Adiantum Capillus Veneris) grows,
and the sea caves are made beautiful by the Sea Spleenwort
{Asplenium marinnm). I touch them lightly, and hasten on..
If the Maiden-hair and Sea Spleenwort are asked to decorate,
they will only do it under cover. In this paper it is the
effects that can be got outside that chiefly concern us.

We take, then, a valley such as may be found in many
parts of Wales or of Devonshire ; if it is narrow, so much
the better ; a stream winds along the bottom ; its banks-

62

and the steep sides of the boundary hills are clothed with
trees. Down near the water you may expect to find the
Lady Fern (Athyvmm Jilix fcemina) growing to perfection.
Where the current is gentle it seems to take pleasure in
rising, as it were, from the stream itself. Not far off, but
seeming to think more of securing the perfection of shelter,
the Broad Buckler Fern [Lastvea dilatata) rises in seques-
tered nooks as high perhaps as your shoulder. Splendid
as are its rivals, when cultivation has developed their graces,
there are, in my opinion, none which in their native state
can eclipse the stately beauty of this fern. As we climb
higher up the sides, a new truth with regard to the places
ferns will decorate introduces itself. So far we have
found them prizing shelter and such moisture as is not
stagnant, and appreciating a deep, light, vegetable soil.
But look at that road which traverses the side of the valley
far above the stream. If you examine the hedgerows
which bound it, you will find them full of fern-life. Some
whose acquaintance we have already made will be there,
though very different in size and vigour ; but now the
Male Fern (Lastvea filix mas) and the Shield Ferns (Poly-
stichum aculeatuin and Polystichum angularc) become the
prominent feature. It is not only in hedgerows that they
flourish ; all through the woods, particularly where groups
of stones offer specially tempting homes, and in natural
hollows, the Buckler and the Shield Ferns salute us with
vigour of growth and symmetry of form. From the places
in which we find them, it is plain that in their case we may
dispense with a good deal of the moisture which the Harts-
tongue and the Lady Ferns demand, and plainly they are
even less particular as to compost, being able to give good
account of themselves in any ordinary soil. Like the
others, they ask shelter and they abhor stagnant moisture.

There is one other fern which imperatively demands
.notice when the subject of outdoor decoration is upper-
most— the Common Polypody {PoJypodiuin vtdgare). If
.the decoration of the greenhouse or the furnishing of the

63

■choice outdoor fernery were in question it would be
pleasant to include such gems as the Oak, the Beech, and
the Limestone Polypodies (P. dvyoptevis ; P. phc^wpteris ;
P. Rohertiaimm or calcaveuni). But we are in search of
decoration under ordinary open-air conditions ; and we
want in particular ferns that are easy to please, as well as
'fair to see. Beyond all the rest the Common Polypody,
including its beautiful varieties, has power to give what
we ask. It is, perhaps, more widely distributed than any
of our native ferns, but if we are to understand properly
what it can accomplish we must visit such localities as the
County Cork, where it abounds, and attains to perfection.
See that old domain wall, how the Polypody has possessed
■it. Whole roods of it are coped with the waving green of
the fern. Where trees give shade, there the growth is
most luxuriant, but even in full exposure to sun and wind
the Polypody holds its own. If you pass inside and
examine the lower courses of the wall, and the moss-
covered ground at its base, there you will find great fronds
fifteen, eighteen, and even more inches long, These, how-
ever, are conditions under which all our decorative' ferns
will grow. What we seek in the Polypody is capabilities
all its own. Therefore we turn from the bottom of the
wall and look up, to find branch after branch of the great
forest trees turned into attractive natural ferneries by the
enterprising aspirations of our fern. Thus we have a fern
which, if it give its best results when shaded from full sun,
•can nevertheless be induced to face both sun and wind ; so
much we learn from the flourishing growth along the top
of the wall. The happiness of the colonies in the trees
further teaches that for considerable periods water may be
withheld. A single feature remains to the Polypody in
-common with all the ferns that have been visited. Like
the rest, it will have nothing to do with stagnant moisture.
Iln the treatment of all ferns good drainage, as the gar-
ideners call it, is essential.

H. KiNGSMILL MoORE.

'{To he continued.)

64

SOME ANCIENT USES AND BELIEFS IN

FERNS.

By Wm. E. Farrer.

Ferns, apart from their graceful forms and glorious greeni
foliage, contain medicinal and other properties. We read
of days long passed, when the ancient Arabian and Persian
physicians used the Cetevach officinavum very largely for
splenic disorders. Likewise, in other foreign lands, from,
time immemorial, ointments, lotions, and other forms of
healing concoctions, have been obtained from certain
portions of their ferns. But it is not my purpose here to^
write of foreigners, but simply briefly on our own British
ferns.

Two of our commonest species, namely Lastvea filix
mas (Male Fern) and Pteris aquilina (the common Bracken),,
especially the first mentioned, are credited with being cures
for intestinal worms, on account of their astringent
qualities ; many others of our ferns have the like properties
in a less degree, principally contained in their stems.

The Royal, or flowering fern, Osmunda regalis, is, or was,
used for the healing of sprains and bruises, in the form of
an appHcation. From the Adiantum Capillus Veneris (the
British Maiden-hair fern) and other A diantums, the soothing
drink " Capillaire " is made by pouring boiling syrup upon>
the green fronds, and then flavouring the fluid by adding
orange flower water ; if this concoction be taken too strong,,
it is believed to be somewhat of an emetic.

The common Adder's Tongue fern (Ophioglossnm vnlgatiim)
was, and may be to the present day, frequently made up
into an ointment by our country folk, and as an external
salve in case of newly contracted wounds. What the
exact healing properties are I know not, but faith, fresh
air, and a good constitution, combined with what cured
one's grandfather w^ho lived to the advanced age of ninety —
and who had suff'ered from some terrible lacerated wound,
and when all other methods failed, was eventually cured.
by this application — the same will surely cure you.

65

Alkali is most prevalent in the Bracken {Ptcris aqnilina)
and the Male Fern [Lastvea filix mas), and was used in
the manufacture of soap and glass, and the dressing of
leather. Beer also has been made from a preparation of
these two ferns. The bracken in some parts of our land
is cut, dried, and stacked, and then used for the bedding
of horses and cattle in a similar manner to straw. The
very young fronds of this fern, when just raising their
crosier-like heads above the soil, are, I am told, most
palatable, and much resemble asparagus in flavour.

The common Moonwort [Botvychium lunavia) was much
thought of in centuries long gone by, by the alchemists
and professors of magic, and the like. We often read in
old works and manuscripts, what strange and wonderful
power was attributed to this little fern, with its crescent-
shaped leafy pinnae. Hear what Cole has to say about it :
*' It is said, yea and believed by many, that the INIoon-
wort will open locks wherewith dwelling houses are made
fast, if it be put into the keyhole ; as also that it will loosen
the locks, fetters, and shoes from those horses' feet that
goe on the places where it groweth." And of this
opinion was Master Culpeper, who though he railed
against superstition in others, yet had enough of it him-
self, as may appear by his story of " the Earl of Essex,
his horses, which, being drawne up in a body, many of them
lost their shoes upoQ White Down, in Devonshire, neer
Tiverton, because Moonwort grows upon the heaths."

Turner, in his *' British Physician," published in the year
1687, says, "■ that this fern is neither farrier, smith, or
picklock," but believes in its medicinal properties, and also
that it is the moon's herb."

THE JONES AND FOX COLLECTION IN
THE CLIFTON ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

Following a flying visit when passing through Bristol,
I persuaded our Editor to join me in a week-end at Clifton,
in itself a most delightful spot, the romantic scenery from

66

the Downs along the valley of the Avon being sufficient
to repay the journey. Our quest, however, was the
Zoological Gardens, best known to British fern lovers as
the repository of the extensive collection of British ferns
formed by the late Colonel Jones, and many of the;
varieties raised by Dr. Fox. The gardens have been for
many years under the care of Mr. H, Harris, by whom,
we were received with the greatest courtesy. Twenty-four
years ago Mr. Druery had met Mr. Harris when staying at
Colonel Jones' house on the occasion of delivering a lecture^
on "Ferns " to the British Naturalists' Society at Clifton, and
it was very gratifying to have been the means of bringing
together again two such enthusiastic veterans after the
lapse of so many years. The interesting Zoological
collection was duly inspected, but our minds inclined to-
captives of a more peaceful order, and neither tigers'
stripes nor leopards' spots could keep us Long from matters
horticultural.

The gardens contain, amongst many other interesting
subjects, a fine collection of hollies, and many specimens
of trained trees and shrubs, interspersed with fine clumps-
of rhododendrons, v/hilst the terrace walk fronting the
New Lion House was gaily decked with beds of Begonias
in fall splendour skirted by specimen palms, pictures of
health, grown in large tubs. The lake, with its grass fore-
ground, picturesque island and back-ground of shrubs, the
home of numerous domesticated water-fowl, is a very
attractive feature. Mr. Harris's house adjoins the entrance
from the Downs, and in a sheltered nook, and right under
the master's eye was a bed of grand specimens of many
of the Plumose section of Polystichum angiilave, raised by
the late Colonel Jones and Dr. Fox. An A.f.f. Clavissima
raised by apospory by the Editor from the late Colonel
Jones' original plant found by Moule, a curious Scolo-
pendyiiim vulgare, cvisptun covnuium, and many other choice
and rare things were noted here.

On leaving this spot we were conducted to the first of

67

the Scolopendviiim beds, and here one was constrained to
hold one's breath, for rarely has one the opportunity of
seeing such a magnificent group of finely-developed plants.
Cvispiims as large as bushel baskets were there in endless
variety, together with forms of capitatum, grandiceps, ramosum,
saggittatuni, pvojectum, mavginatuin, mnvicatum, and others,
amongst which were fine examples of Saggittato pvojectum,.
one in which the pinnatifid cutting extended almost to the
midrib, and another a perfect vevolvens. This bed led,
by a continuation of narrow beds and smaller bays still
filled with examples of choice Scolopendrinms, to the collection
of Polysti chums. Here we found treasures innumerable,
mostly consisting of divisions of original finds ; one, an
original division of Polysticlmm acideatiim pulchevvimunt'
(Beavis), still remained a single crown, which is quite
contrary to its normal habit, as it usually produces offsets
with great freedom. There were also P. a«^. gvandiceps, Ab-
hottcB^P. ang. I veryanum 3.nd /I abellipiuulitm, in splendid form,
and divisolohe, acutilobe, tvipinnate, bvachiate, and other types
associated with the names of Dr. Wills, Moly,. Clapham,
Lowe, Stansfield, Mapplebeck, Jones, Fox and Wollaston,
and many others of a past generation of fern hunters ; and,
lastly, a grand group of that Plumose section which will
ever be associated with the names of the late Colonel Jones-
and Dr. Fox. Amongst these were specimens exhibited
and certificated at the great Fern Conference held at
Chiswick in 1891. This section, the most beautiful of any,
is particularly interesting to the writer, as the parent plant,.
from which it is descended, passed into his possession
with Mr. James Moly's collection. One cannot help
observing how certain ferns have asserted their potency,
transmitting: to succeeding generations their roguish
tendencies, which it seems impossible to breed out.
Amongst the Polystichums, Jones' Hampshire polydactylum
seems to have been the principal offender. It crosses freely
with other varieties, usually producing irregular offspring.
The next bed contained the collection of Lastreas, most

68

of the plants consisting of gigantic clumps, which have
remained undivided for many years. All the best varieties
were represented, the " King " of the Alale Ferns again and
again asserting his regal presence, Bollanda exhibiting
its depauperate character in an otherwise beautiful plant.
Padley's depanperata, in all its robust ugliness, together
with Polydactylas of Wills and lsl2i^\)\ehQck, pendens^ vevolvens^
Pindeyii, Bavnesi, Wright's vamossissima, and many others too
numerous to particularise. The last group embraced the
Athyriums, and whilst the specimens themselves were very
fine, the varieties w-ere such as used to delight the hearts
of the early collectors and cultivators, none of the improved
varieties raised during the last twenty years having been
added. The old Axminster phimosum was in frequent
evidence, while suhplumosums, crested, cruciate, setigerum,
and other forms were plentifullly represented. The ease
-with which varietal forms can be raised, and the lack of
severely repressive measures in early days, doubtless
accounts for the endless numbers of indifferent crested
forms, which in those of the Cvaigii parentage predominate.
When at length our stomachs sought a quarrel with our
throats, we adjourned for lunch, with the promise of an
inspection of the reserve beds and seedlings to follow.
After a rest and a brief courtship of " My Lady Nicotine,"
we resumed our quest and were rewarded by further
discoveries. Alany seedlings of great promise were noted
for future observation, and at length weary in body, and
with minds surfeited, we adjourned to our quarters to
rest and talk over the day's doings.

The next morning broke dull and showery, but we
were tempted to return to the scene of the previous day's
exploits, and after another quiet look round and having
inspected some of Mr. Harris' dried fronds, we left the
gardens to make a call on Miss Jones, daughter of Colonel
Jones.

When delivering a lecture on ferns and fern-growing
at Clifton in 1885, our Editor had been most hospitably

69

entertained by the late Colonel Jones. He was anxious
now to ascertain the fate of an interesting form of Ptevis
aquilina, the pinnai tips of which were rolled up into balls
and hung like bunches of grapes, and which was then
strongly established in the front garden. When unrolled
it was found to be thoroughly crested, a more curious
than beautiful combination, but particularly interesting
as a cross between P. aq. glomevata and P. aq. cvistata.
Miss Jones received us most kindly, and amongst other
things, explained the process of printing the nature prints,
distributed by the late Colonel Jones amongst the members
of the old and original Pteridological Society.

Alas for the vanity of earthly things. The Ptevis had
gone the way of many choice things. Miss Jones, however,
offered to show us a few of the late Colonel Jones' special
favourites, which were growing in the garden of a relative
near by. We gladly accepted the invitation, and great
was our reward. Amongst the many gems we found
specimens of many original finds of Moly, Wills and
others, but chief among them, the original^././. Clavissima
— compared with which those raised by apospory sink into
insignificance. With erect fronds five feet long, and fully
two feet wide, it presented a most graceful outline, being
quite devoid of the twist which appears in the fronds of
all its aposporous offspring.

When discovered, the plant possessed two crowns, one
of which passed into the possession of the late Mr.
Wollaston, by whom it was grown in a cool house, and
attained magnificent dimensions. It was from one of the
fronds of this that the late Colonel Jones prepared his
nature print.

The Clifton collection, whilst probably unrivalled in
some respects, contains no examples of Polypodium vulgare,
Lastveas nwntana and dilatata, Blechnnm spicant, or Osinuiida,
nor did we find Polypodium dvyoptcvis, P. phegoptevis, As-
pleniummarinum, Asp. adiantioii nigrum, Asp. tvichonianes, Ptevis
aquilina, Adiantwn capillus venevis, or Cystoptevis, amongst

70

which are some of the most beautiful varieties of British
Ferns. The whole collection was, however, in the most
robust health, not a " livery " specimen amongst them, and
the dimensions to which some of the clumps had attained
was indeed a revelation, indicating what can be accom-
plished by skilful cultivation and suitable environment.

The next day being fine we determined to go on a ramble
through the Leigh Woods, in search of varieties, though
the country near Clifton is not rich in ferns. On our way
we skirted the walls of the gardens, on which we discovered
some delightful little crested specimens of Scolopendvium
vulgare which, however, could not be regarded as wild
finds, having in all probability grown from spores escaped
from the garden. They were, however, owing to the height
of the wall, secured with some difficulty, the writer posing
as Atlas and the Editor as the Universe.

In the woods we iound Folypodiuin vulgare in plenty on the
trunks and stumps of oak trees, but no varieties. De-
scending to the river side, the face of the cliff was dotted in
fair abundance with Aspleniiiin viita muvavia, and occasional
specimens of Cetevach officinavum. A frugal lunch at a way-
side inn, a trip upon the electric tram to Brislington, the
home of the late Dn Fox, and a return to our hotel con-
cluded a most enjoyable visit, the fruits of which adorn my
fernery, affording bright promise of delights in store.

W. B. Cranfield.

SPRING TREATMENT OF HARDY FERNS.

When this issue of the " Gazette " reaches its subscribers
it will be the best time of the year for the dividing, repot-
ting and general overhauling of their collections, since after
the long winter's rest the plants are in the best condition
to withstand such operations with the least detriment. This
is partly due also to the fact that the new season's fronds,
under quite cold treatment, are still comfortably packed up
in the crowns of ferns of the shuttlecock persuasion, while
any damage which may result to the old ones of evergreen

71

species is soon rectified by the appearance of a new batch.
It may, however, be remarked in this connection that
green fronds should be preserved as far as possible, only
dead ones being removed, since such green foliage un-
doubtedly contributes something to the vigour of growth of
their successors. In the open, too, the old frondage, even
the dead and shrivelled debris of deciduous ferns, forms a
natural protection to the crowns, and if removed for tidi-
ness sake should be replaced by a liberal mulching of leaf
soil. This is advisable for the reason that the new fronds,
as they rise, and even as a preliminary to rising, produce
individually little bundles of roots from their bases, which
may be seen emerging from and creeping down the sides of
the projecting caudices or root-stocks on their way to the
soil, and given a spell of March winds, dry and keen, these
may well be checked and perhaps destroyed by exposure,
which the old debris prevents. Under glass, of course,
there is less risk of this, but even there this habit of growth
should be borne in mind. Treating still of the crown-
forming ferns. Lady Ferns, Lastreas and Polystichtints, all
these have a tendency to propagate themselves, either by
fission of their crowns or by the production of lateral offsets,
which in time form bush-like growths in lieu of single
crowns. The disadvantageous result of this is two-fold :
firstly, the fronds in such case cannot possibly display their
full beauty, since they become mixed up and often dis-
torted ; and, secondly, owdng to the competitionfor root room
they become dwarfed and cannot attain half the size and
development of character that a single isolated crown is
capable of assuming. Hence, if really fine specimens are
desired, plants of more than one crown should now be
divided, the best plan being to fork them up bodily, when
it will be found that they can be readily coaxed apart, each
crown coming away with its independent roots and
easily establishing itself anew when replanted. Where, as
is generally the case with Lady Ferns, these crowns have
been produced, not by offsets, but by splitting of the

72

crowns in the centre, the subsequent growth producing a
sort of Siamese twin connection, a sharp knife may be
used to start the separation, until it is found that the crowns
yield to pressure and come freely away as in the other
cases. In doing this care should be taken not to squeeze
the upper parts in which the new fronds are packed, but to
confine the pressure to the vicinity of the initial cut. As
many of the best varieties of Polystichum form bulbils on
the fronds near the bases, it is well when removing even
the dead fronds to look out for these as a means of propa-
gation, since they retain vitality long after the rest of the
frond has perished.

Repotting should not be done unless really necessary.
Well-established single crown specimens do well for years
together in fair-sized pots or pans, if mulched occasionally
with a little fresh soil. We have in our collection a
remarkable instance of this. It must be close on thirty
years ago we installed a crested Lady Fern in a cork
receptacle, formed of a roofing slate, about two feet by one,
with a large piece of curved cork, pierced with holes here
and there and secured to the slate by copper wire, another
smaller piece of curved cork being secured to the bottom to
retain the soil. That fern is as robust as ever, though the
soil has never been renewed but only replenished by a
handful or so of soil every few years. Sundry small ferns
have appeared in the holes aforesaid and do equally well.
Ferns with travelling root-stocks, like the Polypodies, are
also best left alone if in good condition. To increase them
is easy, any piece of rhizome, with a frond or two and a
growing tip, is sure to establish itself. Ferns, on the other
hand, which are out of condition should be turned out and
repotted, all dead matter being removed, and as small a pot
used as will contain them. Let the pots be well drained
and a careful look-out be kept for worms and grubs,
especially the white curved maggots of the Weevil, which,
with Hartstongues in particular, is very destructive, the
maggots devouring the roots and crowns during the winter
and the beetle the fronds during the growing season.

C. T. D.

AMERICAN FERNS.

There are more than 300 Species of Fernworts
in the United States and Canada, and an immense
number of varieties. A majority of British ferns
are among the number. Read what the Americans
have found out about them in

Zbc ifetn Bulletin,

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

Many new Species and Forms have been
described and illustrated in its pages.

Annual Subscription, 3s. post free.

A Set of the 13 Volumes still in print will
be sent for 36 shillings, post free.

Sample Copy for a Penny Stamp,
Six Different Numbers for One Shilling.

Address— WILLARD N. CLUTE 8c Co., Joliet, III., U.S.A.

= 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, 6recnDou$e, and otDer Plants
. . .are also laracip groton. . . .

* * *

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.

VOL. 1. No. 4.

. . . Zbc ...

JBritieb jTern
©a3ette»

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

3une, 1910.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

(Secretary: Mr. G. WHIT WELL, Serpentine Cottage),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

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THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

JUNE, igio.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Note

The August Meeting

Our Frontispiece ..

Plumose Variation in Ferns

Cystopteris Fragilis Sempervirens ..

Raising Lastrea Montana from Spores

Seed Bearers and Spore Bearers

The Late Mr. James Moly

Apospory

The Decorative Value of Our

The Book of British Ferns

List of Members

No. 4.

Native Ferns. No. 2

page.
73
74
75
76

79
80

83

86

87
91
94
94

EDITORIAL NOTE.

In this issue the Editor is again glad to include some
contributions from members, though he would be more
gratified if these were more numerous in view of the large
increase of membership due to the establishment of the
" Gazette." He also hopes that now the season is in
full swing he may receive fronds or photos of fresh
acquisitions either from fern hunters or fern raisers ;
accompanied by stamps for return postage in case of need.
The list of members, with their addresses, given at the end
of this issue should be of value, and it is to be hoped will
be largely extended by the present members calling the
attention of their fern-loving friends to the existence of the
Society, and the publication of the " Gazette," a specimen
copy of which will be willingly sent to any one likely to
join. The annual subscription of 5s., payable either to the

74

Secretary or the Editor, entitles to membership and four
issues of the " Gazette," concerning which all communi-
cations should be addressed to the Editor, ii, Shaa Road,
Acton, London, W. He also calls special attention to the
August meeting, particulars of which are given below.

Editor.

THE AUGUST MEETING.

It has been the custom for the members of the British
Pteridological Society to hold their Annual Meeting on the
August Bank Holiday, at which meeting the Report and
Balance-Sheet of the Society are produced, any necessary
resolutions passed and the place of the next annual meeting
determined. Advantage is also taken of this meeting to
display fronds or plants of new fern varieties for judging
and naming, and to organize one or more fern-hunting
expeditions in the locality in conjunction therewith. Such
of the members who can manage to arrive on the Friday
at the rendezvous, which will be determined beforehand,
will have thus a good opportunity of familiarizing them-
selves with the ferns of the neighbourhood, and it rarely
happens that such expeditions are undertaken without good
results in the way of wild finds. For many years the
meetings were held at Bo'ness, Windermere, but eventually
it was thought desirable that other ferny localities should
be visited, especially Devon , where a large number of species
was available and in greater abundance, but this idea still
remains in abeyance, though a change of scene was effected
by a fixture in Ireland, where, however, the attendance was
too scanty to encourage further trips in that direction.
Last year, therefore, it was determined to hold the meeting
next August Bank Holiday at Moffat in Dumfriesshire,
as being not only in a district where ferns abound, but also
within comparatively easy reach of those resident in English
lakeland and Scotland. Our president, Mr. Alexander
Cowan, has very kindly visited Moffat and made, the
necessary encpairies as to accommodation, and we are

75

happy to state that this can he obtained on satisfactory
and economical lines, while a trip of a mile or so will bring
the members into the midst of ferns of many species, and
in a district which is practically virgin. Fuller particulars
will be issued beforehand by the Committee, including the
rendezvous aforesaid, but meanwhile it is to be hoped that
a good number of members will book the outing as an
engagement, and endeavour to reach Moffat on Friday,
29th July, so as to profit by the visit to the utmost. In this
way the members have an opportunity of making or
improving each others' acquaintance, comparing notes as
regards their collections, possibly arranging exchanges to
mutual advantage, and all this combined with the chances
of fresh discoveries on new and promising ground.

Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

ASPLENIUM TRICHOMANES INCISO-CRISPUM ClEMENTII.

We have much pleasure in reproducing a photograph of
this very remarkable form of Asp. tvichomanes, which differs
from and surpasses all the other incisum or plumose forms of
this species so far found. It is in the possession of Messrs.
Bolton Bros, of Warton, near Carnforth, and was found
some years ago by Mr. W. Clement in a crevice in an old
wall facing the east, and in association with many of the
normal type at Vealand Conyers, Carnforth. The photo-
graph, for which and for the loan of the block we are
indebted to Messrs. Bolton Bros., shows that the pinnae
are not merely much expanded and deeply cut as with
other incisiims but are prettily crisped and set on to the
midrib much more densely, constituting an absolutely
unique form of the species. When found it was a tiny
plant with i^ inch fronds, but has now fronds of nearly a
foot in length, but entirely barren, indicating its true
plumose character.

76

PLUMOSE VARIATION IN FERNS.*

As the plumose or extra feathery varieties of Ferns are
universally recognised as the most beautiful, since being
purely extensions of normal growth, they are not open to the
objection sometimes raised that other forms of variation are
" monstrous," a little consideration of their nature may not
be out of place. As a typical form we may take the so-
called Welsh Polypody [Polypodium viilgare camhvicum), a
very old variety. The normal frond of the species consists
of a stalk flanked on either side by a series of smooth -edged
somewhat blunt-ended lobes, about one-third inch wide,
and on robust plants one and a-half inches long, the stalk
forming roughly one-third of the frond length. At the
back of these lobes there are bright yellow spore heaps,
round, and of exceptionally large size, and the spores them-
selves are yellow, and also much larger than those of most
ferns. In the Welsh Polypody, however, we find a very
different formation, the normal smooth-edged narrow lobes
or pinnae are transformed into deeply cut wide ones with
long pointed segments, an inch long or more, set closely
together, with the result that these pinnae overlap, and as
they are also longer than the normal the frond is very much
wider and, indeed, has no resemblance at all to the normal
species, even the texture being thin and papery. Another
difference is that spores never appear, the fronds are invari-
ably barren and it is this feature, conjoined with the extra
foliose character, which distinguishes the true plumosums
of all s[)ecies. It would appear that it is this absence of
spore producing capacity which determines the extra leafy
development, for if we examine the veins of P. vnlgave
normal we find that a certain number of them, starting from
the midrib, stop abruptly half-way across, and at this point
serve to form and feed a spore heap, and this, like all repro-
ductive action, concentrates in itself a large amount of vital
energy. In P. v. camhvictun most of the veins continue, and
the few of them which stop half way produce no sorus but

•■- By permission of the Gardeners' Magazine.

merely determine a deeper cut, and hence not only are no
spores produced, but the energy, which their production
would have absorbed, is free to be devoted to forming and
feeding a leafier development. A proof that this is, so to
speak, the modus operandi is seen in the plumose or crispum
Hartstongues. The true thoroughbred crispum is as
barren as P. v. cambvicuni, and as a result forms a deeply
and regularly frilled frond, but there are some crispums
termed fertile ones, in which irregular patches of spores
are produced, and it invariably happens that where the
spores appear on the frond back, the development of the
frill is affected, and the edges, instead of being regular, are
irregular and crenate. The veins in short cannot perform
both functions completely, and the one must be at the
expense of the other. As compared with the cristate varia-
tions, the plumose ones, especially the true plumosums, i.e.
perfectly barren ones, are very rare. In the Poly podium
family, besides P. v. camhriciim, of which, by the way, there
are several distinct forms besides the old one, viz. Bavrowi^
Hadivinii, and last, but best, Prestonii, we have Phlehodiiim
{Polypodiiim) aureum Mayii, which originated in Mr. H. B.
May's Nursery at Edmonton, and P. (?) Knightii, an exact
reproduction of the Cambricum form in a very large grow-
ing exotic species, unfortunately not specified in the name
given.

In the Lastreas we have several plumose forms of
L. montana, but none of the other species except L. /. ;;;.
BoUandae, an imperfect form. In the Asplenium family we
have A. triclwmanes incisnm, found several times, perfectly
barren and imitating P. v. camhvicum as much as a small
growing Spleenwort can. In the Nephrolepis we have
N. vufesccns tvipinnatifida, another sport on the same lines
of extra leafiness and barrenness. That magnificent
Maidenhair Ad. Farley ense is a thoroughbred plumose
form of Ad. scutum, as we once saw a specimen shewing
reversion to that species in several fronds. Taking
perfect barrenness as a feature, these are all the true

B

78

plumosums we can call to mind, but outside these there is
a considerable number of plumose forms so called from
their beautiful feathery character, which is, however, due
rather to abnormal subdivision than to actual extra leafi-
ness, and upon these varieties spores are engendered, in
some cases rarely and in others constantly, though never
in the same abundance as with the normal forms. Thus in
the wonderful range of plumose Polystichnms, several have
been reputed barren but erroneously, since instead of easily
visible spore heaps, a careful examination with a strong
lens has disclosed the existence of solitary sporangia or
spore pods. It is thus with P. ang. pi. Pateyii and that
beautiful form of P. aculeaium known as P. ac. pnlchevvimum.
In this connection there is no doubt that abnormal seasonal
conditions may induce fertility only at rare intervals, and
thus confirm a wrong impression as to complete infertility.
All the plumose Athyria known to us bear spores, and in
view of the principle above enunciated that extra leafiness
is at the expense of the fruit, a familiar axiom with fruit
growers proper, it is a peculiar fact that some of the most
plumose Athyria not only bear spores, it is true, in a some-
what imperfect way as regards the sorus formation, but also
produce numerous bulbils associated with them. It is,
however, conceivable that bulbils, despite their larger size,
do not tax the vital vigour of the plant so heavily as spore
heaps proper, and are the result of a check in the production
of such, and a transmutation of the diverted energy. The
superficial area of a plumose frond of this description is
also much greater than that of a normal frond, and this
naturally means extra chlorophyllic action, which may
serve as an additional vegetative stimulus. None of the
perfectly barren plumosums bear crests or terminal tassels,
but there are numerous examples of tasselled plumosums
of the partially fertile kind, and it has been found that
uncrested wild finds of this type have yielded finely crested
progeny from their spores under conditions which preclude
the idea of crossing with crested forms. The study of the

79

veins of plumose varieties leads to the conclusion that a

free venation is a sine quel non, since the extra foliose

character peculiar to the section is entirely due to the

lengthening of free veins beyond normal limits, carrying as

it were tissues with them. A reticulate or netted venation

with anastomosing veins could hardly permit of similar

extension. As regards the origin of plumose varieties

we are entirely in the dark. Phlehoditim aureum Mayii

originated, as w^e have said, under culture, and indubitably

from a chance spore derived from a normal plant ; the

others named were all, we believe, found wild, but must,

it is obvious, have originated in the same way, i.e. from a

5pore from a normal plant, which was either subtly affected

when it was shed, or produced a prothallus, whereon the

formative or reproductive cells were affected in such a way

that the resulting fern was barren and foliose by correlation.

It is recorded with regard to Scol. v. cvispum, the plumose

Hartstongue, that Col. Jones found no less than twenty-nine

separate specimens in one locality, and most of them in one

lane in S. Wales, and this would tend to prove that the

spores of an otherwise normal plant in the vicinity were

affected as above, as it is obvious that all were otherwise

independent sports.

C. T. D.

CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS SEMPERVIRENS.

In Mr. E. J. Lowe's "Our Native Ferns" this fern is
mentioned as foUow^s : "Said to have been found at
Tunbridge Wells and in Devonshire. A native of
Madeira, and perhaps a distinct species. Some obscurity
hangs over it as a British plant." In 1906, however, I
received fronds from a plant which was found wild in
Scotland, in Corrie Clanmor, by Mr. William Young, of
Kirkcaldy, and as these fronds had been gathered in a
green and healthy condition in the winter from a quite
cold frame, in which the ordinary C. fvagilis . had died

8o

down months before, I felt immediately convinced that
C. f. sempevvivens was thus established as a British plant,
and obtaining ^Ir. Young's permission, through the late
Mr. R. Somerville, who had sent me the fronds, I scattered
the spores freely inside a Wardian case. The result was
a considerable number of plants, all of which have proved
their distinctness, winter after winter, by remaining not
only perfectly evergreen, but practically growing all the
year through. It is a robust grower, but not otherwise
dissimilar to C. fvagilis in make. So far, its fronds do not
turn brown, as those of C. fvagilis are apt to do. It was
found apparently some few years prior to my acquaintance
with it, and it is only recently that I came across the late
Mr. Somerville's letter, which has induced me to put the
m.atter thus on record in the " Gazette."

C. T. D.

RAISING LASTREA MONTANA FROM

SPORES.

As Lastvea montana, or to give it its English names of
Mountain Buckler Fern or Lemon Scented Fern, grows
in considerable quantity and in great luxuriance in this
neighbourhood, and as I find I can grow it equally easily
and well in my garden, it has always been one of my
favourites among British ferns, and as I have been
successful in raising large numbers of seedlings, I have
great pleasure in complying with the request of the Editor
to give a short account of my method, in case any members
who have the means of growing this beautiful fern care to
try to raise seedlings of it. To begin with, I always select
soil either from a place where Lastrea monianas are grow-
ing, or else use pure loam, which I know to be free of lime,
and which, it is well known, this species dislikes, and I boil
sufficient soil in an old pan to fill a number of pots ; this I
find much less trouble and more efficacious than to first fill
the pots with soil and then pour boiling water through
them. For pots I use any old glazed dishes, such as cups

8i

without handles or any similar receptacle, in which a small
hole must be made for drainage and to allow of watering
from beneath; some of my most successful sowings have
been made in discarded bell-shaped glass gas shades. The
pot, after being crocked, I till with soil to within an inch of
the top, and after sowing the spores place it in a saucer of
water, and put a piece of glass on the top of it in the
usual way.

I have tried sowings of montanas both in a warm green-
house and in a cold one, and I find them to grow well in
both ; if anything, I think they come quicker in heat, but
a cold greenhouse, or frame, or even a cool room is quite
sufficient. The prothalli seem to dislike excessive heat
unless they are kept sufficiently damp ; on the other hand,
I have seen them damp off in a curious manner, showing
that too much moisture is also injurious. As the prothalli
are much smaller than those of most other species, care
must be taken at this stage to remove any larger-sized
prothalli which may appear, as these probably come from
chance spores of Lastvea dilatata or Athyrium f. f. or other
stronger growing varieties, which, if they are present in
•quantity, would choke out the montana owing to their
more rapid growth. In the case of some pots in which I
have not taken this precaution I have had no montanas at
all, but a plentiful crop of numerous other varieties which I
did not sow intentionally.

As soon as the seedlings are about an inch in height I
prick them out into pans or small wooden boxes filled with
a mixture of loam, peat, leaf-mould and sand in about
equal proportions which has been passed through a \-m.
mesh riddle and is then well pressed down and watered.
These seedlings should be kept in a fairly close atmosphere,
otherwise they must be covered with sheets of glass until
the seedlings have taken root, and they must always be
watered with a fine rose with rain water or water free from
lime. I find they grow very quickly in a warm green-
house, and it is most interesting to watch their development,

S2

especially those from mixed spores, as some varieties show
their characteristic features when barely an inch in height^
notably so, seedlings from Smithies grandiceps found in
Kendale, which show their gvandiceps breeding or character
in the very first fronds they throw up ; seedlings from
congcsfa are also easily recognisable. When the seedlings
have been grown a year or two in boxes, I plant them out
in cold frames into similar but rougher soil. My first lot
of seedlings planted out in this way a year ago being now
some of them a foot or more in height, and those worth
keeping will be planted out in the open in the course of
this summer.

This Fern grows, as I have already said, vigorously in
cultivation, the soil in different parts of my garden appear-
ing to suit it quite well, the principal requisite for its
successful cultivation being absence of lime and a situation
in full day-light, i.e. without overhanging branches of any-
kind but sheltered from strong winds and with sufficient
moisture at its roots. It can stand full exposure to sun
but seems impatient of drought. In its native habitat, the
caudex and roots of healthy specimens are invariably kept
cool and moist and sheltered from the sun's rays by either
a thick covering of mosses and grasses or even common
ling.

I venture to think that no lover of ferns who has had the
pleasure of seeing the unique collection of varietal forms of
Lastvea montana growing in the garden of Mr. George
Whitwell, the Secretary of the Society at Kendal, or even
a bank of several hundred strongly-grown plants on a
hill-side, can fail to admire the extreme beauty either of its
habit or colour. Unfortunately, owing either to its
cultivation not being properly understood or for other
reasons, very few varieties of it are in commerce, its
cultivation being confined to a few enthusiastic amateurs,
and I can only hope that these few hints may be the means
of inciting members of this Society to try their skilled or
unskilled hands, as the case may be, at raising seedlings.

83

If there be any and they have no means of obtaining
spores otherwise, I shall be most happy to send mixed
spores from cay a dozen distinct varieties to any member
who cares to send me during the summer a stamped
addressed envelope.

Valleyfield, Penicuik. Alex. Cowan.

That Lastvea montanci is equally amenable to ordinary
garden culture is evidenced by the fact that I have several
very fine varieties in my garden at Acton, Middlesex, and
that they established themselves with ease and have grown
robustly in somewhat sunny positions for se\'eral years.
The soil is a good yellow friable loam and gravel, and
except when there has been a specially long period of
drought, no watering has been needed. Apropos of
spore sowing of this species, the late Mr. Barnes was very
successful and attributed this partly to the fact that he
always sowed his spores on sloping soil. Editor.

SEED BEARERS AND SPORE BEARERS.

The Plant world is divided into two great and distinct
classes, viz. those which propagate themselves by seeds
and those which produce spores for that purpose. To the
former class belong all flowering plants, for it is the
primary object of the flowers to act as adjuncts to the seed
vessels and, as a rule, attract the insect world, which aids so
materially in the fertilization of the seeds by the convey-
ance of the pollen from one flower to another. There are,
however, many flowering plants which are independent of
this aid, but in all these we find the decorati\'e part of the
flower to be reduced to a minimum, and it is only those
essential parts, the stigmas and stamens, which are mainly
in evidence. The spore-bearing plants embrace all the sea-
weeds, fresh water algae and microscopic vegetable life, the
Lichens and Marchantias which clothe our rocks with
encrusted verdure, the mosses, the Ferns and Equisetums-

Sa

and their allies, and last, but by no means least, the
immense family of the Fungi or Mushroom tribe. The
study of evolutionary science has taught us that despite
the fairly distinct line drawn between seed-bearers and
spore-bearers, there is no doubt that in the far distant past
the former were evolved from the latter and certain links
between the two still survive. Thus, in the Maidenhair
tree [Salishuria adiantifolia), a true flowering tree, indistin-
guishable at a distance from full-sized ordinary trees, we
find leaves perfectly constructed on the lines of the
Maidenhair Fern, and it has furthermore been demonstrated
by Japanese botanists that the fertilization of its seed is
effected in a sort of half-way fashion between that of Ferns
and flowering plants.

The Cycads {Cycas revolnta, etc.), like leathery-fronded
Ferns, form another link in the same way, and in many of
our Conifers or Fir trees, the strong resemblance to the
Selaginella tribe in the formation of their foliage, indicates
a further affinity of origin. Before proceeding to consider
another link of importance in this connection, we must
explain the difference between the processes of reproduction
through the spore and through the seed. Seeds as we
know vary greatly in size, from extremely small ones like
those of the Poppy or Lobelia up to huge ones, as big as a
man's head, in the Cocoa Nuts. One and all, however,
agree in consisting of a shell, containing a mass of nutri-
ment in the shape of one or two condensed leaves called
cotyledons and a germinal point consisting of a rudi-
mentary root and centre of growth. At this point lies the
vital centre of the future plant formed by the union of the
two parental influences originally contained, one in a cell
of the embryo seed of the mother plant and one in the
pollen grain which fertilized this seed, and without which
the seed would have perished but with which it grew and
developed into a perfect seed, as above described. If now
we place this seed in the soil under congenial conditions it
Avill in due course absorb moisture and swell, and the vital

85

centre aforesaid being excited into activity the husk will
be burst, the root grow and protrude and presently the one
or two cotyledons will emerge and the young plant start
existence. A spore, on the other hand, is not the result of
a previous fertilization, it is a mere microscopic cell
enclosed in a husk without any provision of nutriment in
the shape of embryo leaves or any definite centre of
vitality beyond that of the nucleus common to all living
cells. Such a spore falling on a congenial spot swells and
bursts its husk in the same way as a seed, but in the
case of the fungi, instead of producing a fungus like that
from which it was shed, it merely multiplies itself, the
resulting cells absorbing nutriment from the material they
rest upon and forming a rambling network called the
mycelium, from which eventually spring spore-bearing fungi
once again. This, at any rate, is the process wath such
fungi as the Mushroom, of which the so-called " spawn " is
simply soil pervaded with the mycelium network described.
The fungus family, however, presents so many variants of
this process that we can merely cite one particular type to
demonstrate the principle involved. In the Fern spore,
however, we reach a higher plane of development, the true
nature of which was only grasped about sixty years ago,
and when grasped it was seen that it formed a distinct
evolutionary link, since before the young fern appeared,
not only was a seed formed but this seed exactly resembled
the seeds of recognized flowering plants by being the result
of fertilization though two distinct organs which were to
all intents and purposes male and female flowers. In
Ferns, the spore, instead of producing a wide-spreading
network or mycelium like the Mushroom, builds up a tiny
green heart-shaped scale attached to the soil by roothairs,
and on the under side of this embryo seeds are formed and
also a number of little sacs, which burst and throw out
motile bodies, the exact equivalent of pollen grains, which
find their way to the seed or seeds and fertilize them, upon
which they act precisely as flower seeds by producing a

86

young plant. Here then we clearly see the important link
above alluded to, though the gap is still a wide one between
an animated pollen grain (antherozoid), which reaches its
goal by swimming a fraction of an inch, and an inanimate
one which has to be transported by bee or breeze to another
flower at a distance or even only from the stamen of one
flower to the embryo seed comparatively far away at the
base of its stigma. This gap is, however, partly bridged in
the Salishuvia already cited, for in it the pollen grain
carries the paternal influence only part of the way to the
embryo seed and then the journey is completed by a
moving antherozoid of the Fern type.

C. T. D.

THE LATE MR. JAMES MOLY.

We extremely regret to have to announce the death of
Mr. James Moly in his 85th year, on April 15th last, at
his residence, Langmoor Manor, Charmouth. Mr. Moly was
one of the few remaining pioneers of the British Fern cult,
and stood alone as the discoverer in Dorset, Devon, and
adjacent counties of no less than about 600 distinct
varieties of our Native Ferns, a considerable number of
which were high-class and some absolutely unique.
For many years he lived the life of a recluse in his mansion,
surrounded by extensive grounds- in which his acquisi-
tions and those of others were grown under the great
advantage of a congenial western climate and experienced
culture, and it is a fortunate circumstance that although
his advanced age prevented his collection from being
properly looked after in recent years, it was acquired prior
to his death by our member, Mr. \V. B. Cran field, the
great majority of forms being thus saved, instead of, as
is so frequently the case, generally distributed and the
identity and consec^uent great interest of such a collec-
tion entirely lost." Many of the plants were so old as
to have almost entirely lost their vitality, but under Mr.
Cranfield's care and skilful surgical treatment they have

87

not only been resuscitated, but in many instances
increased considerably in number by the operation, For
many years Mr. Moly was closely associated with the
late Dr. Wills, his neighbour and fellow-collector, who
also found a large number of beautiful forms; and it was,
thanks to the latter that the writer made Mr. IMoly's
acquaintance many years ago and found, despite his then
neophyte stage, such a hearty welcome after a few
testing questions, that his introducer, on his departure with
sundry precious acquisitions, could not refrain from
expressing his surprise as well as his pleasure, so true is
it that " a fellow hobby makes us wondrous kind." By
Mr. Moly's death a very handsome bequest falls to the
ancient borough of Lyme Regis, to which, apart from a
generous gift to the Axminster Cottage Hospital, he left
Langmoor Manor and the residue of his estate *' to
promote the educational well-being of the inhabitants,
such subjects as drawing, painting and modelling to be
specially encouraged."

C. T. D.

APOSPORY.

Although as far as possible I" desire in this "Gazette"
to avoid such matter as only the scientific botanist can
fully grasp, the discovery of Apospory in Ferns presents so
peculiar an instance of an ordinary amateur student being
able to contribute a material item to scientific knowledge,
that I may perhaps be pardoned for describing what it is.
Shortly stated, it is the direct production upon the fern
frond of that little green scale, or prothallus, which
normally is only produced by the agency of the spore,
and forms the preliminary growth upon which bodies
analogous to pollen grains and ovaries are generated,
the young fern resulting from their coaHtion. The steps
which led up to the discovery are in themselves interesting.

'■=For clearness sake the writer is compelled to use the first person,
singular, in this article, as a record of his own personal experiences.

S8

In the early eighties, in one of my sowings of Lady Fern
spores,, two young plants, when less than an inch high,
produced bulbils on the young fronds, a very rare occur-
rence, especially in that species. Eventually, strangely
enough, the two resulting plants turned out to belong to
two quite different strains. This instance of precocious
proliferation was put on record in the Horticultural Press,
with illustrations on a magnified scale, and as a result other
instances of proliferation were sent to me, and dorsal
bulbils were noted by me in A . f.f. plumosum divavicaUim.
In this way a sort of reputation in the bulbil line was
gained, which eventually led to two very unexpected
results, since a pinna of A. f.f. plumosum elegans, bearing
bulbils was sent to me, and the associated spores in that
identical pinna yielded that marvellously beautiful strain of
crested and non-crested plumosums known as the Druery
" superbums," and the other result was the receipt of a
similar portion of A. f.f. Clarissima Jones, also bearing
apparent bulbils. On comparing these, however, with
the others which had come under my notice, I came at
once to the conclusion that their nature was entirely
different, and that they were due to some sort of transfor-
mation of spore-producing energy instead of simple
proliferation. On layering these and keeping them close,
instead of developing whitish pimple-like growths, which
then produced tiny fronds in ordinary bulbil fashion, they
swelled and threw out transparent root-hairs in all direc-
tions and then gradually produced indented flattened tips,
which finally became true prothalli, these prothalli then
producing young typical ferns in the usual sexual manner.
I gave an account of this to the Linnean Society, but
as I could only shew results and not the stages "svhich led
up to them, and as the phenomenon was entirely new and
unrecorded in any previous connection, it w^as suggested
that I should make a fresh experiment and report again.
I did so after obtaining same results, and on the strength
of this Professor F. O. Bower took up the matter for deeper

89

investigation, and eventually confirmed the discovery
entirely. On examination he found that the spore heaps
commenced to form, but at a certain stage aborted, the
stalks of the spore capsules then producing prothalli, the
spore itself being entirely eliminated. Immediately on
this Mr. G. B. WoUaston put forward a form of soft Shield
Fern (P. angtdave pulchevviumm Padky), in which the extreme
tips of the frond divisions grew out into prothalli, thus
cutting out even the spore heaps or any association with
it. I next noted the same thing in P. ang. pulch. Wills, a
similar but quite separate find. Next, a tiny seedling of
Lastrca pseudo mas. cristata, in a Wardian case, was seen to
bear a prothallus at the frond top, and eventually broke
out into a rash of them all over the surface, an affection,
however, which it threw off entirely as it grew up. It
appears, however, to be in the blood of the family, since
later on Dr. F. W. Stansfield discovered apospory in
another member of it, and presumably a direct spore sport
from L. p. JH. cristata itself, L. p. in. pevcvistata apospova,
a little gem of cristation, every point of which will develop
into prothalli if layered, and these prothalli in their turn
produce young ferns by apogamy, so that the two
phenomena are here combined, the result being the very
speedy production of plants, owing to the saving of the
time necessary for the production of the antheridia and
archegonia and the subsequent fertilization. Polypodium
vtilgave has afforded an instance in a seedling raised by me
from P. V. sevvatum, but only in its juvenile stage.

The Hartstongue was my next discovery, 5. v. cvispiim
Dvummondiae tempting me by the transparence of its fringes
to layer them, with the result that they produced prothalli
and plants freely by apospory. Then at two meetings of
the B.P.S. A. f.f. Clavissima forms were shown of quite
independent origin from that of Col. Jones, but similarly
gifted; one, A. f.f. Clavissima Bolton, a wild find, the other
A. f.f. Clavissima cristatum Gavnett, raised from an unknown
parent. Both these attracted my attention, first of all by

90

the remark of the finder and raiser that ** the spores would
not ripen," the whitish aposporous growths instantly giving
me the reason. Both these have yielded plants, but
Bolton's form is very inconstant, and Garnett's, though
itself a very pretty slender cristatum, yields inferior
progeny. The aposporous Shield Ferns produce extremely
depauperate and defective progeny from their aposporous
prothalli, exceptions being very rare, and only so far as I
know, in one instance, with Aloly's beautifully variegated
pnlchcrrijtmm in Dr. Stansfield's hands.

The moral of the above to young fern students is that
close and keen observation may be well repaid, even by
"something new under the sun," and that if anything
fresh be noted, a record should not merely be kept, but if
possible published, and it is only by doing so that fresh
material is likely to be sent and fresh discovery thus
facilitated. Possibly this description of apospory may
lead to further discoveries, and I need hardly say that I
should be most happy to pronounce upon any material
sent me in that connection.

In conclusion, I may add tha.t A. f.f. Clarissima Jones was
found by Mr. IMoule on a blazing hot summer day, and
was observed by Col. Jones, who fortunately visited him in
the afternoon, rapidly shrivelling in the sun, and so far
gone that it was with difficulty revived and established.
Although it assumed in time a very large size, Mr. G. B.
WoUaston recorded the width of its fronds as twenty-six
inches, it resisted all attempts at propagation by the
presumed spores, which appeared in profusion every
season, and at the time of the discovery of the true nature
of the excrescences only two divisions existed, one in Col.
Jones's possession the other in Mr. Woliaston's. On Mr.
Wollaston's death the plant disappeared, and it is not
known into whose possession it fell, or if it died of neglect.
The other division, however, at CHfton, multiphed itself
under the tender care of Col. Jones's relatives there into
three fine specimens, and from these it was clear that a

91

peculiar tendency to twist in the fronds, which detracts
from the beauty of all the many specimens now extant,
which were raised by apospory at the time of the discovery,
was not inherited, since the original plant is not only more
robust and much larger, but has the fronds perfectly flat.
Thanks to Miss Jones's kindness and recognition of my
peculiar association with this charming fern, I am now the
fortunate owner of one of the divisions, which at the present
moment promises to be a full-sized specimen this season.
It is a curious fact that the growths observed at the time of
the discovery were far larger and very different in form to
any subsequently noted, those of the following season
being so altered, indeed, that it seemed doubtful whether
they would act in the same way. Fortunately, however,
they too produced plants, and thus enabled a confirmation
of my original report to be effected by Professor Bower.
It remains to be seen whether the original type will recur,
now that the original plant is under my own observation.

C. T. D.

THE DECORATIVE VALUE OF OUR
NATIVE FERNS.— II.-

If we turn from the natural haunts of ferns, and consider
them in connection with our own gardens, we shall at once
perceive how readily they can be made to decorate places
where little else will grow. There are few houses, great
or small, whose grounds do not contain nooks and corners
where the sun's rays seldom come. If there are also walls
and shrubs so arranged as to supply shelter from rough
winds, such spots are ideal for ferns. The absence of sun
ensures sufficient moisture ; the one thing needful is to
make any necessary provision for drainage. Our experi-
ence of the decorative methods which ferns adopt when

'■' Reprinted by permission of The Guardian,

92

left to themselves will be fertile in suggestions for the
treatment of such sites. Where there are walls, little
difficulty will be experienced in inducing the Polypody
to adorn the tops, leaf-mould worked into hollows and
crevices is all they will need. To get the sites covered
with Hartstongues, after the fashion of the wall described
in the Guardian of January loth, will not be so easy; the
requisite supplies of moisture will be absent. But, with
the help of stones and cement simple wall-pockets can be
readily made, in which the ferns will soon be quite at
home. If there are no walls, as a supplement to the walls,
tree stumps and roots afford, perhaps, the best of all
positions for the Polypody. It was with some hesitation
that I ventured to imitate Nature, and grow my best
varieties in this way. The results have so far surpassed
those obtained upon the level that I can confidently
recommend the method. Its feasibility arises from the
indifference of the Polypody to temporary drought. In the
neighbourhood of Dublin, the summer of 1905 was one of
the driest for years. Many of my Polypodies received no
artificial watering. They are, nevertheless, in full health
and vigour. The rest of the work will be best completed
by throwing the soil into hills and hollows, to which
stones may or may not be added, according as taste or
convenience direct. In this way not only will drainage be
simplified, but the variety of contour inseparable from
Nature's ferneries will be obtained. By simple devices
such as these we shall be able to associate all the more
hardy ferns, and to give them the situations they like best.
Upon the lowest levels will be the Lady Fern and the
Broad Buckler, higher up the Shield Fern and Male Fern
will make their home. Over them the Polypodies will
wreath the tree-stumps with coronals and garlands of
richest green. Behind, where there are walls, the distinct
form of the Hartstongue will give a fitting background.
The Polypodies, again, a forest of them if we are happy in
our planting, will add the topmost finish to the whole.

93

The first of the qualities which make our ferns so valu-
able for decoration will now be manifest, in that they
supply suitable means for treating those dark and damp
places where little else can live. It remains to show that
the pronounced beauty of form which the ferns possess,
entitles them to the decorator's fullest consideration. In
what has been written thus far we have been occupied,
almost exclusively, with normal forms. Such massing as
Nature gives is accomplished with ordinary types. But it
is the privilege of the cultivator to be able to get together
in numbers the special treasures which in the wild state
occurs only at distant intervals. Very beautiful and highly
decorative are the simplest of our British ferns, as those
will allow who have seen them in havens such as we have
been describing. They are, however, to be compared with
the glory of their fully-developed varieties only as the wild
rose to the majesty of its stately cousin when transformed
into the queen of flowers. It is no hght undertaking to
attempt advice with reference to the choice of " varieties."
Their multitude is bewildering. I had been some years at
work upon the ferns, when the catalogue of a well-known
specialist came my way. Most of the types I had studied
where they grew, and I had acquired some of the leading
varieties. But when I turned over the pages of the
catalogue and found, not as I expected, tens, but hundreds,
I realised myself the veriest tyro. Of Hartstongues there
were seventy-five, of Shield Ferns no fewer than 185, and,
what is more, as I have learned since, there are numbers
which these lists did not include. Where the field is so
vast all that can be attempted is an outline notice of a few
that seem to stand out prominently for decorative beauty
and for general hardiness.

H. KiNGSMiLL Moore.

{To he contimicd .)

94

THE BOOK OF BRITISH FERNS.

Those members who have not yet acquired a copy of
this standard work issued by the Society, and compiled by
the Editor, should certainly do so. It is profusely illus-
trated, and contains description of about 700 of the choicest
forms, as determined by a committee of the Society, and is
obtainable from the Secretary, price 3s. gd., post free.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

(With Addresses.)

Mr. William Wilson, 7, Ferney Green, Kendal.

,, Joseph Wiper (Hon. Mem.), Fern Deane, Kendal.

,, Geo. Whitwell, Serpentine Cottage, Kendal (Hon. Secretary).

,, J. A. Wilson (Hon. Mem.), Millbeck Stock, Bowness.

,, R. Whiteside, 8, Borrovvdale Road, Lancaster.

,, J. J. Smithies, Boundry Bank, Kendal.
Dr. F. W. Stansfield, 120, Oxford Road, Reading.
Mr. J. M. Barnes, b.a., Earnseat, Arnside.

,, W. B. Boyd, Faldonside, Melrose, N.B.

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

,, R. L. Praegar, b.e., b.a., m.r.i.a., National Library of Ireland,
Dublin.

,, C. T. Druery, v.m.h., f.l.s., Stanwixbank, 11, Shaa Road,
Acton, W.

,, W. F. Askew, Junior, Borrowdale Hotel, Borrowdale.

,, Thomas Bolton, Fern Cottage, Warton, Carnforth.

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

,, J. L. Smith, Fairbank, Lytham Road, South Shore, Blackpool.
Rev. H. Kingsmill Moore, d.d.. Cedar Mount, Dundrum, Dublin.
Mr. Thomas Smith, Daisy Hill Nursery, Newry, Ireland.

,, Alexander Cowan, Valleyfield House, Penicuik, Midlothian.

,, J. C. Williams (Life Mem.), Caerhays Castle, St. Austell, Cornwall.

,, F. W. Thorrington, Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hori;t;hurch, Essex.

,, C. Piatt, Thornleigh, Wetherall, near Carlisle.

,, James Walker, 68, Main Street, Alexandria, Dumbartonshire.

,, E. Naylor, Heather Bank, Hazelhurst Road, Bradford.

,, W. E. Farrar, Oubcck, Galgate, Lancaster.

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

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

,, W. Gordon, Victoria Road, Maxwelltown, Dumfries.

95

Mr. Alfred Pickard, 2, Snow Hill View, Wakefield,

,, G. Malcomson, Castle Place, Belfast.

,, W. 13. Cranfield, Bramley House, Enfield.

,, C. Cordrey, 23, Morley Avenue, Upper Edmonton.
Rev. Canon H. W. Lett, Aghadeng Rectory, Loughbrickland, co. Down.
Mr. C. B. Green, 11, Myrtle Road, Acton.

,, J. B. Parker, 14, Adelaide Terrace, Waterloo, Liverpool.

,, O. Firth, Dean Head Sanitorium, Horsforth, Yorkshire.

,, C. Pattison, Linnwood, near Paisley.

,, W. Scott, Dryden Bank, Loanhead, Midlothian.

,, F. A. Allchin, Tredadwell, Fowey, Cornwall.
Rev. W. Sergeantson, Acton Burwell, Shrewsbury.
Mr. J. Frances, 3, Glan Aber Road, Chester.
Miss M. E. Heward, Little Falcourt, near East Grinstead.
Mr. W. H. Coverdale, Beechwood Scriven, Knaresborough.

,, James Brown, 86, Castle Street, Forfar.

,, Walter Wilson, 9, East Lane, Fergustie, Paisley.
Mrs. C. E. Perkins, The Rectory, Hinton Parva, Swindon.
Mr, Spencer H. Bickham, f.l.s., Underdown, Ledbury.

,, G. Bunyard, v,m,h., Maidstone.
Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, Smeaton Hepburn, Prestonkirk, East

Lothian.
Mr, M. Harris, Zoological Gardens, Clifton.

,, W. Marshall, v.m.h., Auchinraith, Bexley. Kent.

,, E. Bowles, Waltham Cross.

Rev. E. H. Hawkins, Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud.
Mr. F. W. Moore, v.m.h., Glasnevin, Dublin.

,, W. O. Brian, 4, Kildare Street, Dublin.

,, G. Hart, Woodside, Howth, co. Dublin,
Mrs. Pritchard, The Quarry, Colwall, Malvern.
Mr. H. Sanderson, Eastmount, Galashiels,
Rev. J. J. M, L. Aiken, Manse of Ay ton, Berwickshire.
Mr. W. Bell, Maryville, Croslands Park, Furness Abbey.

,, G. Eley, Croslands, Furness Abbey.

„ Angus Campbell, 68, George Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire.

,, E. Wiper, Fern Deane, Kendal,

,, G. Millward, Horncop Villas, Kendal.

,, H. Bolton, Fern Bank, Warton, Carnforth,

,, A. Dean, v.m.h., 62, Richmond Road, Kingston-on-Thames.
Miss B, Stanley Rogerson, Argaty, Doune, Perthshire.
Mr. A. Sweet, Braehead, Cathcart, Glasgow.

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

,, T. E. Henwood, Auricula Villa, Hamilton Road, Reading.

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

,, A. Perry, Hardy Plant Nursery, Enfield.

96

Mr. J. S. Cousens, 12, Grove Road, Wanstead, Essex.

,. F. N. Adkin, Westwood, Oaklands Road, Bromley, Kent.
Mrs. Batten Poole, Road INIanor, Bath.
Miss Mary A, Day, Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge,

Mass., U.S.A.
Mr. D. H. Ragg, The Green, Lower Edmonton.

,, J. Campbell Mm-ray, j.p., Haggs Castle, Glasgow.
Mrs. Margary, Cliff House, East Cliff, Bournemouth.
Mr. R. I. Gifford Read, i. Great Chapel Street, Westminster.

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

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

,, R. S. Markendale, 3, Mornington Villas, Manningham, Bradford.
Rev. J. Jacobs, Whitewell Rectory, Whitchurch, Salop.
Mr. Geo. Fraser, Ucluelet, British Columbia.

,, W. D. T. Scott, Olympus Mine, W^est Nicholson, South Rhodesia,
South Africa.

,, J. H. Turner, Lynwood, Caversham, Reading.

,, J. G. McKendrick, m.d., ll.d., f.r.s., Maxieburn, Stonehaven, N.B.

,, Thos. Kingscote, m.v.o., Watermoor House, Cirencester, Glos.

,, Alex, Forrest, Ardenbank, Chapel Street, Carluke, N.B.

,, Joe Edwards, Feme Deane, Oak Bank Avenue, Moston, Manchester.
Herr H. Wognar. Graz, Brockmanng 118/26, Austria.
Mr. G. Hemming, The Palace, Alexandra Park, London.

,, C. J. Meyer, Wellington Road, New Brighton, Cheshire.

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

„ Harold G. Rugg, Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New
Hampshire, U.S.A.

„ F. G. Floyd, 325, Park Street, West Rosbury, Mass., U.S.A.

,, G. Forbes Johnston, 163, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, N.B.
Mrs. Edward J. Thatcher, The Manor House, Chew Magna, Somerset.
Mr. A. Hargreaves, 62, Wrigley Street, Oldham.

,, E. Fletcher, 12, Stanley Street, Heaton Park, Manchester.

,, H. C. Marshall, 8, Crawfordburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down.

,, J. Lambert, 46, Dantzic Street, Manchester.

,, S. S. Martin, Stanley Park, Stroud.

., G. F. Ormerod, Ashgrove, Elland, Brighouse.

,, W. Swan Sonnenschein, Carter Lane, Ludgate Hill.
Miss S. A. Marsh, Glenlyon, Holyrood, Co. Down.
Mr. Edward White, 7, Victoria Street, S.W.
Mrs. A. Grant White, Mount View, York Road Wokin^r
Mr. J. Whitton, Bellahouston House, Glasgow.

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

,, Thos. Brown, j.p., lona, Antrim Road. Belfast.

AMERICAN FERNS.

There are more than 300 Species of Fernworts
in the United States and Canada, and an imrrense
number of varieties. A majority of British ferns
are among the number. Read what the Americans
have found out about them in

Zbc jfern Bulletin,

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

Many new Species and Forms have been
described and illustrated in its pages.

Annual Suhscriptionf 3s. post free.

A Set of the 13 Volumes still in print will
be sent for 36 shillings, post free.

Sample Copy for a Penny Stamp,

Six Different Numbers for One Shilling.

Address— WILLARD N. CLUTE & Co., Joliet, III., U.S.A.

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 he found immense numbers
of Ferns in all sizes, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

Stove, 6reeni)ou$c, and otbcr Plants
. . .are also laraeip drown. . . .

* * *

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.

lu.

aKASMnB^Mb^UMMMMM^MIIfifa

VOL. 1. No. 5.

. . . Zbc ♦ . .

JBritieb fcvn
©asette^

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

September, 1910*

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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

Lady Ferns {see piige 103).

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, 1910. No. 5.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Editorial Note .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 97

The Acgust Meeting (Report and Balance Seieet, etc.) 100

Our Frontispiece (Lady Ferns) .. .. .. .. 103

The Decorative Value of our Native Ferns. No. 3 (concluded) 105

The Common Bracken (Pteris aquilina) .. .. .. 107

Cresting in Ferns .. .. .. .. .. .. .. no

Fern Wonders .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 113

Variegated Hartstongues .. .. .. .. .. 114

Effect of Environment on Variation .. .. .. 117

POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM " GrACILLIMUM " ,. .. .. 1x9

New Ferns .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. iig

List of New Members .. .. .. .. .. .. 120

EDITORIAL NOTE.

In commencing the second annual series of the Gazette
the Editor is dehghted to be able to announce that the first
has met with great general commendation, and that its
issue has resulted in a very large addition to the membership
of the British Pteridological Society, for the benefit of whose
members it is published. It is gratifying, too, to know that
not merely in Britain has it been recognized as forming
a valuable and indeed unique contribution to the literature
of our Native Ferns, but that the general principles of
Fern Hfe, variation and culture have been so set forth as to
evoke also the interest of colonial and foreign fern lovers
and scientists, a number of whom have consequently
become members. The Editor, however, regrets that he
is still compelled to figure so largely as a contributor to its
pages, and desires particularly that those interested in the
cult will aid him by notes and articles dealing in a practical
manner with new finds or raisings, and their personal

q8

experiences as hunters, raisers and cultivators. The articles
by the Rev. Kingsmill Moore particularly have been of
service, as have those contributors who have supplied
descriptive lists of their discoveries. These may be taken
as models of the matter of chief interest.

As this number commences a second series, the Editor
trusts that those who have so far supported him by their
subscriptions will continue not only to do so, but to enlist
their fern-loving friends as members in addition.

As will be seen from the following report of the meeting
at Moffat, N.B., on August ist, which v/as attended by a
considerably increased number of members, the Editor has
also undertaken the duties of Honorary Secretary to the
Society, while Mr. W. B. Cranfield, of East Lodge, Enfield
Chase, has very kindly consented to act as Treasurer, and
subscriptions, which are noiv due, can consequently be sent
either to the Hon. Secretary, 1 1, Shaa Road, Acton, London,
W., or to the Treasurer at the address given. By virtue of
these new arrangements, necessitated by the regretted
resignation of both Mr. G. Whitwell, of Kendal, the Hon.
Secretary there since the inception of the Society, and Mr.
W. Wilson, the Treasurer, also of Kendal, whose engage-
ments prevented him from undertaking the increased work
involved in the now rapid development of the Society, the
management of the Society is largely simplified, and it is to
be hoped that all lovers of our Native Ferns, and especially
of their beautiful varieties, will support it in view of its
practical value as a means of bringing them into closer touch
with each other. The Bvitish Fcvn Gazette, too, is valuable
as a means of imparting a mass of information in a concrete
form, which prior to its establishment was either scattered
through the general horticultural Press, or entirely lost
through lack of a recognized channel for intercommuni-
cation. In this connection the Editor cordially invites
co-operation as above stated, and thinks it well to mention
that the four back numbers of the Gazette can be supplied
to new members for 2s. the set, or 6d. each, post free.

99

It may also interest the new members to know that the
following reports and records of interesting papers read at
the Society's past meetings are available, and can be
supplied at 6d. each number, post free ; or 4s. the complete
set of II. These would make an instructive volume.
1894 ^^^ 1895- " Selective Culture." By C. T. Druery,
V.M.H., F.L.S.
'' Some Results of Fern-Hunting in Ireland." By

W. H. Phillips.
"Notes on some Irish Finds." By R. Lloyd

Praeger, B.E., B.A.
" Fern Reproduction." By C. T. Druery.

1896. " The Marvellous Side of Fern Life." By C. T.

Druery.
'* Weissmann's Theory of Heredity and its Relation

to Fern Life." By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

1897. "The Ferns of the Diamond Jubilee." By C. T.

Druery.
** Fifty Years' Varietal Development in British Ferns."
By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

1898. *' Ferns as Pet Plants." By C. T. Druery. •

" Fern Growing in the Towns." By W. H. Atkinson.
'' Polysticlmm angulave pvolifevum — Past, Present and
Future." By W. H. Phillips.

1899. '* Own Finds and Specialities of British Ferns." By

C. T. Druery.
" Lastvea filix mas, its Past and Present Divisions."
By W. H. Phillips.

1900. "The Growth of a Hobby." By C. T. Druery.

" My own Finds of British Fern Varieties in the
Lake District." By G. Whitwell.

1901. '' The Culture of some Difficult British Ferns." By

Dr. F. W. Stansfield.
" Scolopendviuui vulgave, its Varieties and Culture." By
C. B. Green.

1902. "The Lady Fern" [Athyvium filix fo&mina). By

C. T. Druery.
"A List of Finds by Various Members."

lOO

1903. ''The Study of the Abnormal." By Dr. F. W.

Stansfield.
" Varietal Types of British Ferns." By C. T. Druery.
" The Propagation of Varieties of Last yea Jiwniana."

By C. T. Druery.

1904. " The British Polypodies.''' By C. T. Druery.

1905. " Some Personal Reminiscences during Fifty Years

of Fern Hunting and Cultivation." By W. H.

Phillips.
" Correlation of Characters in British Fern Varieties."

Bv Dr. F. W. Stansfield.
II, Shaa Road, Acton, The Editor.

London, W.

THE AUGUST MEETING.

On August the ist, as customary on the August Bank
Holiday, this Society held its Annual Meeting, this time at
Moffat, in Dumfrieshire, as affording a good field for fern
hunting before and after the actual business meeting, which
was conducted at Beattock Junction for the convenience of
some of the members. The report of the Society was of a
particularly satisfactory nature, the establishment of the
Bvitish Fern Gazette in conjunction therewith having
resulted in the addition of about one hundred new
members, and the placing of the Society upon a far
more substantial and far-reaching basis than before.
Despite the expense incurred by the tentative issue of
the first four quarterly numbers, the balance sheet
showed an increase of the funds in hand, evidencing
the complete success of the experiment, which it was
resolved should become a permanent institution, Mr.
Chas. T. Druery, V.M.PI., F.L.S., having consented not
only to continue the editorship, but also, owing to the
much regretted resignation of Mr. G. Whitwell, the
Honorary Secretary since the inception of the Society,
to undertake the secretarial duties as well. A very

lOI

cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Whitwell for
his valuable services in the past. The Treasurer, Mr.
Wilson, being also precluded by his engagements from
continuing to hold the office now that the work had so
much increased, Mr. W. B. Cranfield very kindly con-
sented to take that office over, especially as this involved
a great saving of work, owing to his proximity in London
to the new Secretary, Mr. Druery. The rest of the
business was more or less formal, and terminated, after
the re-election of Mr. Alex. Cowan as President (and
Chairman on that occasion), in a hearty vote of thanks
to him for his services in that connection, and particularly
for the great trouble he had taken in making the needful
arrangements at Moffat for the accommodation of the
members. As usual on such occasions, fern hunting
parties were organized for the exploration of the district,
but as the weather was very fickle, heavy downpours of
rain, chilly gales, and general moist conditions handicapping
research materially, no very marked *' finds " turned up,
though a number of augustate and crispate forms of
Lastrea montana, the prevalent species, were discovered
of sufficient merit to be taken for growing on and testing,
prior to which it was hardly deemed safe to definitely name
them. By an unanimous vote, it was determined to hold
the 191 1 meeting at Barnstaple, in Devonshire, in order to
afford the many members in the Midlands and the North,
where the species are relatively much less numerous, an
opportunity of studying the more abundant and more
varied fern flora of the South of England, and also an
improved opportunity to South of England members to
be present, an arrangement of which the somewhat
restricted and local nature of the Society hitherto has
prevented the enjoyment. In view of the now established
position of the British Fern Gazette as an organ for the
dissemination of a wider knowledge of our beautiful fern
varieties, and for bringing our Native Fern lovers into closer
touch with each other, it is to be hoped that many such

B

102

will swell the existing membership, the subscription to
which, including four quarterly issues of the Gazette, is
five shillings only. The Secretary, Mr. C. T. Druery,
II, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W., will be happy to
forward all particulars and a specimen number to intending
subscribers on receipt of a post-card.

BALANCE SHEET.

Inxome.

June 2ist, igog.
To Bank Balance
,, 121 Subscriptions

at 5S 30 5

£ s. d.
59 15 6

o

Expenditure.

By

£ s. d.

o

Aug. 2, igog, to
July 28, loio.
To 6 Fern Books Sold

I

2

0

„ Donation, W.D.T.

Scott, Rhodesia

15

0

,, H. B. May, & Sons,
Advt

I

I

0

M

„ Interest at Bank..

I

5

4

) ■

51

/94

3

10

Mr. Whitwell,

Stamps, &c.
H. Dixon & Co.,

Printing .. .-3 5

Expenses,Committee o 12
Thompson Bros.,

Receipt Books . . o
Cost of Fern Gazette,

Circulars and

Postages . . . . 24

C. T. Druery, Cash

in hand . . . . o 10

W.Wilson, do. ..08
Balance at Bank. . 64 i

o

6
o

6 6

o
o

5

/94

10

LIST OF OFFICERS.

President : Mr. A. Cowan, Penicuick.

Vice-Presidents.

Dr. F. W. Stansfield, Reading. Mr. J. J. Smithies, Kendal.

Mr. C. T. Druery, Acton, London. Mr. W. H. Phillips, Belfast.

Mr. J. Wiper, Kendal. Mr. R. L. Praeger, Dublin.

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. W. E. Farrer, Lancaster,

,, J. J. Smithies, Kendal. ,, J. M. Barnes, Arnside.

,, R. Whiteside, Lancaster. ,, E, Wiper, Kendal.

„ G. Milhvard. Kendal. ,, G. Whitwell, Kendal.

Mr. W. Wilson, Kendal.
Together with the President and Vice-Presidents as members ex officio.

I03

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

We have chosen for our frontispiece for this issue an
illustration of a very choice selection of varieties of Lady
Ferns, to which the following descriptions apply. As
will be seen, they embrace practically ail the most
marked types, and give in a small space a capital idea
of the marvellous versatility of this species. The plate
also shows a few of the best varieties of our Native
Spleenworts, which, although belonging to a genus of
peculiar constancy, and rarely prone to vary very much
in its exotic species, has been fairly liberal in " sports " in
i:his country. We may mention that all the varieties
shown were either drawn direct from fronds provided or
from nature prints done by the late Col. Jones, of Clifton.

The Spleenworts represented are : —

Fig. 2. — A pinna only of a very beautiful and rare form
of Asplenium niarinum, Asp. in. pliimosum, bipinnate and
barren, since though spore heaps are apparent, they do
not mature, and appear only as stripes, covered with a
white indusium.

Fig. 7. — Asp. mavimun capitatum, found in Yorkshire,
bearing a heavy terminal crest on an almost bare stalk,
the only really crested form of the species.

Fig. 10. — Asp. adiantum nigrum gvandiceps, found in
Ireland and subsequently in North Devon, a very fine
form, as shown.

Fig. 14. — Asp. ivichomanes incisum: This is the true
plumose form of the species, and has been found several
times. The best form is that shown, which was found
by Mr. Clapham. Always barren. The counterpart of
'' cainbricnjii" in P. vulgave.

Figs. 16 and 17. — Asp. t. rauio-cvistatum and cvistatum.
Prettily crested forms, finds of which have been made on
several occasions.

The Lady Ferns are : —

Fig. I. — That extraordinary and unique fern, A, f.f.
VictovlcB, really a percristate cruciatwn, in which both the

I04

pinnae and pinnules are in pairs, set on at about right
angles to each other, so as with the opposite pairs to form
crosses, while the tips of fronds and pinnae bear beautifully
redivided tassels. Found in Scotland.

Fig. 3. — A. f.f. splendens. A crested (almost plumose)
form, wdth crested pinnules. Raised.

Fig. 4. — A. f.f. Kalothrix. The most delicately divided
of all Lady Ferns, divisions like beautiful hair, whence the
name, and wdth a silky lucent surface. Requires shady
position and protection to show full beauty. A gem.

Figs. 5, 6, 11 and 19. — Various forms of A. ff. Frizellics
shewn in Fig. 6, -viz. as numbered (5) ramosissimnm, (11}
cvistaUinit (19) ramosnm (crest only), representing certainly
one of the most striking sections of this versatile species,
but rather apt to revert partially in many of its forms,
w^hich are probably crosses.

Fig. 8. — A. ff. plnmosum Horsfall. Found in Yorkshire ;
the most delicately made of the wild finds of phimosnm.

Fig. 9. — A. f.f. pnlchervimuni. Very prettily cut
divisions, finely pointed and saw-toothed ; found several
times in slightly varied forms.

Fig. 12. — A. f.f. Clarissima. A pinna only of that
wonderful fern, on which the phenomenon of " apospory "
or prothalli, instead of spore-heaps, was first discovered.
Almost as finely cut as Kalothrix, but large and robust.

Fig. 13. — A. f.f. acrocladon. Found in Yorkshire.
Fronds so repeatedly divided as to transform the whole
plant into a huge almost moss-like mass. Some of its
progeny, nncoglomevatujii to wit, go much farther, and
resemble a mass of SclagineUa apoda on finer-cut lines.

Fig. 15. — A. f.f. glomeratum. One of the finest covymhosc
crested varieties, with huge bunch crests at all terrriinals.

Fig. 18. — A.f.f. Vernoniae cristatuin. A beautiful variant
of Vernoniae, with peculiarly crisped and wavy divisions,
rendering it very distinct.

As will be seen, the group embraces most of the wonder-
ful types assumed by this protean species, and would form
a very fine nucleus for a budding collection. C. T. D.

^o5

THE DECORATIVE VALUE OF OUR
NATIVE FERNS.— III.'

The Hartstongue varieties which conform to the
requirements of decorative beauty and general hardi-
ness may, perhaps, be grouped under three heads
— those which are forked and forked again, until each
frond, instead of being single, looks like a set of
plumes (5. v. dlgitatwn and S. v. rauio-digifatuin are
typical of this group) ; then there are those whose
fronds break into rich and full cresting at the top,
5. V. cvistaUim Millett and S. v. covonatuui are both most
effective ; lastly, and, in my view, the more lovely of the
section, are those which come under the head of Cvispnm.
Here the straight edge of the frond becomes affected. In
the simpler forms it shows a gentle undulation. As the
variation becomes more complex, the side line shapes
itself into rich deep frills, whose setting might rival the
symmetry of an Elizabethan ruff. S. v. cvispuin, S. v.
cvispnm vobustiun, and 5. v, cvispuin gvande Wills are the
elite of this section.

Among the Lady Ferns, those which rank highest
cannot well be included here. The wonderful plumose
varieties, which Mr. Druery has done so much to develop,
do not attain perfection without glass. But the Axminster
variety, from which most of them have sprung, is as hardy
as it is graceful, and, with regard to others, the only
difficulty is selection. Here are a few of the gems: —
Athyviiim Filix-jocmiim Vevnoniae cvistata sets off the green
of its pinnulets and crests by the contrasts of deep-brown
midribs ; the Acvocladon group baffles description, so mar-
vellous are the branching summits ; A . f.f. Victoviae is
believed to have no parallel in the fern world. All its
divisions, even to the pinnules, are in pairs ; one of each
pair grows up, the other down ; they cross one another,
and are tasseled at the extremities. The whole presents the
appearance of an elaborate chequer-work pattern set off
'■^Reprinted by permission of The Guiydian.

io6

all round with the most delicate fringe. Passing to the
Broad Buckler Fern, its normal beauty needs no heighten-
ino^, and merely naming two splendid varieties of the Male
Fern — Lastvea pseudo-mas cristata, known as the *' King of
our British Ferns," and L. p.-ni. polydadyla Dadds — we
come to the class which for purposes of outdoor decoration
stands pre-eminent — the Shield Ferns. So numerous are
the varieties of Polystichnm annulare alone, that a whole
garden might be devoted to this one species. In alluding —
no more is possible — to the Polystichums, I shall confine
myself to a single group of P. angulave, the Divisilobes ;
because in them the highest decorative level of British, if
not of any known ferns is reached. The whole group is
conspicuous alike for boldness of outline and extreme
delicacy of detail; especially good are P. a. divisilohuin
grande, and P. a. divisilobum vohustum. But it is round
the inner section, known as plumose divisilobes, that in-
terest grows keenest. Here the fronds are divided and
sub-divided until it becomes no easy matter for the naked
eye to discern the minute but exquisitely symmetrical
divisions which result ; and the pinnae and pinnules so
richly overlap that the whole appearance is that of softest
fur, or most luxuriant feathers. Deep in an artificial dell,
contrived to afford the necessary shelter, I have raised an
exceptional fine specimen of P. a. divisilohuin plumosuin
laxum) a small bridge crosses just above the fern. The
ordinary visitor has little in the way of praise to bestow on
ferns in general, but I have never known any who did not
break into exclamations of wonder and admiration as they
bent over the unrivalled beauty of this empress of ferns.
Another exceptionally fine member of the same family is
P. a. div. plumosum Esplan.

We reach last the varieties of the Common Polypody.
In number they are few compared with those of the fore-
going species. Still, my own collection includes some
twenty, and thirty-four are enumerated in the " Book of
British Ferns," by C. T. Druery, F.L.S., V.M.H. For

beauty there are those who think that such forms as P. v.
Covnubiense tvicliomauoides will bear compariGon even with
the best Athyriums and Polystichums. While realising
their loveliness, I prefer to rest their claims to special
notice upon the characteristics already described — namely,
their methods of growth and their readiness to adapt them-
selves to situations impossible for other ferns. There are
two well-marked types, w^hich should be included in every
collection — P. v. camhviciuii and P. v. covmihiense, so called
because originally found in Wales and Cornwall respec-
tively. A third type — which characteristically, I suppose,
gives more trouble — is P. v. hihevniciim. Alany graceful
developments of this fine trio are in cultivation. All have
the supreme merit of being at their best in winter. Unlike
other ferns, they develop late, some not until x\ugust ; the
fronds have thus the full vigour of youth for resisting
winter storms.

As I draw this paper to a close, I am not sanguine as to
the success of the second part of my undertaking. It was
comparatively easy to show that ferns could be made to
decorate unpromising sites ; it is a different matter to
convey in words an idea of fern loveliness. If, however, I
have succeeded so far as to arouse even curiosity, those
who read may be induced to visit the nursery of some
neighbouring specialist. Once they are there, all doubts
as to the superlative beauty of our native ferns will speedily
disappear. H. Kingsmill IMoore.

THE COMMON BRACKEN. "

(Pteris aquilina.)
The Common Bracken, owang to its very abundance, is
rarely regarded with as much attention as its beauty
deserves, for it is really one of the most beautiful native
ferns when growing under quite congenial conditions, where
sufficient shelter and shade permits its fronds to attain full
development. What can be more picturesque than a
woodland glade, beneath whose umbrageous foliage the

io8

bracken clothes the ground with graceful shoulder-high
frondage, deep enough to hide all but the antlers of the
deer which may find harbourage therein. Save the Royal
Fern, w^e have none other of so bold a growth, and that is
stiff and formal as compared with the broad-spreading,
pendulous, much cut frondage of the despised Bracken.
The Pteris family, of which the Bracken is the sole British
representative, is a large one, and is distinguished by the
spore heaps being arranged in marginal lines, which are
covered by the recurved edges of the frond segments. A
considerable number of our decorative market ferns belong
to the genus, as may be easily ascertained by examination
of this peculiarity. Few people, even fern-hunters, have
paid much attention to this species from the varietal point
of view, and yet it is a very variable one, and given an
extensive area covered by it, examination will almost
invariably show more than one variety and generally three,
viz. the prevailing common type, a much more divided one,
and a very distinct, crispy, hard fronded form with narrow,
leathery divisions, a darker green colour and somewhat
congested habit. These distinct forms are found inter-
mingled, and often extend for considerable distances, a
frond cropping up here, there and yonder, according as the
long underground travelling rootstocks have wound their
way amid the labyrinth of those of their companions.

A fourth form, which we have found repeatedly, has the
fronds beautifully curved, all the side divisions being arched
or revolute, while the tips are more or less spirally twisted.
A considerable tract of ground on both sides the road from
Windermere to Bo'ness is exclusively occupied by a very
fine form of this, and we found it also in quantity by the
roadside near Shirenewton when visiting the late Mr. E. J.
Lowe. We have noted it elsewhere, but hardly so finely
characterized. Polydactylous varieties are also not
uncommon, but frequently only partially fingered, and at
Faygate, in Sussex, there are many acres occupied mainly,
and in some spots exclusively, with a very good crested

I09

form indeed, thoroughly constant. Ptevis aquilina coiigesfay
found we beheve in the Lake district, is a charmingly
congested or dense fronded form, which for garden culture
possesses, so far as our experience goes, the advantage that
the congestion appears to affect the rootstock as well and
prevents it from monopolizing the garden entirely, as does
P. aq. pevcvistata and gvandiceps and also f^lomevata, three
other very fine varieties. The first has even the pinnules
crested, and is extremely handsome, and it is from its
spores that a percentage of "grandiceps '' is always derived,
the latter itself being barren. " Grandiceps " consists of
bunch crests suspended on comparatively short stalks with
smaller ones at side divisions, hardly any flat leafy portion
appearing ; it only grows about 2 feet high, while its parent
is extra robust, and if permitted to do so travels far and
wide, ignoring gravel paths or even brick walls, and invading
the garden generally with a shoulder-high jungle of fronds.
P. aq. glomevata may be described as a Common Bracken
with a mania for tying itself up into knots ; frond tips and
side divisions thus forming dense balls, while the minor side
divisions or pinnules wrap themselves tightly round the
stalks. This, too, is a robust invader, and the finder in
the Lake District described the colony on a hill side as
hanging down it like great bunches of grapes, a curious
fact in connection with this being that he could never hit
upon the place afterwards.

A magnificent variety of the hard leathery type, very
dense and crested throughout, was found by the writer near
Pitlochry, but under the most tantalizing conditions, since
there was only one large frond, springing from rocky soil
and quite barren of spores, so that nothing could be acquired
except the frond itself. In this connection Ptevis aquilina
is peculiar in being almost untransplantable, it roots very
deeply and has a long, travelling, brittle stolon, which
cannot be extracted so as to enable the plant to make a
fresh start. The only way to transplant, therefore, is in
the winter to dig up a solid mass of soil containing such

I lO

roots, and install the mass intact where plants are wanted.
If, however, there be spores, these can be raised very freely
in the usual way and speedily make plants, which if
transferred to the soil in the early autumn wall soon take
possession and make good specimens the following season.
For winter transplanting it is advisable to choose some
place where the plants are small and stunted rather than
where they are robust, since in that case the roots wdll be
shorter and fuller of buds within a given space, thus
affording a better chance. C. T. D.

CRBSTING IN FERNS.

One of the main differences existing between the
varietal capacity of Ferns and other foliage plants is the
remarkable tendency in the former to develop crests or
tassels at the terminals of the fronds and side divisions.
A very large number of species of different genera have
sported in this direction, while nothing analogous occurs in
Flowering plants unless the fasciated forms of the Celosias
and Asparagus plnmosiis be accepted as such, which' is hardly
admissible except perhaps in the latter case, where it is so
closely correlated with a frond-like form of foliage. In the
Celosias or Cockscombs, and also in some abnormial forms of
other plants, a crest-like form is produced by a multipli-
cation of the terminal-growing cells of the main stem, with
the result that it broadens laterally into a more or less
fan-like growth. This, how'Cver, remains undivided, and it
is notew"orthy that this multiplication begins really at the
base of the stem, the subsequent widening out being really
a multiplication of the normal expansion of the flower
spathe. In Ferns, on the other hand, although the tassels
are produced by a similar multiplication of the growing
points, this, as a rule, commences at a given point sub-
sequent to considerable growth on normal lines. The
multiplied points also speedily assume independence, thus
forming as many separate strands to the tassels, which

1 1 1

strands sometimes af^ain divide on similar lines, i.e. after
growing some length undividedly. Hence the tassels do
not cohere, Cockscomb fashion. The extreme regularity
of the point at which this multiplication of the terminal
cells takes place is very roiiiarkable. A fern frond grows
by development of apical cells and in a divided or
decomposite frond, that is, a frond bearing not only side
divisions or pinnae, but subdivisions of these, or pinnules,
or even further divisions to the extent of pinnulets and
pinnuletines, to coin a further necessary diminutive, these
apical or formative cells multiply laterally accordingly
within the coiled up tips which uncoil as this process
continues. This is obviously already a very complicated
process, and the wonder is therefore the greater when, as in
some of the most marked examples of cristation, we find
that at a quite definite stage, all over the frond, these
apical cells one and all commence to multiply at a different
angle to form tassels, thus finishing their work on different
lines to those adhered to previously.

The fact that in some instances, such as in a form of
Ptevis sevvuhita known as Applebyanum, we have had heavy
bunch crests formed at the tip of a previous season's frond,
only one strand of which had remained green and healthy,
and that this crest w^as formed by continuous dichotomous
forking throughout the season until a mass of threadlike
growth formed a large ball, suggests the possibility that
this cre-ting in Ferns may be due to an antavistic tendency
for the growing points to spread on Mavchantia-\\ke lines or
alternatively to an incapacity in the apical cells to close
the circuit, as it were, and form a terminal wail or skin, as
they should do normally. This case, however, forms an
exception to the general rule of cresting, since the tassels
are usually complete when the coil containing them unfolds,
and all they do subsequently is to expand to full size with-
out any subsequent extension of structure. In a number
of cases this faculty is developed more or less irregularly,
and grades from single fronds, once divided at their tips or

I 12

it may be even at their bases, forming twin fronds, or other-
wise normal plants, to fronds which ramify to an indefinite
e.'^tent from the base upwards to form wide fans or even
mosslike balls. As a general rule, however, the cresting
is terminal and even, the subdivisions of the frond dis-
playing precisely the same character as the frond itself, only
on a smaller scale, so that the heavier and more pronounced
the crest is at the frond tip, the greater the probability that
•the cresting will extend to the minor divisions ; and the
cases are rare where these latter are markedly crested and
the frond tip scarceb/ so, and still more rare where the
frond is well tasselled and the side divisions not at all.

A peculiar feature of the tasselled ferns is their unreduced
fertility as regards spores, the sori being almost invariably
extended into the cresting in robust plants. This fact is
the more remarkable, as generally w^here the leafy area of
a frond is abnormally extended, as in the plumose or extra
divided Ferns, this is correlated with a reduced spore
production or even with complete barrenness, as we may
see in the crispum or frilled Hartstongues and the several
forms of Polypodiiun camhviciim. This difference is, how-
ever, partly accounted for by the fact that in many crested
forms of Ferns the minor divisions are more or less
contracted as if to counterbalance the extra area involved
in the tassel at their tips.

As a rule, the spores of crested Ferns reproduce the
cresting truly, but not infrequently their progeny varies so
that a batch of seedlings may consist of exact reproductions
of the parental type mixed with others which are of more
marked character or the reverse, and even without crests at
all ; these last, however, are never, in our experience, normal
unless the parent is normal, with only a somewhat variable
crest on merely forked lines, indicating inconstancy or lack
of fixity of type. The faculty of cresting is very often
associated with other abnormal characters, such as
congested or extra foliose or more finely-cut frondage, and
as the tassels themselves differ very widely in character, some

being dense, others iax, some on fan-like plans, others
corymbose or bunchy, some long and pendulous and others
stiftand erect, the number of distinct varieties is very great,
especially as it has been demonstrated that crossing is
practicable, so that crests have been imparted thereby to
non-crested varieties endowed with other characters.

C. T. D.

FERN W^ONDERS.

Few people when on their holiday rambles they see the
common Ferns of the wayside lining the hedges and ditches,
or, penetrating into the woods and glens, find them forming
the chief vegetation, filling every chink and cranny with
their feathery verdure, reflect or know that in the dim and
distant past, such a growth, on a more luxuriant scale was
slowly building up the Coal upon which the material pros-
perity of Britain is so largely founded. Yet in those old
days, Ferns and their allies, only differing in minor details
from those of the present, century after century, sucked up
the carbonic acid in the air around them, built the solid
carbon into their tissues, and eventually, as generation
after generation died and decayed banked up, as it were, this
imperishable element for man to use thousands of centuries
later. This is no scientific guesswork, the very fern-fronds,
as every coal miner knows, are often to be seen intact and
recognizable when the virgin coal is split by the pick, and
scores of species have been thus found and identified as
close relatives of our Ferns of to-day, At the Coal
Exchange, London, is a fine collection open to the view of

the incredulous.

Ferns to-day, owing to their lack of flowers, take a back

seat with lovers of bright colours, but, wonder number two,

even as our coal tar yields our aniline dyes, so it is evident

that in those simple green fronds lie bottled-up rainbows

resolvable by the alchemy of time into their most brilliant

hues, so that many a dame decked in the brightest tints,

outrivalling the rose itself, owes her borrowed colours to

the ferns of aeons past.

114

Wonder number three. So careful is Nature of these
first-born children of hers, that every season, instead of the
few hundred or thousand seeds yielded by her floral
offspring, Ferns cast off millions upon millions of spores,
each capable of yielding not one but more, so that a single
plant could people a district in one generation. Eleven
hundred millions were estimated by the writer as the crop
of one Lady Fern in one season.

But wonder number four, with which we will conclude,
though not exhausting our list, is the singular lact that our
native British species, some forty odd only, have yielded
far and away more " sports " or beautiful varieties than all
the rest of the world's species put together, some four or five
thousand, indeed, can be distinguished as quite distinct by
connoisseurs, and the bulk of these have been found wild in
our woods and hedges of the western counties and else-
where where Ferns grow profusely. At Kevv Gardens
there are two or three thousand, forming such a collection
as exists nowhere else in the world. These varieties are
mostly charmingly tasselled at all their tips, or curled or
finely cut, so as to be far more beautiful than the common
forms, others are oddly varied and though, perhaps, more
curious than beautiful, are extremely interesting.

We must, however, add another wonder, for it is perhaps
the biggest of all in this special connection and that is that,
even as a prophet has no honour in his own country, so
this unique British branch of botanical study has been until
recently so far ignored by nurserymen, horticulturists and
gardeners generally, that the true British Fern fanciers are
few and far between, and the popular idea is, or rather was,
that they are fairly represented by the wild weed forms
obtainable froai the street hawker at a penny a root.

C. T. D.

VARIEGATED HARTSTONGUES.

So many disappointments have been connected with
presumed variegated Hartstongues that the expert is rarely

ii5

satisfied when a specimen is brought before his notice
that it is likely to remain so, and we have even heard
doubts expressed as to the existence of a really constant
form. The reason of this uncertainty lies in the fact that
this species and its varieties is peculiarly prone to assume
a decidedly yellow tint, sometimes with stripes or mott-
lings of the normal green colour, when something in the
soil or the environment disagrees with it, and as a rule this
phenomenon is noted in plants which are exposed to bright
sunshine. Recently we were shewn a considerable number
of very diverse varieties in the garden of Mr. W. B. Cran-
field, at Enfield Chase, nearly all of which were variegated
as described, and yet they all belonged to batches of
seedlings or divisions of the same varieties which had
been planted elsewhere, and were there all of the same
normal green colour without a trace of variegation.
None of them, however, were robust and healthy, and they
were all, like many associated other species in the sarrbe
plot, more or less out of condition, the soil having become
waterlogged and sour. Here obviously was conclusive
proof that variegation may be temporarily assumed when
soil or other conditions are unfavourable. On the other
hand, a large and very strikingly variegated but otherwise
normal Hartstongue, found by the writer in 1909 at
Staverton, in Devon, with most of the fronds of a bright
golden yellow throughout, and the rest more or less striped
or mottled, was growing in a most congenial position on
the low bank of a small stream, and by its large size and
development was obviously in perfect health. It was,
however, quite unsheltered from the sun, and when carefully
lifted, potted and placed under glass, although the following
season, it grew again to full size, not a trace of variegation
appeared. In this case then it was clear that the varie-
gation was induced by extra bright illumination rather
than by any other handicap to healthy growth. Variega-
tion of this class, which is solely due to local influence and
disappears under change of environment, cannot therefore

ii6

be regarded as a true varietal character, and it is certainly
to this class that the great majority of so-called variegated
Hartstongues belong, and it is hopeless to expect that more
marked and constant forms can be raised from their spores.
That truly variegated Hartstongues exist is, however,
beyond a doubt. In Mr. Cranfield's garden we saw a
specimen derived from the collection of the late Mr. Moly,
and found by him, in which, amid a majority of normally
green fronds, there were a few bearing definite and closely-
placed pure white stripes, obviously an inherent character
and quite distinct from the common indefinite yellow types
above described. This plant had previously shewn the
character associated with little or no reversion, and must
therefore be ranked as constant so far as the innate
tendency to produce pure white stripes was concerned.
From Mr. Amos Perry's large collection at Enfield we
were fortunate enough to obtain two promising specimens,
one a nearly normal and the other a pretty capitate form,
which when acquired were of a lemon yellow throughout,
and both of these, after two seasons' growth under glass,
have thrown fronds of vigorous healthy growth, but one
and all of the same pale yellow tint, so that we are per-
suaded that at last we have not one but two constantly
variegated specimens, from which we hope to raise a brood.
We have heard of marginally variegated Hartstongues
being found, i.e. with quite white edgings, but have never
been able to obtain confirmatory fronds, and should be
very glad to hear of such. Several plants were found in
Devon by Mr. Cranfield and the writer with light green
fronds striped here and there with the darker normal
green, and these shew the same appearance this season,
fairly markedly in Mr. Cranfield's case but somewhat less
so in ours. Here again then there is an approach to
constancy, which might yield better results if sown from.
A very markedly yellow variety of crisptim, obtained from
an exposed position on the rockery of Sir Frank Crisp, at
Henley, grew vigorously under glass but shewed there no

TI7

tendency towards the light colour, but when transferred to
the open, a sunny situation such as it liad previously
occupied, that central portion of all the fronds which should
have been yellow remained quite healthy but became a
reddish brown, the edges remaining green, shewing thus that
the partial variegation was due to a partial constitutionrd
difference in the chlorophyllic response to direct sunshine.

Should any of the members of the Society possess really
constant specimens which remain true under the ordinary
sheltered conditions and are not apparently handicapped in
any way by undue exposure, the writer would be happy to
receive fronds and particulars, so that some of the un-
certainty in this connection may be removed. Under
natural conditions, where Hartstongues are abundant on
old walls and in the woods and hedgerows, the yellow
colour pervading the fronds as seen in some collections is
extremely rarely seen, and is undoubtedly due in those
collections, as a rule, to something unfavourable to proper
development, a sort of chlorophyllic anemia. C. T. D.

EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT ON

VARIATION.

At Christmas, igo8, a very marked form of Hartstongue
was found by the writer at Babbacombe, near Torquay,
growing high up on a road-side wall. When noted it was
a fairly vigorous plant for its situation, having several
fronds six or seven inches long, all of which were very
ramose, being divided into numerous spreading narrow
segments, resembling stag-horns, and of hard tough tex-
ture. As it was tightly frozen into a mere chink, only as
much of the condex could be extracted by cutting to secure
the visible growth with a few rootlets, quite sufficient,
however, in this species to secure future growth under
proper culture. It was carefully potted and placed in a
Wardian case, and in the course of the following season
grew vigorously and developed a number of fronds. These
however, were of quite a different type to the original

ii8

ones, resolving themselves into two forms, one quite thin
and papery and with merely dilated tips or small crests,
while the others, of somewhat tougher character, were
branched into leafy divisions, each of which was branch-
crested on flat lines, but in nowise resembling the stag-
horn type. Upon the surfaces of the basal lobes of all these
latter fronds, but on only one or two of the other type, one
or two strong bulbils appeared, and also a few small ones
on the stalks below the lobes, while one very strong one
appeared on the surface close to the angle of separation of
a branched frond. The form of viviparousness is very rare
in the Hartstongue, and only one other case of lobe bulbils,
and that on a minor scale, has come within our ken. By
the end of the season of 1909 the plant formed a bush of
several crowns, and was a handsome specimen.

This season it resumed growth vigorously in the spring,
but this time the fronds were all much more on normal
lines, though in all cases bearing flat crests, they were
much longer and only here and there quite small bulbils
appeared of a brown colour, which shewed no tendency to
develop, as did the previous ones, aerial roots and frondlets,
though still, as will be noted, growing under the same close
conditions as before. It will thus be seen that the plant
has passed through three stages, first that of a narrowly-
branched tough stag-horn type, in which the viviparous
character was not noticed, though possibly present;
secondly, a more foliose thinner-fronded stage, accompanied
by branching and cresting on dimorphic lines and with
proliferous buds of a vigorous character, forming several
fronds and aerial roots in situ, and finally a form little better
than an ordinary crested and otherwise normal one.

We have now transferred the plant to the open in a
somev;hat sheltered bed, and it will be interesting to note
whether, restored to open air conditions, it will resume the
original stag-horn type, or whether the series of changes
prelude entire reversion to the normal. This, of course,
remains for the next season's growth to shew.

119

It is difficult to draw any particular conclusion from the
facts of this case, but we think it merits record as a singular
example of how different environment may affect a varietal
form, and we should be glad to have particulars of other
cases which may have been observed of a like nature. It
is of course well known that varietal characters are a]^t
to be much less marked in plants which are out of con-
dition and stunted by unfavourable factors, but here the
changes have been accompanied and indeed appear due to
growth stimulated to the utmost and vigorous and healthy
from the start, although, since repotting was certainly
needed when the transfer was made to the open, the third
stage may possibly be due to root restriction. C. T. D.

POLYSTICHUM ACULEATUM
*' GRACILLIMUM."

This very beautiful section of the Hard Shield Fern
family has been fully described and figured in the early
number of the Gazette (pp. 3, 24 and 50). Its sudden
appearance in a fair percentage of seedlings oipulchevriinum,
and its unique character, rendered it an interesting question
whether another sowing would give like results. Fortu-
nately last season another plant shewed spores, and these
being sown, our readers will be interested in learning that
the new and slender character is already clearly perceptible
in a number of the youngsters, so that a second batch of
acquisitions on similar, or, judging by the diversity in the
first batch, even new lines may be confidently anticipated
in the near future. Ed.

NEW FERNS.

At a recent visit to Messrs. H. B. May & Sons' Nurseries,
at Edmonton, we were shewn a new and improved form of
A. f.f. congestuin minns, into which '' setigeyum" blood has
apparently found its way ; the ultimate divisions of the
fronds being beautifully crispy and bristly, while the

I 20

charmingly dense and compact growth is unaffected. Both
crested and uncrested forms had originated from a sowing
of A. f.f. congestum viinus cristatum, a good few plants
showing the new character very distinctly and much
improving the delicate appearance of the plants. It has
been provisionally named A . f.f. congestum minus firnhviatum
and ditto cristatum, as the case may be. A prettier dwarf
form can hardly be imagined.

Another new variety was Lastrea filix mas Bavnesii
cvispa cristata. A crispate variety of Bavnesii has been
known for some little time, in which the short oval pinna of
Bavnesii is clearly distinguishable, though prettily curled
and crisped, but in this the additional charm of well-
developed bunch tassels at all tips is presented to good
effect. We believe, however, that so far only one specimen
exists, which, however, will certainly be propagated as soon
as possible. We have often wondered what some of our
old Fern pioneers, who have long joined the majority,
would think if they could see some of the latest develop-
ments from their " finds " or acquisitions. Certainly,
w^hatever their pleasure in finding or acquiring the original
progenitors of such gems, they never anticipated the potency
within them of producing such advanced types as they
have done.

C. T. D.

LIST OF NEW MEMBERS.

Mr. J. Chapman, The Gardens, Westonbirt, Tetbury.

M. B. Barrel, 10, Avenue d'lena, Paris.

Mr. Jas. Davidson, Sommerville House, Dumfries.

Mr. William Jas. Shaw, 23, Nesterville Avenue, Belfast.

Mr. Frederick Start, East Lodge Gardens, Enfield Chase.

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

Mr. F. A. Edelsten, The Elms, Forty Hill, Enfield.

Sn- Frank Crisp, Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.

Mr. TL Relton, Underfell, Low Fell, Nr. Gateshead.

Mr. J. C. Rugman, Plusterwine, Woolaston, Nr. Lydney, Glos.

THE BOOK OF BRITISH FERNS.

This book constitutes an invaluable guide to the selection
of the best forms for high-class collections. It was compiled
by the Editor, with the assistance of a Committee of the
British Pteridological Society, all experts, and contains
descriptions of about 700 of the choicest forms, illustrated
profusely, and accompanied by chapters on Fern Culture,
Fern Hunting, and indeed all matters of interest in connec-
tion with the cult. It can be obtained from the Hon. Secre-
tary and Editor, Mr. Chas. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,
London, for 3s. gd., post free, and may be regarded as
absolutely indispensable to the real lover and grower of
British Ferns and their varieties.

N.B. — As the covers of the few remaining copies
in stock have become discoloured by damp, these
will be supplied for 2s. gd., post free, instead of
3s. gd,, the published price. Early application is
advisable.

AMERICAN FERNS.

There are more than 300 Species of Fernworts
in the United States and Canada, and an immense
number of varieties. A majority of British ferns
are among the number. Read what the Americans
have found out about them in

Ubc jfern Bulletin,

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

Many new Species and Forms have been
described and illustrated in its pages.

Annual Subscriptlonj 3s. post free.

A Set of the 13 Volumes still In print will
be sent for 36 shillings, post free.

Sample Copy for a Penny Stamp,
Six Different Numbers for One Shilling

Address —WILLARD N. CLUTE &. Co., Joliet. III., U.S.A.

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, 6r($ttl)ou$e. and otDer Plants
. . .are also laruclp arotvn. . . .

* * *

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.

VOL. I. No. 6.

♦ ♦ ♦ wDv ♦ ♦ ♦

JBritieb jf em
©asette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

December, 1910.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BV

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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

u
z

(I)

2

Ci]
»

O

d

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I. DECEMBER, 1910. No. 6.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Editorial Notes ., .. .. .. .. .. .. 121

Our Frontispiece .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 122

"My Fernery," by Mr, C. B. Green 123

British Ferns of the Future 126

British Ferns in Gloucestershire, by Rev. E. H. Hawkins 129

A Successful Spore Sowing .. .. .. .. .. 133

The Pedigree of A.f.f. Kalothrix, by Dr. F.W. Stansfield 137

New Ferns .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 141

List of New Members .. .. .. .. .. .. 144

"British Ferns and their Varieties" .. .. .. 144

EDITORIAL NOTES.

The Editor is greatly pleased that in this issue he has
been enabled to subordinate to a considerable extent the
hitherto inevitable C.T.D. element, several members of the
B.P.S. having kindly contributed their knowledge to its
contents. Dr. F. W. Stansfield's account of the Kalothrix
pedigree is peculiarly interesting as throwing some light on
the origin of that unique Lady Fern, and accepting his
views as correct, it is gratifying to know that in this
instance, as in so many others, we owe this acquisition
entirely to Dame Nature's inspiration, though it is by pure
chance that the original wild form should have re-asserted
itself so many decades after it had practically disappeared.
To Mr. C. B. Green, too, we are indebted for our frontis-
piece, and his interesting notes on the numerous members
of the Fern aristocracy which it depicts. The Rev. E. H.
Hawkins also contributes a welcome article on Gloucester-
shire Ferns. With our now considerable membership,
however, we must again appeal for more support of this

I 22

class. Many must have had experiences in Fern hunting
and raising which would interest others, and if the pen be
a somewhat reluctant or unaccustomed aid to such records,
the Editor will be glad to supplement any notes by putting
practical material into form.

Numerous very gratifying recognitions of the value of
the "Gazette" have been received, but we should much
like to increase its attractions pictorially, and also even in
volume. Here, however, the question of funds is involved,
and as this would only be practicable by an increased
number of subscriptions, the Editor w^ould ask the existing
members individually to bring the Society before their fern-
loving friends who are non-subscribers, and do their level
best to enlist them in our ranks. If each member would
not rest until he had enlisted one new one, our object would
be attained, and the value of the "Gazette" be corre-
spondingly increased. A specimen number will be willingly
sent to prospective members, and the small subscription of
5s. per annum, entitling to membership and four issues of
the " Gazette," is moderate enough to reach all pockets.

II, Shaa Road, The Editor.

Acton, London, W.

N.B. — Less than a dozen of the copies of " The Book of
British Ferns," with soiled covers, remain unsold, and can
be supplied to members at the reduced price of 2s. gd. post
free. These exhaust the Society's stock of the work.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

Our member, Mr. C. B. Green, of Acton, has very kindly
provided the photograph of his Fernery, which has been
here reproduced. The following article, entitled " My
Fernery," describes its contents, together with some very
interesting observations on their culture, etc., which we
have persuaded him to extend, and which will he continued
in our next issue.

123

"MY FERNERY."
By Mr. C. B. Green.

Although nearly all our British Ferns, and their varieties,
are capable of withstanding a very low temperature, yet in
and about large towns it is desirable, in the interest of the
ferns themselves, to provide some sort of protection from
the dirt and dust and foul gases incident to all districts
where houses are crowded together. Hence my choice
varieties have been collected under glass, and although
this involves constant supervision and some self-denial?
still, '' the labour we delight in physics pain."

For the benefit of possible imitators, I may say that the
dimensions of my small Fernery are 20 feet by 12 feet,
with corresponding head-room. On one side a rockery
about 3 feet wide runs the whole length of the house, while
on the other a border of the same width, including one end,
is the prevailing feature. This gives me a clear space of
17 feet by 6 feet, which is concreted, and on which I stand
my specimen plants in pots, or otherwise elevate them on
drain-pipes, as befits their beauty.

Roller -blinds are preferred to screen them from the sun,
and top and bottom ventilation is adopted to secure a free
circulation of air.

This, in short, is the arrangement of " My Fernery," and
now for the Ferns, its raison d'etre. In the frontispiece,
which is from a photograph taken as recently as August,
the Ferns on either hand in the immediate foreground are
representatives of one of the most amazing sections of our
lovely Shield Ferns.

Polysticimm angtdave plumoso-divisilohum Esplan is worthy
of its elongated designation, and came to me as a bulbil
from our old friend Mr. Whitwell in 1899 ; while P. a.
plumosissiinum was sent me as a tiny plant by Dr. Stansfield
three years ago. This latter fern, however, while
characteristic of its name, is not quite so " sissimum " as
the one illustrated in " The Book of British Ferns," which
was presumably grown in a warm house.

124

It is, however, a superb thing, and I would not be with-
out it, so I think it will be conceded that these two ferns
area very fitting introduction to "My Fernery." In fact,
I may here say that these self-same plants have had so
much influence over a near neighbour of mine as to turn
him into a pteridologist ! His next step, therefore, ought
to be " incorporation " in the B.P.S.

Other Polystichums of the phimoso-divisilohim type are
Gviminondii, laxtim, and densiim Fox ; while pUimosmns proper
— only a degree or two less beautiful — are represented by
Moley, Patey, and WoUaston, all, by the way, true wild
finds. To still recede slightly we have such good things
as Crawfoydianum, decompositum Pearson, cvistaUim Ivery,
gvandidens Fitt, acvocladon Mapplebeck, cvistaUim and longi-
pinnatum Carbonell, pevfecUim and nitescens Jones, and that
silken beauty setoso-cuncatum Phillips.

Longipinnatum and nitescens came my way through Mr.
Whitwell. The former makes a splendid basket plant,
while the latter nitescens would be equally suitable, for the
fronds are exceedingly soft and lax.

Turning now from the Soft Shield Ferns it will perhaps
be pardonable, under the circumstances, if I refer with
more gusto to the Hard Shield section.

Although the varieties here are few comparatively, there
is one which is not only "beautiful " but unique — P. acnlea-
tum pulchevvimnm. This fern, then, is a host in itself, and
is, just now, in special favour with Mr. Druery and
myself, for the sporing of this previously presumed sterile
variety in " My Fernery," in 1903, has resulted in such a
progeny of symmetrical youngsters that superlatives seem
superfluous to specify their superiority.

They must be seen to be appreciated. As, however,
this unique evolution or break-away from the parent
form has been well told in the " Gazette," and other
journals, I will content myself by referring to the illustra-
tion, where in the middle distance, and nearly central, my
plnmosiun appears ; and on either side and above some

J25

others of the gvacillunum type. I think I may, therefore,
without excess of pride, conclude that these plants alone
have justified the existence of *' My Fernery."

With reference to the parent plant, I have just been
overhauling it ; and although some substantial divisions
were extracted from it three years ago, it is still a grand
specimen. Its fronds number over sixty, and many of
them are four feet long.

This vigour, of course, is due to planting out.

As to watering — well, w^hen a plant like this gets
thirsty half a drink is worse than none at all ; in fact,
these large specimens are terrible dipsomaniacs, and
remind me of the farmer who drove up to an inn and after
tasting a couple of quarts said **he thought he'd now git
down and 'ave some ! "

From Shield Ferns to Lady Ferns is not a great way,
for both are aristocrats in refinement and delicacy of
detail. ' But while the Lady Ferns may be regarded as
early summer visitants only, the other section is always
with us. And although in this case familiarity does not
breed contempt, it must be admitted that the deciduous
character of a plumose Lady Fern is such as hardly to
allow one sufficient time to become "familiar." When I
refer to a plumose variety of Athyvium Filix-foemina, I have
in mind the unrivalled forms of Mr. Druery's raising.
As I possess all, or nearly all, of this snperhum strain —
mainly through the generosity of the raiser — I have many
opportunities of observing their superiority. They are
planted in my border alternately with evergreen varieties.
Thus they illustrate, so to speak, a progression of beauty
from Axminstevense to Dvuevyii. These are still in fair
condition for the time of year (October), which fact again
is due to border culture. There are several other Lady
Ferns whose condition is improved and prolonged by this
treatment. A. f.f. Elwovthii, for instance, is a huge
clump with fronds over four feet long; while />ercvistatum,
Cousens X Kalothrix, has over forty fronds about three feet

B

126

long, the pinncX of which msasure over eight inches.
Moreover, the habit is shuttle-cock-like with gracefully
pendant foliose fronds.

{To he continued.)

BRITISH FERNS OF THE FUTURE.-

When we compare the wonderful and beautiful varieties

of British Ferns with those which were in existence half a

century ago, the question naturally arises whether such

advance can be continued on the same scale, or whether

sooner or later the possibilities will be exhausted. At the

time referred to, judging by the published catalogues of

the period, really fine symmetrical and constant varieties

were very few, and consisted mainly of wild finds, that is,

finds which had only been propagated by offsets and not

by spores, so that practically all the specimens extant of

the particular type were identical. The rest of the

varieties on the market consisted largely of irregular and

defective types, which had resulted from injudicious

sowing of erratic forms, a number of w^hich, experience

has shown, are far more apt to propagate themselves

spontaneously than are the better types. This fact led to

their introduction as easily-raised market plants, whose

value was then apparently determined by their curious

character : the greater their eccentricity the higher the

price. The number of these eventually so far exceeded

that of the " thoroughbreds " that a revulsion of taste was

inevitable, and, for decades, the popular idea of British

Fern varieties, if any idea was formed at all during the

period of depression, was that they were more ugly than

beautiful, and hence unworthy of attention. Meanwhile,

however, the handful of enthusiasts who, by their own

discoveries and selective culture, had become acquainted

with the finer varieties, were more and more encouraged

by the results they had attained, and by degrees worked up

collections of most beautiful, thoroughbred types, which in

'■'■'• By permission of the Gatdcncrs' Chronicle.

I 27

time eclipsed, in charm of plumy dissection, or ornate
tasselling, or frilling, anything which could be found
among exotic varieties. Every now and again, too,
altogether unexpected results occurred among the spore
sowings, new strains coming to light in this way which
surpassed their predecessors in delicacy and grace, and it
also became clear that the possibilities of combining such
charms by hybridising were fully demonstrated, both by
systematic cross-fertilisation and chance results of mixed
sowings. Now,' in our opinion, it is this last phase of Fern
culture which widens the horizon of future possibilities.
So little comparatively has it been worked out that we may
count the recognised crosses upon our fingers, and in this
connection the example of Poly podium ScJuieideri, a success-
ful cross between the two different species of Polypodiufji,
P. glaucum, a large growing, tender exotic and P. vulgare
covuubiense [elegant issiumm), a beautifully-divided form of the
hardy, common Polypody, indicates an immense field of
utility in the direction of decorative plants. True, it may
be argued that we cannot legitimately claim such results
as British Ferns proper, but if it is our British Fern of an
abnormal but beautiful type, which imparts its particular
charm to a purely normal exotic, we are surely entitled to
claim the major part of the merit involved, especially if
the results be, as it is largely in Polypodmin Schneideri, and
might be entirely in less tender species, the production of
nearly or quite hardy plants possessing the charm both of
the exotic form and that of the home variety. We recom-
mend this field to the particular attention of exotic Fern
growers, whose possession of warm greenhouses gives
them special facilities for experiments, which can take the
simple form of persistently sowing spores of fine British
varieties with those of allied exotic species on the offchance
of a cross. But, apart from such experiments, there are
innumerable British varieties of one and the same species
which would be greatly enhanced in beauty could the
charm of another variety be added. We will take the

128

common Polypody forms as a type. P. v. covmihiense has
already been crossed with P. v. hifido-miiltifidum so as to
obtain a crested cormihiense. Covmihiense^ however, is an
erratic Fern, and persistently transmits its erratic character
to its offspring even, as we see in P. Schneideri, when
crossed with another species. P. v. pulchevriinnm, however,
is a thoroughbred tripinnate form, and a successful cross
between this and P. v. cvistatnm or P. v. grandiceps Fox or
Forster could not fail to form a handsome combination
unlike anything we possess. To revert to exotic blood
there are, on the other hand, a number of simple fronded,
exotic Polypodiujjis, which, if they could be induced by the
gentle influence of pnlcherrimiim to bear tripinnate fronds
instead of simple or pinnate ones, would be far more
ornamental than they are at present. In another genus,
the Polystichums, we have numerous exotic forms, some
like P. setostim, perfectly hardy and very distinct from our
native species, though viewed by some botanists as a form
of P. aciileatiim, which could be improved by crossing with
some of the finely-crested plwnosiims or cristatums. As
there is no doubt that many of the exotics are very closely
allied indeed to our home species, the chances in this
direction are very great. P. setosum is a fairly common
market plant here, and we strongly advise, in connection
with it, the procedure advocated above. In the Spleenwort
family, too, a race, as a rule, peculiarly constant to the
normal type, we have marked exceptions to this rule in the
crested forms of our native Asplenium tricliomanes and
Scolopendvhim vulgare. Fortunately for such experiments,
difference in size forms no bar to crossing, and, in the
initial stages, the growths vary little in their dimensions.
Hence we have no such obstacles to crossing as are
involved in the fine adaptations of size of pollen grains to
length of style incidental to flowering plants. The main
obstacles to the cross-breeding of Ferns consist, apart from
wide generic differences, in differences in the rapidity in
germination of the spores. A little study, however, may

129

enable this to be overcome by sowing the spores at different
times. In any case, the field of experiment is large, the
difficulties to be overcome but trifling, whilst any results
obtained must be valuable, since, even though crossing
resulted in failure, the progeny of such good forms as
should only be used, would have their commercial value.

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

BRITISH FERNS IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

By the Rev. E. H. Hawkins.

I venture to make a contribution to our " Gazette " on the
grounds that I have been a fern-lover for forty years, and
further for the past thirty-five years I have been a very
constant admirer of those wonderful plants collected and
bred by the late Colonel Jones, and which are still under
the unremitting care of my good friend jNIr. Harris, super-
intendent of the Clifton Zoological Gardens.

I cannot but think there is a great future for British
ferns. Fernists have made their peace with florists and
gardeners. It is not now a question of flowers versus ferns
— "both are best" — and every garden can provide the
proper place for each kind of plant. Gardeners, too, have
come to this conclusion. " Monstrosities " are dead, they
did much harm before they were relegated to the dust
heap. Shewn to the uninitiated as things of beauty and
of joy, they quenched any incipient desire of possession.
There must be no place for the unshapely things, incon-
stant even in their ugliness. We have such a glorious
heritage from those who have gone before us, plants
which, as Dr. Kingsmill jMoore has rightly said, " never
fail to obtain a tribute of lasting admiration."

Just at first the names are a source of terror and of
helplessness to the beginner. A little time and patience
get over all this — the dictionary, the lexicon, the school-

^3^

master can be called in as " first aids." It will be found
that the names are as a rule very appropriate, e.g. scopcB,
acrocladon, corynihiferum, Polyst. aculeaUim gracillimum, is,
notwithstanding all that has been written contrariwise, very
applicable to INIr. Druery's latest and best.

It may not be out of place if I say what Gloucestershire
can do in the way of ferns.

Two years ago my friend, the Rev. S. Hillard, now of
Bedford, shewed me a frond of Aspleniujii fonfanum which he
had just found growing wild in Chalford, near Stroud. The
plant is still there, so far as he and I are concerned, but
alas ! we cannot find it.

ScoL spivak was found at Nailsworth, and crispiim
Cowhiirnii at Chepstow, which is just in and out of
Gloucestershire.

Polypodiiun calcareum grows freely on rubbly hillsides ; but
the hawker, wretched man, is doing his utmost to destroy
it root and branch.

Gloucestershire will always rank high among the
counties because of Colonel Jones' collection at the Clifton
Gardens. They have already been described by Mr.
Cranfield in the " Gazette." He remarked on the absence
of certain varieties. All lime-loving ferns are there, with
one very remarkable exception, there are no polypods —
they were there in variety and abundance, but they all passed
away — and if ferns cannot, or will not grow under the skill
and care of Mr. Harris, Dr. Stansfield might safely include
them among those cited in his article on " The Culture of
some difficult British Ferns." Polypods do grow all over
the county, yet only in a timid and half-hearted fashion.

Ferns have other and stately homes in our Western
shire, wherein they make a noble show, long to be
remembered. My friend, I\Ir. S. S. Mailing, of Stanley
Park, Stroud, has already a splendid collection, though
yet young in years. They revel in their ideal surroundings,
sheltered by the trees and nourished by the moisture from
the lake.

T3I

There is seen the Atliyvmm in its manifold variety, but
beyond all there is Polystichnm divisilobum phtmosmn in all
its glorious shades and shapes of colour and form. No
" withered cheek nor tresses grey " among them, the rusty
tips are happily absent, for it is a plant that revels in the
fresh air.

Colonel Sir George Holford, of Westonbirt, Tetbury,
has, too, a collection of British Ferns which adds even to
the beauty of his beautiful grounds. They are all carefully
selected plants, "Monstrosities" are rigorously excluded,
and the number of good ones is increased yearly.

Mr. Thos. Kingscote, M.V.O., of Cirencester, has also
joined the ranks of Gloucestershire fern-growers, his bold
and beautiful rockeries are already rich in ferns of the first
water. I think I am right in predicting a prosperous
future for the once despised fern — " only British or hardy,
you know."

In these days of Form IV. it is not happily given to
many of us to be possessors of broad acres or extensive
grounds, yet we have, most of us, a backyard and a
corner of the garden facing north — such are my humble
possessions. Here I succeed in growing, or rather the
plants are good enough to grow for me, in many
varieties.

My study looks out on a yard facing due north — it was
such a horrid hole — unsightly winter and summer, dismal
beyond words, dull, damp, moss-covered gravel — who
could redeem it? A few cart-loads of stones became a
rough and natural-looking rockery. There are plants there
thirty-five years old, still flourishing in their old age, for I
keep them to the one crown. I have them ancient and
modern, for who would not provide a place for at least
some of the newest and best ?

Of course, my friends and I have our enemies — my
greatest are the cold winds of the early spring, and when
shall we have again a seasonable spring ? After various
experiments, pcfts, pans and frames of glass, I have

132

found suspended nets the best and simplest protection —
but even so I, too, often lose the first fronds.

Writing only from my own experience, I am on the
whole more satisfied with my plants grown in pots under
glass than those grown in the ground and under glass ;
the former can be removed outdoors in the hot weather,
they do so well in the shady corner ; the latter grow more
luxuriantly, but I think they are apt to lose their distinctive
character.

I know it's wrong, I know the pain and disappointment
of the days to [come in attempting to grow Polyst. ang.
divisilohiim phimosnm in glass-covered ground, yet I cannot
resist it, there is nothing equal to the charm and beauty
of the early fronds ere the rust sets in. I can only plead
my countryman's excuse, " Better be a coward for half an
hour than dead all your life."

Some of our friends may be about to start fern-growing,
if so it may not be out of place if I give them a few words
of advice. It is useless to grow ferns among and under
trees without some spade work. I suggest, then, that the
space be dug out, the bottom slated, or better still
concreted, and the sides protected with corrugated sheets
of iron. After making a drainage of stones fill up the
bed with leaf mould and loam. Result, you will have a
bed undisturbed by roots for years to come. My second
word of advice is this, have nothing to do with fern
hawkers. We are fortunate in our leading men in the
trade, they can be trusted absolutely. Beginners
cannot do better than put themselves in their hands,
they will get plants suitable to the various soils and
localities, and with them cultural directions are always
good.

Wild finds and seedlings of one's own growing will
come later. In the language of the late Mr. Lowe, " atten-
tion to the above remarks may prevent disappointment."

I am inclined to think that ferns, like potatoes and
human beings, are fond of a change of air and scene.

^33

I am experimenting on the best of all Polypods,
'' sejnilaceritju," imported from Cork. In its first year it
did badly, suffered as an exile or a rebel, out of sympathy
with its Saxon neighbours — close proximity to its Welsh
relatives reconciled it. Now in its third year it holds out
a promise, dare I venture to hope, of omnilacevum. In
historic languiige, " I shall wait and see."

A SUCCESSFUL SPORE SOWING.

Since the sowing of Fern spores, on judicious lines,
undoubtedly forms one of the most interesting branches
of British Fern study, a few notes regarding a particularly
successful sowing may not be out of place as indicating
the right course to pursue. In July, of last year, stimu-
lated by the wonderful crop which had resulted from a
previous sowing from that beautiful thoroughbred
Polystichwn aculeaUim pulchervumim, the results of which
have already been described and illustrated in the first
numbers of the "Gazette," I carefully examined my
plant, a division of which, given some years back to
Mr. C. B. Green, had yielded the few spores from which
such an unexpected crop had arisen. It wall be noted
that although practically the same plant, the separate
divisions had been grown for years in different ferneries
in different hands, and to a certain extent in different
ways, since Mr. Green's plant was established in the soil
while mine had been grown from the outset in a large pot.
To my great delight I found that, for the first time, a good
number of spores appeared on my plants, though Mr.
Green could find none on his much larger specimen, and,
naturally, I lost no time in collecting some and making
a fresh sowing. It was, of course, a very open question
whether spores of another season and from a plant in a
different environment would repeat the previous results,
but in any case, even if only the beautiful parental form
appeared, both time and labour would be well repaid.

^34

I therefore took two small shallow pans about five inches
diameter by three deep, and having put plenty of drainage,
filled them nearly full with fine open fern compost of
loam, leaf mould with a little sand, pressing this down flat
with the bottom of a similar pan. This done, I placed
a piece of paper on the soil upon which I poured boiling
water until scalding water ran freely away below. I then
covered both ^\'ith glass slips and allowed them to get
cold. Meanw^hile, I had severed the pinnules bearing the
dot-like spore heaps and laid these upon a glass slip on
the field of my microscope under a glass shade, and, after
a few hours, on examination I found the glass fairly
profusely peppered over with the shed spores escaped from
the burst capsules. I then breathed upon the glass until
it was covered with mist, when a small puff blew away
the now dried pinnules and the empty spore cases and
left the clean spores attached temporarily to the glass.
By this it will be seen that I got rid of any conferval or
other germs possibly adhering to the debris in question,
and secured the purest possible culture on the already
sterilized soil. I then tapped the glass slip gently over
the two pans, distributing the spores as evenly as possible,
and after covering them again with glass, installed them in
a Wardian case facing north, standing them in two red-
ware saucers containing a little water.

In due coarse the liitle green prothalli made their
appearance in great numbers and in a few months,
assumed full size and became fairly crow^ded. No signs
of the ferns proper appeared during the winter and even
well into the spring, although the prothalli increased
abnormally in size, they remained apparently otherwise
in statu quo. About May, therefore, I poured tepid water
over the prothalli, and also immersed the pots in water
until the prothalli were flooded from below, and very
shortly after the first fronds began to push up in quantity,
and it became evident that more room was required than
their crowded condition provided. Some pans, nine inches

^35

square by three inches deep, were therefore prepared and
steriHzed by hot water as before, and small clumps of
prothalli, about one-third of an inch across, were pricked
out with a penknife and inserted an inch apart, being just
pressed home by the finger in little cavities made to
accommodate them. A sheet of glass was then laid over
each pan, and these were placed on a well-lighted shelf.
The result was, that in a few weeks the pans were as full
of young plants as the original ones were of prothalli,
necessitating the supply of further room. To afford this
it was now^ necessary to separate not merely clumps of
prothalli, but young rooted plants, and it is here perhaps
that a hint is welcome as to how to do this with a
minimum of loss where the crop is of such a character,
that the loss of even a minute plant may mean the loss
of a great prize. My plan is this. Each clump of
youngsters resulting from a patch of prothalli is easily
extracted intact. Taking a deep soup plate filled with
water, the clump is immersed in this up to the young
growth, and the soil is thus so softened and the roots so
loosened, that beginning at the outside every individual
plant can be coaxed away with its fronds and roots, and
even the still adherent prothallus absolutely undamaged,
not one being thus sacrificed. Other pans are now pre-
pared, not necessarily sterilized this time, but of fine open
soil, and, again, an inch apart the now individualized
youngsters are inserted, and will now in a greenhouse
reach a size large enough to enable them to display their
character, when of course selection can be made, the
best and most promising being extracted, again an easy
task, since if the soil be thoroughly wetted, they can be
extracted by a gentle pull, leaving the rest undisturbed.
By acting as above, it is an actual fact that no check
whatever is suffered in growth, quite the contrary indeed,
for in the case under consideration Polystichums sown last
July have now, in October of this year, fronds three to four
inches long with vigorous growth in progress. It may

136

be well to mention that in pricking out the rooted Ferns
the soil should be only just moist enough to permit of
holes being made to accommodate the roots, each plant
being pressed gently firm with the finger as it is installed.
The pan being fi.lled in this way, it should be partly
immersed in water until the water percolates from below
to the surface and so saturates the soil, the operation is
then completed. To prick out into wet soil does well

enough for the prothallus, but is not so good for rooted
plants as the method indicated.

Now, as to the varietal results. Despite the difference
of environment and individuality of the parents in both
cases, the results of the second sowing are precisely as
diverse as of the first, a considerable percentage of the
young plants showing the same peculiar slenderness and
length of the subdivisions as in the Druery f^racillimwns

^2>7

and Green plumosiim ; so that a second and equally
promising hatch of '*gems" is practically secured. To
give an idea of the wide diversity exhibited by the young
plants, we have taken nature prints'^' of three fronds by way
of illustration, No. i representing probable reversion
toward the normal species, No. 2 a promising foliose form,
and No. 3 an example of the true " gracillimum " or
*'plumosum" type, which invariably stands out very
distinctly from the others by its acute and long divisions.
It is noteworthy that owing to the precautions taken to
ensure a pure sowing and protect from subsequent stray
spores, only two strays [cystopteris] made their appearance
in the whole batch. C. T. D.

THE PEDIGREE OF ATHYRIUM F.F.

KALOTHRIX.

By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

The origin of this lovely fern is involved in some
obscurity. The only facts certainly known are that, as a
modern and living plant, it dates from 1870, when a ]\Ir.
Howlett, an amateur grower at Oxford, raised a plant, or
plants, from the spores of a form of A. f.f. plumosum
which was then growing in the Oxford Botanic Garden.
Stimulated by this result Mr. Sim, Foots Cray, then a
prominent nurseryman, obtained a division of the Oxford
plumosum and also one of a plumosum raised by J\Ir.
Howlett from the same source. From one of these plants
(he was not sure which) Mr. Sim raised in 1874 ^ batch of
some hundreds of seedlings of which ten or twelve per
cent, were kalothrix, the rest being plumose, subplumose,
and normal forms of Athyrium f.f. The oldest known
ancestor of kalothrix was then this plumosum in the
Oxford Botanic Garden. Col. Jones (from whose notes
accompanying his nature-prints the above records are

'•' Simply with copying ink.

138

taken) states further that Mr. Baxter, the then curator at
Oxford, wrote to him that the plant came from the Chelsea
Botanical Gardens. There would seem to be some
obscurity on this point, however, because it is stated that
"it was for some time thought that the plumosum was an
Irish form." Mr. Moore, of Chelsea, being referred to,
said that if the plumosum came from Chelsea it must be a
piece of the Horsfall plumosum, a crown of which had
been sent thither by Messrs. Stansfield subsequently to its
being exhibited for a certificate at South Kensington soon
after its discovery — i.e. probably about 1861. Col. Jones
goes on to remark very significantly : " It is strange, how-
ever, considering the very marked tendency, in the seed-
lings from the Oxford plant, to run in the kalothrix strain,
that no similar trace of this strain should ever have been
detected among the thousands of seedlings raised by
Messrs. Stansfield and others from the Yorkshire plant."
Strange indeed ! so much so that it is, to me, quite
incredible that the parent of kalothrix can have been the
Horsfall plumosum.

What then of the tradition about an Irish form ?
Several plumosums have, I believe, been found in Ireland
— one I know by the late Mr. Tyerman — but from none of
them, so far as is known, has kalothrix ever been raised
apart from this Oxford plant. Apropos of this, another
fact which, though interesting, at first sight appears to
have no particular bearing upon the question, is recorded
by Col. Jones, to wit — " In the Sherardian herbarium,
Oxford Botanic Gardens, is to be seen a wild frond,
gathered many years since in the Mourne Mountains,
almost identical with kalothrix." Now the Sherardian
herbarium is the collection of dried plants made by Dr.
Sherard, who founded the botanical professorship at Oxford,
bequeathing by his will £"3,000 for that purpose.

Sherard was born in 1659 ^^^ died in 1728, so that this
specimen frond of kalothrix is probably at least 200 years
old.

139

I recently made a pilgrimage to Oxford for the purpose
of seeing this specimen and of gleaning any facts which
could be found to throw light upon the history of kalothrix.
Through the kindness of my friend, Mr. G. C. Druce, M.A.,
keeper of the herbarium, I was enabled to see the ferns in
the herbarium and to examine the INIourne Mountains frond
which is said to be " almost identical with kalothrix."
The first point to be cleared up was whether this old frond
was really kalothrix or only something more or less
resembling it. At first sight it appears different from a
cultivated plant of kalothrix, being proportionately narrower
in outline and a little less dissected. The texture and
marginal cutting are, however, exactly those of kalothrix
and, upon reflection, it is just what one would expect a
wild collected specimen of that form to be, and, indeed,
it strongly resembles what I remember the first plants of
kalothrix, sent out by Mr. Sim about 1875, ^^ have been :
i.e. it is smaller and less developed than modern cultivated
specimens. The frond is gummed down on paper so that
I was unable to determine whether any traces of fructifi-
cation remained upon it. It must be remembered, however,
that when fruit is found upon kalothrix it is generally in
the form of irregularly scattered, often isolated and naked,
sporangia, which upon ripening rapidly disappear, leaving
little or no trace behind. Upon the sheet appears a note
by John Ray : — " A most beautiful and distinct form which
ought to have a separate name." (This is not signed by
Ray but a sub-note states that it is Ray's handwriting).
Now since Ray died in 1704 or 1705 it is clear that this
frond must be more than 200 years old. Before leaving
the herbarium it was noted that it contains many other
abnormal forms besides kalothrix. Polypodium v. Cam-
bricum and Asplenium trichomanes incisum were noticed,
as also numerous forms of Scolopendrium vulgare including
crispum, multifidum, cristatum, ramo-cristatum, digitatum,
polyschides of Moore (named angustatum, by the w^ay, a
much better name than polyschides for this plant), margin-

140

atum and sagittatum. It is clear therefore that the study
of varieties is not so exclusively modern as some of us
have been apt to suppose.

Leaving the herbarium the next step was to see if possible
the plumosum from which Howlett raised his kalothrix.
Unfortunately no record could be found of this nor could
any information be had about Mr. Howlett himself.
There was, however, only one form of plumosum in the
gardens (labelled simply A. f.f. plumosum). This was
not the Horsfall plumosum, but was unmistakably the
plumosum which comes from the spores of kalothrix and
from which kalothrix can in turn be raised. It has some
resemblance to the Horsfall form, but is a dwarfer plant,
thinner in texture, less acute in the ultimate segments, and
when exposed to the sun, as it was here, it burns to a
peaty brown which is very characteristic and unmistak-
able. If this be, as seems probable, Ihe plumosum from
which Howlett raised his kalothrix it is at least equally
probable that it was itself the offspring, immediate or
remote, of another kalothrix. And if so of what kalothrix ?
Sherard's plant is the only one known to have existed
previously. Everything, in fact, points to the Mourne
Mountains plant as the ancestor of the modern kalothrix.
It is clear, from the number of varieties in the herbarium,
that Sherard was a student and admirer of these things.
It is therefore extremely unlikely that, upon finding so
good a thing as kalothrix, he would leave it behind in the
Mourne Alountains and content himself with a dried frond.
If he were the man I take him to have been he would
transfer the whole plant alive to his vasculum and after-
wards cultivate it carefully in his garden.

The comment of Ray, quoted above, is indirect evidence
that kalothrix persisted as a living plant, for what would
be the use of giving a new name to a fern of which only
a dried frond was known to exist ? Suppose now the fern
to be growing in some snug sheltered place in Sherard's
garden. We have seen that he left money to the University

HI

of Oxford for the foundation of a botanical professorship,
and that he also bequeathed his herbarium to the same
seat of learning. What more natural than that his plants
should also find their way, at or before his death, to the
University Garden ? Once there kalothrix may have
scattered spores which gave rise to a plumosum and this
would be much more likely to survive than would kalothrix
itself. Or kalothrix may even have reverted wholly to
the plumose form since it frequently does so partially even
in modern times. This would agree with and explain the
vague tradition of an Irish plumosum..

There are, of course, many missing links in the chain of
evidence I have adduced and absolute proof of the descent
of kalothrix from Sherard's plant is wanting, but the
pedigree is probably as good as many in the Herald's
College, and in any case this hypothetical descent must be
considered to be more probable than the alternative theory
that a fairly large batch of kalothrix sprang suddenly from
a particular plant of the Horsfall or some other plumosum,
no other individual of which has ever been known to
produce it at all.

It is an interesting consideration that "perhaps the
most delicately beautiful of all ferns," is also one of the
oldest varieties whose origin can be traced, and it is an
honour to the Emerald Isle to have given it birth as is to
the Oxford Botanic Garden to have preserved it even in a
disguised form during a century and a half of obscurity.
Last, but not least, let us give honour to Sherard who
discovered it. He ought to be the patron saint of fern-
hunters.

NEW FERNS.

With the exception of the possibilities referred to in the
preceding article, " A Successful Sowing," there is little to
record since last issue. We have, however, received from
Mr. J. Francis, one of our members, several fronds of a

142

peculiarly pretty crisped Oak Fern which had appeared in
one of his sowings of that species. The fronds sent appear
to be thoroughbred, but we have some doubts as to their true
varietal character, since though no obvious disease or dis-
coloration appears which may cause the curling by a check
to normal development, there is associated with it a slight
discoloration of the midribs. The fronds are freely fertile,
and, with Mr. Francis's permission, a sowing has been
made to test its constancy. If it stands the test, a possi-
bility by no means precluded by the doubt felt, we should
at last have a very pretty variant of this hitherto constant
species. Some years back we recollect seeing some
similar fronds of P. cakaveum found in the Lake District,
and as nothing more has been heard of this, we fear that
that also might have been due to disease of a similar nature
to that suspected in this case.

From an outside source, Mr. W. A. Barber of Back-
barrow, some very fine fronds of scolopendrium were sent
for naming, accompanied by a frond of a Blechnum, which
appears to be an exact replica of our own B. s. concinmim,
as it is very narrow and even, the lobes being like small
scallop shells. This was found wild close to Backbarrow,
near Windermere, by Mr. W. Lancaster in July last, and
may therefore be legitimately reckoned as one of the best
finds of the season.

From Mr. F. N. Adkin we have received fronds of some
interesting seedling P. aculeatums^ in which the fronds are
narrow and crested, the peculiarity in each being that the
pinnae are ramose and almost fan-shaped, an indication we
think of cruciate blood, though they cannot be termed
cruciate. This feature is very thorough in each case.
We have suggested the name of P. aculeatum vamo-pinnatum
angustatum for the strain.

Mr. H. Stansfield, of Sale, reports the raising of a form
of A. f.f. excuvvens with inch long points, which he has
named " spinosum."

A cruciate P. aculeatum. So far no cruciate form of P.

143

aculeaUim has been found wild, but Mr. E. J. Lowe suc-
ceeded in infusing this character (in which the pinnae or
side divisions are in duplicate and set on at such angles as to
form crosses with the opposite pairs, whence the name)
into this species by a cross with a cruciate form of
P. angiilave known as Wakeleyanum, by which cross he
was the first to practically demonstrate the possibility of
hybridizing Ferns. The aculeatum parent, however, was
not the normal form but a congested variety known as
*' denstim,'' and the result in all the offspring has been
somewhat congested or sub-imbricate types of an easily
recognised character. We have, however, recently received
from our member Mrs. Thatcher, a frond of P. aculeatum
in her possession, which, while shewing the true normal
aculeatum character throughout is markedly cruciate plus
a well developed terminal crest. This plant she obtained-
as a seedling some twenty years ago from Dr. Fox, who
was associated with Col. A. M. Jones, in the development
of the wonderful Jones and Fox divisilobe plumosums of
angulare, and Dr. Stansfield is of opinion that it is there-
fore one of the original hybrid offspring in question which
has thrown off the densum character and while retaining
the lucent leathery foliage and habit of aculeatum proper,
owes its cruciate and crested character to Wakeleyanum
of the other species. Despite the age of the plant, it has
never produced an offset and is still a single crown. Spore
sowings so far have failed, but as it is fairly fertile, another
attempt is now being made, and if successful the progeny
may throw some light on its genesis. In any case it is an
extremely interesting plant.

From Mr. J. W. Tucker we have received fronds of a
very curious Scolopendrium, of which the fronds for two-
thirds of the normal length are normal but extra broad,
they then, however, suddenly contract to form a narrow
neck, whence springs a fanshaped thoroughly ramb-
marginate crest of many narrow segments. We have
named it S. v. ramo-cvistatum Tucker il.

144

LIST OF NEW MEMBERS.

Mr. W. L. Salusbury-White, Llanwern Lodge, Leicester.
„ Geo. S. Railton, Senior Council School, Tewkesbury.
,, Robt. M. Mulligan, Holyrood, Co. Devon.
,, E. J. Winslow, Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, Mass., U.S.A.
,, J. W. Tucker, Ferncroft, Woodah Road, St. Thomas, Exeter.
,, G. C. Lawson, Mayfield House, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
,, W. T. Morrison, 23, Gowrie Street, Bridgend, Perth.

"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.

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.

THE BOOK OF BRITISH FERNS.

This book constitutes an invaluable guide to the selection
of the best forms for high-class collections. It was compiled
by the Editor, with the assistance of a Committee of the
British Pteridological Society, all experts, and contains
descriptions of about 700 of the choicest forms, illustrated
profusely, and accompanied by chapters on Fern Culture,
Fern Hunting, and indeed all matters of interest in connec-
tion with the cult. It can be obtained from the Hon. Secre-
tary and Editor, Mr. Chas. T. Druery, 11, Shaa Road, Acton,
London, for 3s. gd., post free, and may be regarded as
absolutely indispensable to the real lover and grower of
British Ferns and their varieties.

N.B. — As the covers of the few remaining copies
in stock have become discoloured by damp, these
will be supplied for 2s. gd., post free, instead of
3s. gd., the published price. Early application is
advisable.

AMERICAN FERNS.

There are more than 300 Species of P>rnworts
in the United States and Canada, and an immense
number of varieties. A majority of British ferns
are among the number. Read what the Americans
have found out about them in

tTbe Jfern Bulletin,

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

Many new Species and Forms have been
described and illustrated in its pages.

Annual Subscription, 35. post free,

A Set of the 13 Volumes still in print will
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Sample Copy fcjr a Penny Stamp,
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Address— Wll LARD N. CLUTE 8c Co., Joliet, III., U.S.A.

^= 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.

* * *

stove, 6rcenl)ou$c. and otbcr Plants
. . .are also laraelP arown. . . .

¥ * *

C&talogaes of Ferns and other Planti can be had post free
upon application to—

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

VOL. 1. No. 7.

. . . Zbc . . .

JBritieb jfem
©asette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

rB>arcb, 1911.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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

POLYPODIUM VULGARE, AND VARIETIES.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE,

Vol. I.

MARCH, 1911.

No. 7.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (Polypodium vulgare)

Spring Treatment of Hardy Ferns

" My Fernery," by Mr. C. B. Green {continued)

Mysterious Ferns, by Charles T. Druery . .

An Aposporous Polystichum, by Dr. F. W. Stansfield

Variegated Hartstongues, by J. W. Tucker

Some Adventures of a Novice, by F. W. Thorrington

Our Wonderful Native Ferns, by Charles T. Druery

List of New Members .. .. .. .. .. Inside

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

page.

145
146

147
147
154
158
160
161
166
Cover

EDITORIAL NOTES.

Despite the fact that we have been passing through the
dull season for Fern culture, when little can be done to
Ferns save the all-essential watering necessary under glass,
but which is too often neglected, to their subsequent
impoverishment or even death, the Editor has been
favoured with some good contributions from members
which will, doubtless, be interesting to their fellow Fern
lovers, since there is always something to be learnt from
the particular experiences of intelligent observers when
carefully recorded. Mr. C. B. Green's interesting notes
are concluded, and in this connection we may add that it
is only necessary to see his plants to recognize his ability
to give good advice as a very successful grower. With
regard to a suggested Exchange Column, we would remind
the members that it only rests with them to send us a note
of their good material available for exchange, and their
requirements, which will be published in the following
issue for the benefit of their fellow Fern lovers.

146

As will be seen, new members are constantly coming in,
but we must, nevertheless, beg those who have already
joined to help us by inducing their Fern-loving friends to
join, and thus, by swelling the list of subscribers, enable
the Editor to increase the scope of the "Gazette" pic-
torially and otherwise. Specimen copies will be gladly
sent to possible subscribers, and the annual fee (5s.) for
membership and four quarterly issues of the " Gazette" is
certainly moderate enough to suit all pockets. All MSS.,
etc., concerning the " Gazette " should be addressed to the
Editor, II, Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.

Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

POLYPODIUM VULGARE.

Our frontispiece in this issue gives a very vivid idea of
the many beautiful and varied forms into which our common
Polypody (Polypodium vulgave) has proved itself capable of
sporting. The normal form is shown as No. i for com-
parison. All the specimens have been drawn either direct
from actual fronds or from Colonel Jones' nature prints,
and represent the following varieties : —
Fig. I. Polypodium vulgare normal.

2. „ ,, bifido-cristatum.

3. ,, ,, ramosum Hillman.

4. ,, ,, cristatum Scarborough.

5. ,, ,, cristatum (old form).

6. „ ,, grandiceps Parker (multi-

fido-cristatum).

7* >» »> J) x^ ox.

8. ,, ,, pulcherrimum.

9. u ,, cambricum. [mum).

10. ,, ,, cornubiense (elegantissi-

11. n >> parvissimum. [biense.

12. „ ,, bifido-cristatum X cornu-

13. II ,, omnilacerum (in proper

form).

147

On page 34, No. 2 of the " Gazette," these and other
varieties are described and cultural notes given for
guidance. C. T. D.

SPRING TREATMENT OF HARDY FERNS.

In this connection we would refer our readers to the
article so headed which appeared in the March issue of 19 10
(No. 3), since we have so much matter in hand for this issue
as to be unable to find space for what would necessarily be
a mere repetition or paraphrase. To members who have
subsequently joined and not acquired the back numbers,
we will willingly send a copy of that issue on receipt of a
postcard. C. T. D.

((

MY FERNERY" {continued).

By Mr. C. B. Green,

Continuing the Lady Ferns [Athyvinm Filix-fcemina),
there is also a pevcvistate seedling with gvandlceps
cresting, which I regard with some favour. Unfortunately
little is seen in the illustration* of these good things, while
many others are quite outside the range of the lens. A
neat and pretty pevcvistatiim found by Mr. Phillips ought
to be mentioned.

Kalothvix and K. foliosum were acquired from another
member of the B.P.S. — Mr. Wright — which fact serves
to illustrate the good fellowship existing between those
of the cult.

VictovicBS, of course, in various forms find a place here,
and are well worthy of the room they occupy. The writer
having treated of the Shield and Lady Ferns more or
less in extenso, one's thoughts may now be diverted to the
Male Ferns. As to the terms "male" and "female,"
or rather " lady," in this connection the novice is some-

-■' See Frontispiece last issue.

148

what prone to think that there is some sexual difference
between them. Experts know better, these terms being
merely descriptive of robustness in the one case, and
fragility in the other. The Lady Ferns, therefore, by
reason of their fragility, require shade and moisture, and
protection too in towns, whereas the Male Ferns — Lastreas
— on the other hand, will stand much more exposure and
even droughty conditions, therefore the Male Ferns are
poorly represented in my Fernery.

The Filix mas. section consists only of linearis, /lucttwsa,
and /. cvistata ; but the psendo mas. group makes a better
show. L.p. mas. cvistata of course is there — it is in every
fernery worth the name, for no fernist could be without the
" King " of the group, with its symmetrical fronds, its
beautiful tassels, and its tree-like habit.

Cvistata angtistata, as its name implies, has narrow fronds,
is of smaller proportions, but otherwise resembles its parent
pretty closely. C. fimhviata is dwarfer still, plumose in
character and altogether more refined in appearance.
Polydactyla Wills is another strong-growing fern one could
scarcely ignore *, it occupies a corner of the fernery, much
to that corner's advantage — I had almost said advertise-
ment— for it has eight sturdy fronds which average
over 4 ft. 6 in. long. These are broad in proportion,
splendidly " fingered," and at this season seem to produce
spores so prodigally that I really believe there is enough
to fill a lilliputian wheelbarrow ! It is quite a regal fern
compared with Dadd's variety, which, by-the-bye, I think
ought to be placed in the Filix mas. section, for its texture
is much thinner and its fronds only partially evergreen.

Both these plants were tiny specimens in. 1897, and were
transferred from Mr. Druery's fernery to mine. When
I pause to reflect on these things I am conscious, not only
of the flight of time, but of indebtedness to ferny friends.

Cvispa and C. cvistata ought to be mentioned as pot
plants, they are almost too insignificant for the border, for
there surely their dwarf and compressed crispy forms would

149

be entirely overlooked. These little gems, however, are
fitting companions, pteridologically as well as sentimen-
tally, for their pretty little "sisters" Athyvium f. f.
congestion minus and C. ni. cvistatiun.

Of the Broad Buckler Ferns (Lastrea dilatata) I can
only mention gvandiccps, lepidota, and L. cvistata, and say
that they are all worth growing. L. oemida, from Cornwall,
and L. (e. cvistata, from Devon, are rather " miffy " with me,
while L. uiontana and its varieties are conspicuous by their
absence.

In the opposite corner to Wills' polydactylous Alale
Fern I made a station for Osmitnda vegalis of peat and
loam in about equal proportions, and to keep this
vigorous-growing fern from trespassing on its neighbours,
I thrust some stout slates two feet down into the border.
Being also just behind the door, this, and its variety
cvistata, are always under observation, and therefore do
not get neglected in the matter of that all-important fluid,
without which no Osmunda could long survive. That the
conditions conform to its natural requirements is evidenced
by its vigour, for the fronds are not only numerous, but
attain the height of seven feet, and many of them are now
(October) still surmounted with their brown flower-like
scapes. I got this from Studland Bay, in Dorset, 1895,
where I have recently been, and am glad to report its
continued existence in that district. Its beautiful variety
cvistata, which occupies a front place, is comparatively
dwarf in habit, and affords a striking contrast to its
towering parent, a contrast which the veriest tyro in
fern matters can understand and appreciate. Still looking
up, one's eye is sure to be attracted to the Polypodies,
or, as they call them in Cornwall, " Ladder Ferns."
These seem particularly suited to the hanging basket,
and at least four out of six of these wire receptacles I
employ for Polypodies. The hanging basket, however, is
peculiarly liable to suffer from drought, as when watered
ninety-nine per cent, is apt to run through. This can be

B

I50

obviated by soaking basket and plants in a bath of water,
say, once a week. A pulley is in requisition for this
purpose — thus the required immersion can be nicely
regulated. I may here point out that a well-furnished
basket of ferns is an artistic addition to any fernery.
Unfortunately the illustration (Frontispiece, December
"British Fern Gazette") only shows the bases of three
such adornments. As to the contents, they comprise
most of the elite, and a fair form or two may be considered.
Polypodmm viilgave camhvicum is a good, if not rare thing,
and a basket or a pan full of its creeping rhizomes, with
their accompanying *' plumes," forms an ornamental
foliage plant of no common kind. Another variety, but
of Cornish origin, viz. cornuhiense, or elegantissinmm, is
worthy of a place, and although it is somewhat erratic
in frond division, it is an interesting example of the
mutability of species.

Prestonii is an improved and denser form of camhricum,
and gvandiceps (Parker) is a curious conglomeration of
crispy crests. There are several bifid varieties, and one
acntum form, which I keep as a souvenir from the Great
Orme's Head, 1894, ^^"^ Y^^ another, which Dr. Stansfield
has described as "curious and interesting," a form I found
near Dolgelly in 1901. This form, which is somewhat
inconstant, has short rounded lobes, after the fashion of a
Cetevach, and when in character is an improvement on
Mr. Phillips' votundatuni. Then we have two other species
of this genus — Polypodinm Phegopteris (Beech Fern) and
P. Dvyopteris (Oak Fern). Notwithstanding their fanciful
names, botanic and vulgar — the one, in fact, is a
translation of the other — they are useful little ferns,
and revel in shade and moisture. A slight variety of
the former, with tiny furcate tips, was, I think, found by
Mr. Whitwell. Anyhow it has found a houie on my
rockery, and always comes true in the matter of these
small dilations. Otherwise it is of no value as a variety,
but in association with the Oak Fern — in colour the

^5^

"sweetest" of all green things — it affords a pleasing
contrast. The latter is not only colour-perfect, but
exquisite in form also.

We now come to the Hart's-tongue, undoubtedly the
most variable of all Ferns, but the configuration of many
of our varieties is no more like the tongue of a hart, or any
other animal, than a cow is like a cucumber ! And this
has all been brought about by variation. What a contrast,
then, between, Say, Kelway's tiny densum and the magnificent
frills of Wills' Crispmn graude ! And what a host of inter-
mediates !

Starting at the very bottom in point of size, this little
densiun is a mass of mossy growths, each tiny division
dividing again and again until finality is reached, and a
plant is produced which rather resembles a moss than a
Fern. This little gem requires rather close treatment, other-
wise it would not develop those wonderful marginal bulbs
by which it can be easily propagated. Another remarkable
variety is Barnes' diinorphum^ which bears two kinds of
fronds, and thus varies from nearly normal to linear fronds,
each with flat spreading handsome crests. I confess I was
sceptical when I first saw this Fern in Mr. Druery's col-
lection, but now I have " nae doots " about it, as I have
experimented with it and proved its dimorphic character.
Cvistatuui proper, in many forms, is a good variety, while
c. Bavvaud carries the cresting much further, and C vivi-
pavuiii (O'Kelly) is proliferous as well. Then we have in the
sagittate forms some very good things in conjunction with
other characters, and culminating, perhaps, in gvandiceps.
The capitate iorms — oi which graiidiceps is one — are all worth
growing, and in this connection I must mention one I am
pleased to call capitatum Green, which is generally regarded
with some favour. There are many others — lacevatuiHy
spivale, miivicatnm, ramosuni, ramosissimum Green — of course
every specialist has his fancies — pevafevens, tvi-pevaf evens,
and so on almost ad infinitwn. But I think it will be con-
ceded that the most lovely departure from the normal form

152

is the cvispum section. And yet there is a good deal of
*' normality " — at least in outline — about them. The tongue-
shape is more or less retained, but the flutings, frills, or
convolutions of their margins render them very distinct.

Referring once more to the illustration of " My Fernery,"
it will not be difficult to pick out one of the best of this
section — cvispum gvande Wills, already touched upon. Here
we have form, size, symmetry, and beauty, let alone
distinctness. Of other cvispnms, too, there are many. Cvispum
Grey is the type ; and thence upward to Robinson, Stabler,
Stansfield, Drummondae, etc., etc. These again take on
crests, imbrications, fimbriations and even aposporous
growths, so there is no end to choose from and cultivate.
They are especially adapted for frame culture or small
houses, and therefore there is no reason why we should not
become a Bolton, a Cropper, or a Stansfield. On the
shelves are a few Spleenworts, the best of which is Asplenium
Trichomanes vav. incisum, a lovely plumose form of the species,
with fronds deeply cut and quite barren. This plant has
occupied the same 4^-inch pot for several years, the com-
post being loam, peat and old mortar. That it is doing
satisfactorily is, I think, evidenced by the number and
condition of the fronds — between fifty and sixty. These
particulars are not given in any ostentatious spirit in this
case — or in the others quoted — but merely as a measure of
the plant's capacity under certain conditions. As a matter
of fact, in some other cases I have to admit failure, for
the Spleenworts are not to be lightly undertaken in the
matter of culture. Asp. t. cvistatum and cvenatwn are not far
removed from the normal form. Their names imply their
characteristics.

In igo2, I found both at Lynton, and photographed the
latter in situ. This was not a particularly easy task, as a
good deal of climbing had to be compassed, and some nasty
projections negotiated. However, it is a good thing it was
accomplished, as that is the only record I now possess.
Therefore, in conjunction with the above passage, this is a

15

-I

serious set-off against a chronicle of success. Doubtless my
little plants pined for their native air, at any rate they
refused to respond to my blandishments. A very good
reproduction of this little fern may be found on page 89 of
"The Book of British Ferns."

Avery closely allied Fern — the Rusty-back Fern, or scaly
Spleenwort — (Asplenium Cetevach or C.officinavum) does very
well next door, so to speak, to the beautiful incisum.

I have two specimens in similar sized pots, one from
Monmouthshire and one from Middlesex, and but for the
labels I could not distinguish between them. That this
fern has a Middlesex habitat is, I hope and believe, known
to very few. These plants are potted in similar compost
to the phunose spleenwovt, with a liberal addition of limestone
chips.

Of all the Ferns T am acquainted with, my fancy goes to
the true British Maidenhair [Adiantum CapiUus-venevis) and
its varieties. I am particularly partial to one known as
imhvicatiim, a name sufficiently indicative of its overlapping
pinnae, and more or less plumose character.

It appeals to me further, because I have two or three
interesting plants which were raised from spores ten years
ago.

Oh ! how the time flies ! The fact that this Fern some-
times produces sovi was emphasized in i8gg, when a
correspondence was being conducted in Tlie Gavdenevs'
Chronicle, concerning its non-fertility. Mr. Druery main-
tained the contrary — and Mr. Druery was right. The
results on my rockery are proofs positive of its fertile
character, and although the summer growths are some-
times marred by winter's chills it still persists. As a
matter of fact, all the Maidenhairs require a warmer
temperature than a cold house affords.

This Fern is particularly responsive to a little heat —
hence, I have come across it once or twice in good con-
dition in warm greenhouses.

I have also in association with this a slight variety from

154

the "blue lias limestone cliffs" of Southerndown, in
Glamorganshire, kindly sent me by Mr. Gething, of
Abergavenny, in igo2, with a statement that this habitat
has been his own for sixty years. But this Fern does not
grow so vigorously as my imhvicatiim. Since then I have
visited St. Ives, in Cornwall, with the result that my
rockery is further adorned with the species from the sea-
cliffs in that neighbourhood.

Again, I possess on the rockery a sturdy self-sown form of
this beautiful Fern, which I think is rather remarkable, the
conditions being understood.

The Killarney Fern (Tvichomanes vadicans) and the two
Filmy Ferns {HymenophyUum tunhvidgense and H. nnilaievale)^
all from Scotland, occupy a case to themselves, and can
only be mentioned here to complete the series.

I had intended to touch upon cultural matters — ventila-
tion, watering, and manipulation generally — but, no; I
have said enough ; and will conclude with a hope that if
self has been rather prominent in this article, it will be
pardoned as inevitable in a description of " Isly Fernery."

MYSTERIOUS FERNS.

Probably there is no thorough-going Fern cultivator of
long standing, but has had curious experiences amongst his
sowings of fern spores, quite apart from those "strays"
which are almost inevitable when spores are collected
late in the season, at a time when other spores have
been shed broadcast and become as a consequence
mixed with those which he takes direct from the
frond. In our own experience several occurrences
have been so inexplicable, so impossible to attribute to
strays of this kind, as to merit record. Of these the most
marked instance occurred comparatively recently. In a
hedge near Seaton Junction, Devon, we found in 1908 a
very remarkable Polysticlnim annulare, bearing only two large
fronds, each of which was of abnormally tough texture
and with a shining surface, while the fronds were thric

155

divided instead of being merely bipinnate. All the pinnae halt-
way up the frond were truncate, ending squarely, with the
midrib projecting as a small translucent thorn, and the
top of the one complete frond (that of the other was broken
of!) was truncate also with a similar projection. On
digging this plant up, we found to our intense surprise
that the remains of five or six fronds of the previous
season were still attached, and sufficiently intact to show
that they were absolutely of the common normal type
without a trace of the three abnormal characters, lucent
surface, tripinnation, and truncation, visible. The fronds
bore spores profusely, and despite the obvious inconstancy
we determined to sow some, in the hope that at any rate
a few plants of the new and very uncommon form would
result. We therefore severed a pinna (a truncate one for
preference), laid it on a glass slip, and shortly after,
examining it with the microscope, discovered a good batch
of shed spores. These we sowed in the usual way, first
sterilizing the soil and also, as is our custom, sowed them
in one of our dwelling rooms and then covered them close
with glass. Subsequently a minute patch of an incised
Asp. trichomanes from Mr. Moly's collection, was sown with
them.

The first results of the sowing, when the plants declared
themselves, was a dense forest of Lastvea filix mas, many
of which showed signs of cresting, and none of which
struck us as normal. These grew so robustly as to give
no chance to the Polystichum we hoped for, and hence as
they presented no promising features, they were all cut out
with a pair of sharp scissors. It was then seen that beneath
them were a few plants of Asp. t. of the incised type of
Mr. Moley's plants, and only here and there a Polystichum
seedling, while one or two crested Lady Ferns and as many
cvispate lastveas had obviously, despite our precautions,
resulted from strays. These Polystichums, only some half-
dozen in all, instead of developing the truncate and compo-
site character of the presumed parental frond, all produced

■56

branched and crested ones, such as no fern in our collection
resembled, and of so marked a character that it is almost
impossible to impute them to the Seaton Junction find,
which, if innocent of these, practically produced no progeny
at all. Now, two peculiar points about this case are (i)
that the Polystichums rarely, we might almost say never,
give rise to stray plants among our sowings ; and (2) that
the few which did appear behaved alike, with one excep-
tion, apparently normal. The possibility has been advanced
that they arose from stray Polystichiim spores deposited at
Mr. Moly's on the frond of Asp. tvichonianes in question, but
so small a portion of that frond was used that such an
explanation is hardly feasible, and moreover Mr. Cranfield,
who sowed from it, also obtained no such results. The
origin, therefore, of these ramo-cvistate Polystichums is an
entire mystery, as was also that of the first batch of Lastreas,
as being more or less abnormal, they can hardly be imputed
to stray spores from adjacent plants in the hedgerow
concerned.

We have sown spores now some hundreds of times, but
never had such a puzzling multifold result before. Un-
expected things, however, have occurred on several other
occasions. In 1900 we received a plant of P. vnlgave
servatum from Kew, with deep saw-toothed pinnae, one of
which we noticed was irregularly and curiously branched.
As this bore spores we sowed it, without result. In 1905,
however, we noticed a small seedling P. vulqave in a pot of
other spores sown the year previous, and on its primary
fronds we discovered prothalli, i.e. apospory, for the first
time in that species. We consequently carefully isolated it,
brought it on, and lo ! it proved to be an exact replica of
the Kew servatum sown so many years previously in another
pot entirely.

Another case. In i838 we sowed together for a cross
A, f.i. Kalothvix and A. f.f. Cousensii [Percvistatum), with the
result that we obtained the latter form with much elongated
pinnules, which we attributed to Kalothrix influence, but

157

there were no signs of a crested Kalothrix proper. About
fifteen years afterwards we made a sowing oi A. f. f. Plumo-
sjiin superhim, which practically failed, producing only a few
strays of no value. These remained in the thimble pot in
which the spores were sown, until one day we were about
to throw the contents away, when on the very edge of the
pot a curious looking patch of apparent moss was noted,
and examining this with a lens, we found it consisted of a
bunch of tiny ferns delicately cut and shining like Kalotlirix.
Removing it and bringing it on it revealed itself as no less
than seven plants of a true Kalothrix cristatum, all springing
from one pyothallns, and six of these, after a surgical opera-
tion, survived. It will be noted that the cross sowing was
made about fifteen years previously, the results being now
large established plants, and that this " sport " (? cross)
arose in a sowing of a different type entirely, and was
raised in a Wardian case after the usual precautions had
been taken to ensure a pure sowing, though, as we have
seen, these were vain. One assumption is feasible here,
and that is that one plant of the originally attempted cross,
which we have described, was really a success as regards
the blending of bloods, and that one of its spores yielded
as a stray this obvious blend on the desired lines, to use
a colloquialism, a most decided " fluke," as an intentional
sowing from the possible parent only yielded the parental
form. Mr. Whitwell's batch of dwarf-crested L.propinqua
may be quoted among similar mysteries, since a number of
these, all alike, turned up in a sowing of Blechniim spicant,
and there is no form oiL. pvopinqtia to which their parentage
can reasonably be imputed.

Among apparent mysteries which, however, found a
solution, may be mentioned the case of Lastvea cemula
cristata, found many years ago as a wild plant in Devon by
Mr. Gill. The original plant was lost, but, happily, a
single seedling came up in the pot. Colonel A. M. Jones
acquired a fertile frond of this, part of which he sent to
us. Both of us sowed at once. Colonel Jones obtained

158

an abundant crop of exotic Ptevis sevvidaia and others, and
we obtained a little forest of Lady Ferns. These we
eliminated as they declared themselves by means of a
fine-pointed pair of scissors. A second crop followed, and
were treated the same. By this time, however, it was
evident that the Lady Ferns were exhausted, for the pan
then yielded about 300 true seedlings of L. amula cvistata,
most of which went to Colonel Jones, as, assuming his
sowing to be a failure, the Ptevis family was not removed,
and the L. oemida were consequently crowded out. Now,
the fertile frond used was taken from a fernery full of
British Ferns, and hence, undoubtedly, was laden also with
stray spores, which produced the two crops of Lady Ferns,
owing to their more rapid germination and development,
before the oeimdas had a chance of asserting themselves.
Colonel Jones placed his sowing in a warm greenhouse,
and here, it is obvious, the adjacent Ptevis plants profited
by the opportunity, and, owing to the warmth, gained the
upper hand over both the Britishers. This explanation
involves a warning against sowing spores together of
species of different speeds of development and robuster
growth, since the weaker is bound thereby to go to the
wall when the earlier prothalli monopolize the space and
starve out the later ones, a point to remember in sowing,
as some fern spores yield prothalli very rapidly and others
very slowly, C. T. D.

AN APOSPOROUS POLYSTICHUM.

I herewith send you photographs (back and front view)
of a promising seedling, P. angulave, raised by my brother,
Mr. H. Stansfield, of Sale, and kindly sent by him to me.
It is of pulchevvimuni type, and bears upon the tips of the
ultimate segments small prothalli, which are visible in the
photograph. Its parentage is obscure, as it appeared
singly in a batch of mixed seedlings. A seedling of

159

similar character was raised at the same place some years
ago, but it eventually dropped the pulclievvinmm character,
as so many wild finds have done before it, and reverted to
the normal type, or nearly so. The " new baby " at present

has some resemblance to a young plant of the splendid, but
now, I fear, lost, pulchevvimnm of Wills. I am looking
forward to the new fronds with mingled feelings of hope
and anxiety. F. W. Stansfield.

i6o

VARIEGATED HARTSTONGUES.

Your article in the recent number of the " British Fern
Gazette " prompts me to add my experience on this subject.
Five or six years ago I secured a division of a variegated
cvispum — a wild find, originally, in North Devon — that had
to my knowledge been constant for some three or four
years. The cultural conditions and habitat of the fern in
question previous to my securing a division were all that
could be desired — the soil and environment ideal for fern
life.

At the present time the plant in question is in a border
under a north wall, one of many other well-grown
Scolopendviums characteristic of the best in that section.
Previous to this year the fronds have all been of the type
of the narrow one accompanying this note, in some seasons
not quite so restricted in growth, perhaps, but always of
the same pale yellow, or almost white, colour. This year,
however, a few only of the fronds have shown that marked
characteristic, whilst others have assumed the almost
normal growth of an ordinary frilled Hartstongue, as per
frond submitted. Close examination, however, reveals
distinct traces of variegation permeating the green. The
more vigorous growth and almost normal green of the
later fronds can be accounted for, I think , by the fact that
for the past two months the ferns at the extreme base of
the border have been heavily shaded, and the light partially
obscured, by a row of chrysanthemums in 12-inch pots.
The narrow variegated fronds are those which were exposed
in the early summer to the full light and the little morning
sun that reached them ; the wider fronds, those matured
with an entire absence of sun and the obviously more moist
conditions.

I am sending you at the same time two characteristic
fronds of another Scolopendvinm, located in the same border,
bearing very pronounced traces of variegation. The fronds
sent are typical of the entire plant, and each year show no
reversion to the normal type. This fern, though not one

i6i

of the most robust-growing kinds, is apparently in perfect
health. That variegation can be temporarily brought
about by unnatural conditions is obvious, but the plant,
with a more liberal treatment and normal conditions, soon
grows out of it.

The cause of variegation in plants is a very debatable
and obscure subject, but that constant forms of variegated
Hartstongues exist is, I think, beyond doubt, although,
perhaps, good forms are rare. To perpetuate and still
more markedly develop this trait may be possible, and
opens up an interesting vista to the fern enthusiast ; but
there is another side to the picture. A short time ago I
was induced to submit a selection of choice fronds to a
meeting of members of a College Field Club, and the
Principal, in introducing them to the notice of the members
present, characterized them as freaks of fern life. I need
scarcely say it was anything but pleasing to find the
beautiful specimens shown dubbed as freaks. To me they
were types much more highly evolved than their forbears ;
but I am afraid that variegated ferns might well merit that
term, because, apart from being a distinct break from the
normal, variegation is not a very desirable characteristic,
and would give the uninitiated the impression that the
plant was in the first stages of dissolution. Nevertheless,
it is a very interesting subject, and I may mention that the
two ferns in question have been singled out and evoked
comment from friends examining my collection.

J. \V. Tucker.

Ferncroft,

St. Thomas, Exeter.

SOME ADVENTURES OF A NOVICE.

By Francis W. Thorrington.

Occasionally I wonder whether any other member of the
British Pteridological Society happens to have encountered
quite the same set of difficulties as mine. Imagine a

l62

garden plot of about half an acre (50 by 500 feet), open,
wind-swept, and sunny, the only fencing being posts and
wire. The small " lean-to " was carefully placed by the
builder against the west wall of the house, hence it is shady
and cold each morning, sunny and hot each afternoon
throughout the summer. However, a good-sized tree of
Pviinus Pissardi that I planted to give shade to the green-
house is now beginning to be useful to the ferns inside.

Out-of-doors the first consideration has been, and still is,
a determined fight against such foes as couch-grass,
creeping-thistle, convolvulus, coltsfoot, sow-thistles, etc.,
to say nothing of a multitude of annual weeds. Quite
frequently I have cleaned banks and borders, planted them
with young ferns, and found all my care defied by a strong
encroachment of these weed marauders from over my
frontier. Moreover, besides weeds, I have been indebted
to neighbourly attentions from cats, dogs, poultry, pigeons,
and even pigs. At the end of my plot some oak trees
throw their leaves, and, deeming the resultant leaf-mould
good, I planted banks of ferns in their shade. Imagine
my joy when, returning home from a visit last Christmas,
I discovered most of my ferns uprooted, and learned that
two pigs had been diligently grubbing for acorns during
my absence.

I am gradually overcoming the weeds by cutting out
deep paths. This results in what is sometimes known as
a " Devonshire lane " — a bank of soil each side of the
sunken path, on which ferns, etc. may be established.

The battle against drought is ever with me, and, in
addition to the more usual methods, such as placing stones
around each plant, I have tried a plan which T venture to
recommend to our members' attention, in case they have
not already used it. There is a dwarf-growung " carpeting "
plant, known as the Corsican Nettle Moss {Hclxine SoleivoUi
[Corsica]). This keeps a bright green mat around the
crowns of the ferns, and greatly conserves the moisture
available. The first severe frosts blacken the foliage of

i63

this plant, which is not perfectly hardy, but around and
under the fern fronds, and nestling in the lee of every
stone, it maintains its verdurous appearance, and with the
first warm spring days commences rapidly to spread again
from these shelters. It thus appears to have somewhat
of frost-protecting value for the fern crowns, besides its
summer function as a moisture retainer.

At first sight it might seem that the Helxine would
harbour slugs, yet I have seldom seen many on it, and
those were easily caught on its close carpeting leafage.
Altogether, I fancy the plant is well worth experimenting
with, and I hope I shall induce a few of the Society's
membership to criticise my results.

The fern cult first captured me when I w^as living at
Rochester, Kent, about 1898. I gradually acquired a
selection of hardy and semi - hardy exotics, such as
Adianttim pedattim, Woodmardia radicans, Onoclea sensihilis,
Cyvtomium falcatum, Asp. hnlbiferum, and a number of
Pteviscs. Several of these plants I still possess and
cherish.

I don't know whether it is treasonable on the part of a
member of the British Pteridological Society, but I still
feel that Adiantum pedattim, at its best, is "a gem of the
first water." The multitude of plantlets on Asp. hiilhifevwn
was W'hat first drew me towards British ferns, as it caused
me to take great delight in a proliferous Shield Fern I came
across. It was a very ordinary "proliferum," not by any
means equal to aciitilohum prol. elegaus. I raised numbers
of these bulbils, and hold strongly the opinion that as a
means of attracting fern lovers, and inducing them to " try
their hands " at easy methods of propagation, the most
freely proliferous of our soft Shield Ferns are hard to beat.
It is not every day that one comes across the enthusiast —
the person who eventually boasts a collection of choice
things, and joys in our membership. Such people are
rare, and for every one of them I believe there can be
found scores of ordinary " fern lovers," of the type that

r64

patronize the hawkers, who are doing their best (or worst)
to denude our ferny counties of their treasure. Let such
people once realize how easily they can secure a stock of
these fine evergreen ferns by such simple bulbil growth,
and we have almost succeeded in shutting their doors in
the face of " the man with sack and trowel."

In my own evolution, the next stage was an attempt to
grow a piece of Bracken rhizome, taken up one April and
planted on a shelf in my greenhouse. This grew rapidly,
and actually pushed behind the shelf, crawled down the
wall until it bridged the three-feet gap, reached the ground,
and burrowed into it. Evidently the shallow soil of the
shelf provoked it to this great effort. Since then I have
had a great respect for the vigour and resource of our
commonest fern.

A relative then sent me a tiny frond of a fern, and asked
me to name it. It had been grown in a living-room, and
much ill-treated, so, in those early days of my fern love, it
is scarcely surprising that I was baffled. Later on, how-
ever, I was given a division of the plant. In the greenhouse
it speedily developed evergreen fronds, at least twelve times
the size of the piece I was desired to name. When the
happy day arrived, on which my wife " spotted " on a
second-hand bookstall a copy of Mr. t)ruery's first book,
" Choice British Ferns,'' I discovered from the plates that
I possessed a specimen of the Welsh Polypody.

Next came my attendance at one of ^Ir. Druery's
lectures to the National Amateur Gardeners' Association.
This was a revelation. I made the acquaintance there of
both Mr. Druery and ^Nlr. Green, and left the Hall an
absolute convert to the British Fern cult. Much of my
subsequent enjoyment has been due to several kindly
gifts of plants, bulbils, and spores from Messrs. Druery,
Green, and Whitwell.

My only wild "discovery," if it can be so styled, was a
bracken seedling that appeared on some peat from an
Essex common. It proved to be a nicely crested form.

i65

and, I fancy, must have arisen from a merely " bifid "
parent, as repeated subsequent search all over the common
has disclosed nothing but the veriest " tips " as an approach
to cristation. This year I have raised a batch of youngsters
from my seedling. Amongst them I have, I believe, a
percentage of grandiceps, though whether they are big
enough to survive the winter remains to be seen. This
autumn I also collected spores on the same common from
fronds which showed most approach to a " crispa "
character, and I now have a pan of prothallus from these,
though I fear the variation was too slight to yield me any
results of interest.

Although my total of varieties would doubtless appear
very small to most of our members, yet I find I am regarded
by gardening acquaintances as quite a fern specialist.
Doubtless, indeed, it is a surprise to the uninitiated to see
even my few plants. I cannot boast the plumose
Polysti chums, etc., the " sissimum " types as Mr. Green
calls them, yet I have such gems as A. f. fcemina Phtmosum
Dvuevyi ; several fine crested Athyriums, and one
narrow, almost Frizellae one; the "King of Male
Ferns"; and also L. p. mas cvispa and L.
dilatata gvandiceps. Then come those fine divisilohe Poly-
stlchums, longiplnnatum, stipulatitm [CavhoneU), pevfectnm
(Jones), Holeance, and several fine " proliferums " ; Poly-
podium V. Cambricum, P. v. grandiceps (Fox), pulchevvimuin,
and elegantissimo-mnltifidum ; a number of beautiful Harts-
tongues, and last, but not least, that yearly delight
Osmunda vegalis cvistata.

The majority of these (the last-mentioned is a notable
exception, though) do far better with me when planted in
the open than under glass, as, owing to west facing of my
greenhouse, they get such a scorching on summer after-
noons. However, no discouragement can damp one's
enthusiasm in face of so much exquisite frondage. I am
well content to go on cultivating, in the hope that one day
I shall create the ' fern fever ' in someone else locally.

i66

My " adventures in Fernland " have been pregnant with
interest to me. I trust this halting narration of them has
not been of too ' boring ' a nature. A hearty farewell
greeting to all the fellow-adventurers in our delightful
branch of gardening.

OUR WONDERFUL NATIVE FERNS.

Considering the fact that in many parts of the world
ferns grow on a much more luxuriant scale than they do
in the British Isles, the conditions of warmth and humidity
being such as to encourage greater development, and
bearing in mind that we can only claim about forty-four
species belonging to seventeen genera, while some tropical
and sub-tropical islands reckon these by the hundred and
by the score, respectively, it may be asked in what special
respect can the term "wonderful" be applied? The
answer to this question may be given succinctly enough,
viz. that although we have only forty-four species these
species have "sported" to such an extraordinary extent
that at least two thousand distinct varieties can be definitely
described and catalogued, while five thousand would
probably not be an over-estimate of forms which an expert
could determine as distinct. A very large number of these
'' sports" are far and away more beautiful than the normal
forms whence they have, in some inscrutable fashion,
originated, so that while for our normal specific forms,
pretty as many of them are, it cannot be claimed that they
equal in beauty some of the finest exotics, their varietal
types in many instances can hold their own with the best
of those, while in diversity of type, within specific or even
generic limits, the exotic ferns are utterly eclipsed by
several of the British species.

It is, indeed, one of the peculiar wonders in this con-
nection that sports have been found wherein the specific
type has been modified on lines of which not even a trace
has so far been found in exotics, while it may safely be

i67

stated that so far as sports found under wild conditions
are numerically concerned, our forty odd species have
yielded more than all the hundreds of genera and
thousands of species of the rest of the world combined.
Our term of " wonderful " is therefore seen to be well
justified ; since, however, it is difficult to believe that there
is anything in the climate, soil, or general plant environ-
ments of Great Britain which does not obtain elsewhere
in the world, and to which may be attributed an extra
sportive tendency in the ferns, and since, moreover, the
writer in his travels has been successful by assiduous
search in finding fern varieties elsewhere, it is to be
assumed that the peculiar richness of our British varietal
collections is mainly, if not entirely, due to the fact that
the search for such varieties has formed an uniquely
British hobby for more than half a century. A few marked
forms having been then discovered in our fern districts
of Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall, and elsewhere,
these attracted attention and started a cult which was
eventually earnestly pursued by an increasing coterie of
fern fanciers, with the result that their research was
rewarded every now and again by the acquisition of new
and unexpected types.

The " cult " was still further encouraged when experi-
ence demonstrated that these "sports " not only as a rule
reproduced themselves truly and constantly from their
spores, but every now and again would yield typical
progeny on still more marked lines, so that selective
culture led to great improvement.

It may give some idea of the success attending per-
severing search for these new forms among the common
types of the hedge, ditch, old wall, stone dyke or shady
glen, when it is recorded that one of the original
pioneers, Mr. J. Moly, in Dorset, found 600 distinct
varieties within his own district, while his near neighbour,
Dr. Wills, also found a large number, no two of which,
it may be remarked, were identical in form. Eventually

i68

fern hunters were to be found in every part of the country
where ferns prevailed, so that by their joint labours
England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and even the Channel
Islands, one and all, contributed their quotas to the ever-
increasing list.

We are, therefore, inclined to attribute to this peculiar
hobby, rather than to anything else, the existence in this
country of such magnificent collections as we find in Kew
Gardens, and here and there in private hands. The search
for abnormal forms of this kind involves a peculiar con-
centration of attention which, in our opinion, stands in the
way of success of the all-round botanist. Nothing less
than the examination of every individual fern within sight
will suffice. The " sport " may only betray itself by the
tip of a frond amid a jungle of common ones, and as a rule
it is a solitary example, since they rarely multiply to any
extent in situ ; or it may be but a small seedling, or a dwarf
sport, in all or any of which cases it is very liable to be
overlooked and the opportunity missed. The botanist
proper cannot refrain from noting other plants as he pro-
ceeds, and that is fatal to fern-hunting success. It is due
to this reason we imagine that comparatively so few wild
exotic sports are recorded ; furthermore, the conditions of
fern hunting in tropical and sub-tropical countries are
different, the very abundance of the species and the luxuri-
ance of growth handicaps the varietal fern hunter, who
otherwise we feel convinced, could endow our Exotic Fern
collections with beautifully tasselled or plumose Tree Ferns,
etc., on the lines of some of our British gems of that ilk.

Charles T. Dkuery.
[To he continued.)

LIST OF NEW MEMBERS.

Mr. R. M. MilUgan, Holywood, co. Down (correction of last issue).

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

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

Lady Dorrington, Lypiatt Park, Stroud, Glos.

Sir Alfred Apperley, Rodborough Court, Stroud, Glos.

Mr. Philip Dowell, Port Richmond, New York, U.S. America.

Mrs. Stanley Powell, "Dorcas," Stapleford, Crawley. Sussex.

NEW FERNS.

From Sir Archibald Buchan Hepburn we have received fronds and
sketches of a very fine form of Hartstongue found in Wigtonshire,
Scotland, on an old wall in association with numerous normals, and
under conditions which stamp it as an absolutely wild sport. It
bears broad foliose ramo-cristate fronds on very bold Hues, and apart
from its handsome character is, we believe, unique as a wild variety
of that species recorded in Scotland, where it is rare, only occurring,
we believe, at a few places on the west coast. It would interest us
to hear of others. We have ourselves found it near Wigton, on the
Cree estuary.

Polypodium vulgan (? var.). From Mr. W. Richter Roberts we have
received a frond from a plant found by him last year on a dry hedge
bank near Barnstaple. As a small plant it appears to be a replica
of P. V. cornubiense, but as it requires trial, we merely mention it now,
and will recur to it later on.

"Bpitish Ferns and Their Varieties," by Charles T. Dmery,

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 i?i exUnso. In cloth 7s. 6d. net ; in half
morocco, gilt, los. 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 Colonel Jones' nature prints, accompanied by his
contemporary notes, which the author has been kindly permitted by
Miss Jones to use as a supplement, 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
he 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
II, Shaa Road, Acton, W.

=^ 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, 6r(tnDou$e. and otDcr Plants
. . .arc also laraeiy arown. . . .

^ ^ ^

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

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE KURSERIES, UPPER EDMONTON.

Jl

VOL. I, No. 8.

. . . ^be . . .

JBritieb jfem
(5a3ette*

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

June, I9n.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C, T. Dntery, ii, Shaa Rd., Acton, London, W.)
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

POLYPODIUM V. OMNILACERUM.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

JUNE, igii.

No. 8.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Editorial Notes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 169

Our Frontispiece (P. vulgare omnilacerum) .. .. .. 170

The August Meeting .. .. .. .. .. .. 171

Fern Pockets and Other Contrivances (illustrated) . . 173

Our Wonderful Native Ferns, by Charles T. Druery

{continued) 176

The Transmutation (?) of Lastrea ^Emula .. .. 179

Fern "Seeds" .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 183

The Lady Fern (Athyrium filix foemina) .. .. .. 185

Blechnum spicant var. concinnum .. .. .. .. 187

New Ferns .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 188

The Benbow Herbarium Collection of Ferns .. .. 189

New Members .. .. .. .. .. .. Inside Cover

British Ferns and their varieties .. .. .. ,, ,,

EDITORIAL NOTES.

In the first place we would call the particular attention
of our members to the forthcoming August Meeting,
of which particulars follow, and trust that the appeal
will bear good fruit. We would also appeal to them
to do their utmost to increase the membership by
mentioning the Society to all of their friends who take
an interest in our native ferns. As will be seen in this
number we increase the number of illustrations, and it
is our ambition to also increase the number of pages
and consequent information, but to this end it is essential
that more subscriptions should be obtained to cover
the inevitably increased outlay. We have made wonder-
ful progress since the '* Gazette " was started, which has
won golden opinions from competent critics both here
and abroad, as our foreign members indicate, as a
recognized "expert" publication, and yet adapted tg

170

every amateur. The subscription of 5s. per annum
(August to August), entitling to four issues of the
"Gazette" and bringing more and more numerous fern
lovers into immediate touch with each other, is surely
moderate enough. The Editor will be delighted to send
a specimen copy of the "Gazette" to anyone contem-
plating joining. His address is 11, Shaa Road, Acton,
London, W., to which all MS. and other communications
should be directed.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

POLYPODIUM V. OMNIL ACERUiM.

This fine old variety has been so rarely seen in
character of late years that its occurrence deserves to
be recorded. I recently came across it in splendid
condition at Oxford. The photograph sent herewith
exhibits it in its best form. The acutely pointed pinnules
are well shown, as also the finely serrulate margins.
The extreme depth and leafiness of the fronds is, however,
only imperfectly indicated. The plant was growing in
the open air in the Oxford Botanic Garden, without
protection of any kind beyond the shelter of surroundino-
walls and hedges. It was planted in a bed of deep
vegetable soil, mainly leaf mould, in which both roots
and rhizomes could run freely. As usual only a propor-
tion of the fronds displayed the highest character
(although all were recognizable), but these, being the
largest and most luxuriant, eclipsed and almost hid the
inferior ones. Mr. Baker, the courteous and genial
curator, is to be congratulated upon a notable success
in culture.

I am not sure that there are not two strains of
omnilacevum (without counting Williams's and Aldren's
forms). This Oxford one is evidently the same as the
one figured in last " Gazette," whereas Mr. Cranfield's

171

plant is more like the nature print by Colonel Jones of
a plant grown by Mr. Clowes.

The deep leafy frond and fine serrulate margin is
characteristic of the one form and a more laxly built
frond with very acute lobes, of the other. Of course
the differences may not be permanent, but at all events
they seem to be distinct " states " of the variety. Both
are alike when out of best character — the form is reduced
to the mere " serratum," which is most frequently seen.

F. W. Stansfield.

THE AUGUST MEETING.

It will be remembered that at the Annual meeting of
the members of our Society at Moffat, on August Bank
holiday of last year, it was resolved that this year's
meeting should be held at Barnstaple, as a favourable
centre fo'r Fern hunting in Devonshire and a change
from the meetings held hitherto in the Lake District,
or, as on the last occasion, in the South of Scotland.
By all those who are intimately acquainted with Devon
and its adjacent counties, Dorset and Somerset, it is
recognized that not only are more species to be found
there than in the northern districts, but that they are
far more abundant, a fact which is proved by the
discovery of far more fine varieties by such hunters as
Moly, Wells, Wollaston and others, including Benbow,
to whom we refer elsewhere, than can be recorded from
other parts.

As a preliminary to the contemplated meeting, Mr.
W. B. Cranfield and the Editor devoted the Easter
holidays to a visit to Barnstaple, with the double view of
making arrangements for the members' accommodation
and of determining as far as possible the best hunting
localities within easy reach of Barnstaple. With regard
to the first item, they put up at the " Golden Lion "
Hotel, where the main meeting place will be located,

172

while there are numerous Temperance and other Hotels,
on more economical lines, for the selection of members
who may prefer them or who cannot be provided for at
the ** Golden Lion," where sleeping accommodation is
restricted to some eight or ten.

One advantage presented by this town is the existence
of a narrow gauge railway crossing the country to
Linton, and thus tapping at intervals some of the ferniest
districts which it is possible to find in Great Britain,
innumerable typical Devonian lanes deeply sunk in
high banks, teeming with Ferns, permeating the country
in all directions ; while in such places as Woody Bay
and Hedensmouth, on the coast, the wealth of Ferns in
the sloping woods must be seen to be believed. At this
early period of the season Fern hunting naturally was
severely handicapped, the deciduous species being only
represented by dead and shrivelled fronds, while even
the evergreens were more or less weather-beaten, browned
and damaged. From previous experience, however,
we know that the following species abound, viz. Lastrea
filix mas., pseudo mas., dilatata, cBmula, montana, Polystichum
angidave and aciileaUim^ Athyrium filix foemina, Asplenhim
tnchomanes, Adiantum nigvum, ceterach^ and near, and on
the coast, mavimim, lanceolatuiii, P. viilgave, Scolopendrium
vulgave (everywhere), Blechnum spicant, and of course
P. aqtiilina. P. angulave, and Scolopendviuui prevail in the
hedgebanks, and the latter in some parts fills the inter-
stices of the stone dykes by the hundred. In the course
of our rambles we took careful account of the richest
areas, and thus shall be able to afford reliable guidance
to the hunting parties, which we anticipate will be
organized as usual before and after the meeting, of which
a due reminder will be given in July.

Meanwhile we would ask our members to take special
note of this preliminary advice as we are naturally
extremely anxious that with our largely increased member-
ship a goodly number should seize the occasion not

^72>

merely of a pleasant outing, with possible prizes, but
also of meeting a congenial coterie of fellow Fern lovers
to mutual advantage. In conclusion we may mention
that the members should, if possible, assemble on the
Friday evening prior to the meeting, thus affording
opportunities for excursions, which can be arranged for the
following days.

FERN POCKETS AND OTHER
CONTRIVANCES.

For those who possess a knack of making things for
themselves, a word or two on home-made contrivances in
the Fern line may be apposite. Rough pockets and
troughs made of cork are common enough, and in the early
days of our fern fever we constructed a number of such
from the masses of rough cork supplied by nurserymen and
fitted together by means of strong coppsr wire, a bradawl,,
a pair of cutting pliers, and a rough saw. For this purpose
the tubular pieces are very adaptable, especially as after a
good soak in water they become pliable and can be opened
out, and of course when secured by wire to each other or
their supports retain their shape. We figure one of these
so treated and attached to an ordinary roofing slate (Fig.
i), this particular one being of peculiar interest to us, as
it still retains a crested Lady Fern in full vigour, which
was planted in it when made at least twenty-five years ago,
all that has been done since being to fill up occasionally
on the top with a few handful s of compost when shrinkage
has afforded room. A number of seedlings have spontane-
ously appeared in the various holes indicated, and the
Lady Fern has developed several crowns, and throws up
every season a full number of healthy fronds, two feet or
more long, though we confess that it is a puzzle to us;
what the roots can find to feed on after so many years of.
growth within so confined an area of the same soil. The
use of roofing slates is, however, less common and yet they

Fig. G.

6

ts

o

175

form admirable material, quite imperishable and not un-
sightly. The ordinary roof slates, obtainable from any
builder, are of two kinds, oblong, about two feet long and
over one broad, and longer, narrower and thicker ones
which are used at the ridges, about four feet long by six
inches. These can be sawn into required dimensions with
a rough ordinary saw, or broken after deeply scoring the
surface with a bradawl and pierced where required by the
same instrument. We give a few illustrations of what
can be done with these, which practically explain them-
selves.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 2 shews how a corner can be filled up with a series
of pockets, each of which can accommodate one or more
ferns without interference with the others, nails driven into
the wall securing them in position ; and Fig. 3 shews how
the material for such pockets can be shaped, and also how
one can be attached to a slate and be capable of removal,
the necessary holes for the wiring and holes for small
lateral plants being indicated. In wiring the wire should
be bent and passed^through from the outside, the twisting
by pliers being 'effected behind or inside for neatness sake.

176

These are really very easily made and are practically ever-
lasting.

Figs. 4 and 5 shews a capital window box made with
the narrow ridge slates, and also the mode of constructing
troughs on walls or in frames with the same material,
though here, of course, the larger ordinary slates can also
be used in like manner, a shews the wall, b a row of strong
nails driven in at every slate length, c a row of strong
galvanized hooks at the same distance, and d shews the
position of the holes for the overlapped slates, where con-
nection is made with copper wire by passing it through
and over the hooks as shewn. Overlapping is not essential
with the narrow ridge slates, nor absolutely so with the
larger ones if care be taken to suspend them evenly so
that the edges fairly meet. Such troughs are extremely
handy, and can be made to occupy wall room with fine
effect. Needless to say the ridge slates are also well fitted
for flat shelves, laid on galvanized angle iron brackets.

With the ridge slates, removable suspended troughs can
be constructed on the principle of the window boxes,
triangular ends and central stiffeners being inserted and
wired as already described. Suspension is effected by
means of nails in the wall, passing through the holes
which are already provided in the slates. In all these
contrivances good drainage should be supplied by pieces
of broken bricks or pots, as in the troughs the shape tends
to tight packing of the soil, which of coarse should be a
light and open compost. C. T. D.

OUR WONDERFUL NATIVE FERNS (contimied).

In any case, to whatever cause the great pre-eminence of
Great Britain in beautiful fern sports may be due, its
existence cannot be challenged, as is evidenced by the latest
issued general descriptive list of Mr. E. J. Lowe, F.R.S.,
" British Ferns" (i8gi),in which nearly 2,000 varieties are
classified and described, of which over 1,100 were found

177

wild, i.e. under absolutely natural conditions among the
common specific types. Nearly all the forty odd species
have contributed, but three species stand out markedly
from the rest in the marvellous versatility with which Dame
Nature has endowed them. These are the Hartstongue
{Scolopendvium vulgare), 450 varieties; the Lady Fern (Athy-
riujii filix fcemina), 313 varieties; and the Shield Fern
(Polystichuiii angidave), 384 varieties ; the six species of
Buckler Ferns (Lastreas) following at a respectful distance
with a total of 259, and the common Polypody of our
hedgerows and old walls (Polypodmm vulgare), imitating
them with the respectable quota of 75. The Hartstongue,
it will be noted, stands out as the most varied of all, a fact
which must strike anyone very forcibly who is familiar
with that simple strap-fronded fern, as we may see it
starring old walls with dwarfed specimens, or pushing out
lush-growing bright green tongues from the hedge bottoms
of Devon, etc., where it revels most. This fern is, in point
of fact, the most remarkable fern in all the world as regards
its protean character. It is worth while to study it a bit
to see how it has managed to assume 450 distinct forms.
The plant normally consists of a radiating bunch of fronds,
consisting of a bare stalk some inches long, surmounted by
a strap-shaped, smooth, plain-edged leaf with two semi-
circular lobes at the point where the stalk enters the frond
and forms its midrib. The plain strap form continues for
some distance, and then tapers a little abruptly to a blunt
point. Now a very short search where plants are plentiful
will yield specimens with divided tips to the fronds, an
indication of that peculiarly faculty of forming tassels
which seems to pervade the fern family generally. In the
Hartstongue this capacity is evidenced in all grades, from
a. mere forking to a many-branched ramification on banched
or fanned lines finely cut, or coarsely cut, and in fact
varied in scores of ways on this particular line, culminating
in one instance (5. V. densiim Kelway), in a dense moss-like
ball of vegetation, in which all semblance of the frond

178

proper is lost. The flat strap may be transformed into two
parallel deep frills, and these frills may bear beautiful
fringes, the plants so characterized, i.e. the cnspum section,
being certainly the most beautiful of all. Then the plain
edge may be saw-toothed or even deeply cut in quite obvious
attempts to assume the divided frond form of other species.
This has many grades. The smooth surface may be ridged,
roughened, and otherwise varied both above and below, the
two round lobes next the stalk may be extended into
pointed ones, and then into long tasselled ones, or even
into secondary fronds to form a trident one way or a barbed
arrow in another, and finally, two or three of these peculiari-
ties may be combined, so that a little consideration will
show that even the 450 does not exhaust the possible
combinations, and in point of fact only represents such
proportion of existing varieties as could be definitely
christened. It is, however, to the Lady Fern and Shield
Fern that we must look for the most beautiful forms, and
here it is the Lady Fern which, true to its name, has been
most inventive in new and charming fashions. The
plumose or extra feathery forms of both these species
constitute the elite of British Fern forms, the density and
lace-like delicacy of the finely cut frondage, and the grace
of the many stranded tassels which hang pendulously from
the tips of the divisions cannot possibly be conveyed except
by illustrations, and even then but faintly. In point of
fact we feel so strongly the impossibility of conveying any
adequate idea of what the finest forms of British Ferns
are like by mere words, that we will not attempt to do so,
but will merely invite special attention to their study when
private collections are available for a visit or public exhibi-
tions, such as are now being prepared, present the desired
opportunity.

It is worthy of remark that with very rare exceptions all
these beautiful forms are perfectly hardy, of very easy
culture, and only require glass protection in such cases
where their delicacy of cutting or make demands protection

1/9

from winds or heavy rains. Every conservatory facing"
North and in the shadow of the house, is far better adapted
for a collection of British Fern gems, than for flowers.
In the garden, they are admirably fitted for rockery culture
where a little shade and shelter can be given them. In
this connection we can only express our regret that the
common weed forms of two or three species, Male Fern,
Lady Fern and Shield Fern as hawked about by vandal-
istic costermongers in the Spring, or displayed ignominously
in boxes outside nurserymen's shops, should constitute the
popular ideal of our British Ferns, and figure monotonously
in thousands of gardens by the dozen and by the score,
while the great store of far more beautiful and varied
material such as we have described, is all but utterly
ignored.

Finally, in scientific hands it has been found that our
native Ferns, in addition to their external "sportive"
character, afford many equally remarkable and instructive
variants in their reproductive phenomena and cell for-
mation generally. This branch, however, is of too technical
a nature to admit here of more than an allusion, it con-
stitutes a unique chapter in itself.

Charles T. Druery.

THE TRANSMUTATION (?) OF LASTREA

^MULA.

The late Mr. E. J. Lowe, whose name is so well known
to every lover and grower of Ferns, and whose writings
have done and still are doing so much for Fern culture,
makes in his little popular book " British Ferns," which
was published in the Young Collector Series, 1890, by
Swan, Sonnenschein & Co., a curious statement about
the transmutation of one species into another. This is the
passage, which occurs on page 145 : —

" In a wood at Hackness, near Scarborough (I am
" speaking of twenty years ago), N, dilatatum was near the

I So

"base of the hill five feet high, and was common to half-
-way up this hill, where N. ,^imdnm mingled with it;
" higher up Omnium was common, and dilatatuin absent.
" My brother and myself being surprised at this change,
^' we determined to test it, and from many thousand plants
" of Omnium we removed five hundred to Highfield House.
'* In a couple of years several changed to dilatatnm ; the
"next year an increased number, until at length Omnium
^' was the exception to the rule. At the same time we had
•" a score in pots, but none of these changed."

Having come from such a source as it does, and being
so very particular and circumstantial, it is worth considera-
tion. Bacon writes in his Natural History, i 525 : "The
"transmutation of species is, in the vulgar philosophy,
" pronounced impossible ; and certainly it is a thing of
' difficulty, and requireth deep search into nature." But
Mr. Lowe's experiment fails to prove what he believed
about the transmutation of Aimnla into dilatata.

If the experiment were worth anything, the same con-
ditions should have been observed with both the score and
the five hundred, but he grew the latter in the open, and
the former under glass. Were Mr. Lowe's supposed
experience of any force we would never find dilatata and
^tnula growing together, as he acknowledges he found
them half-way up the hill. My own experience is that they
are often found mixed in localities in Kerry and Mayo,
from sea level up to five hundred feet. I wonder whether
Bacon believed in this transmutation, at any rate he
acknowledges the " difficulty " and necessity for " deep
search" in arriving at a conclusion as to the transmutation
of species.

Evidently Mr. Lowe held that dilatata and .^mula are
two forms of the same species, the former being the low-
land and the latter the highland form. If this were so,
would it be possible to have .Emulas growing in the low-
lands ? Mr. Lowe's potted yUmul as seemed to have grown all
right when brought down from their native habitat, and

i8i

none of them showed any disposition of turning into
dilatatas.

I cannot imagine that two species, which possess a large
number of features in respect of which they differ from
each other, should be transmuted the one into the
other according as they chanced to grow on a high or
low land. However, as Mr. Lowe says nothing about
dilatata turning into JEnmla, his transmutation difficulty
becomes the greater. It is ^mula alone that has this
property.

My own experience with plants of ^lutilas removed
•from their native habitats in Kerry and Mayo to my garden
in Down is this : It is often chary of putting up new
fronds when replanted, and often dies in the first or second
year. This I attribute to the rough usage the plants
received when taken out of the ground, and to the great
amount of moisture lost by the plant while being carried
home, and perhaps not getting any water or being replanted
for several days. Such treatment is often unavoidable,
but it does not tend to encourage the plant to heal its
wounded stolons, roots and fronds ; they consequently
linger in a delicate condition for a few years and then die.
The remains of the dead plant, be it large or small — its
crown — is left in the ground, and I have over and over
again noticed that such dead stools become a nursery for
young ferns of various species.

They are ideal spots for the spores from the neighbouring
Perns to commence life in. And then some day the owner
comes round and chances to see a L. mas. or/, foemina, or
a dilatata tiny frondlet growing out of the lifeless crown of
what had been a.nJEmula, and hey, presto ! — there you are !
Emilia has transmuted into dilatata ! !

In Mr. Lowe's experiment the twenty plants grown in
pots were, I presume, kept under glass, and therefore were
less likely to have spores of dilatata settling on them, while
the five hundred that were planted in the open in his
garden were exposed to having spores of dilatata borne to

l82

them by every wind of heaven. This is the solution of
this mystery.

At the moment of writing (May, ign) there are in my
Fernery several examples of this ; these plants of j^mida
were brought by me five years ago from near Lough Eagle
Mountains, two miles west from Dingle, the most westerly
mountain in Europe, and now young dilatatas occupy their
places.

These squatters in the old dead stools of A!]miila in a
couple of years will be at least as large as each ^miila
originally was, and if I had not seen the interloping
dilatatas, when the first frondlets issued from the prothallus
I might have been puzzled to account for the presence of
dilatata ; yes, and some filix. mas. where I had planted
nothing but ^mula. There is nothing to establish the
transmutation Mr. Lowe thought he had discovered.

The points in which JEmuhi differs from dilatata are
these : —

^Emula.

Scales of stipe fewer, nar-
rower, mostly torn at
margin, and concolorous.

Fronds more decidedly ever-
green, annual decay be-
gins at apex and proceeds
downwards, the stipe
continuing firm to the
last.

Surface of frond both of
pinnae and pinnules con-
cave, having a crispy
appearance.

Indusium bordered with

sessile glands.

DlL.\tATA.

Scales of stipe more numer-
ous, wider, entire at mar-
gin, strongly two-coloured,
the centre dark and mar-
gins paler.

Fronds not lasting so long,
decaying from the base
upwards, the stipe often
withering while the frond
still retains its greenness.

Surface of frond more or
less convex.

Indusium fringed with
stalked glands.

'83

iEMULA. DiLATATA.

Frond has no more a pe-
culiar odour than has
L. /. mas. or L. /. fcemina.

Frond has a pleasant strong
fragrance when bruised,
resembling that of new
hay, and, as in the case of
hay, becoming developed
during the desiccation of
the plant.

All these characters are permanent in the normal forms,
and most of them are found in the few varieties of both
these species known to cultivators.

H. W. Lett.

The above interesting note from the Rev. Canon un-
doubtedly entirely disposes of the idea entertained by Mr*
Lowe, that L. cemida changed, owing to the environment,
into L. dilatata. L. ismula in the open is a far more
delicate and less assertive fern than L. dilatata, and would
be very apt to perish where the latter would thrive. As the
Canon points out, there are very distinct specific differences
between the two, and the simple fact that the potted plants
grown under glass retained these characters, while with
those in the open they disappeared and were replaced by L.
dilatata ones, simply means that high or low evolution
had nothing to do with the change, but simply that L.
dilatata throve and multiplied itself by spores and otherwise,
while L. cemula died out.

Editor.

FERN "SEEDS."

As in some of the reviews of my book, "British Ferns
and their Varieties " (Routledge), my use of the word
"seedlings" as representing Ferns raised from spores has
been contested, as also my consideration of the incipient
growth in the Fern pyothallus at the base of the avchegonium
as the equivalent of a seed proper, I should like to explain
the matter. In the first place I write for the layman and

iS4

not the scientific botanist, and therefore use as simple terms
as possible ; and in the second place I am quite incapable, in
view of the facts, of comprehending the objections. In
both the flowering plant and the Fern prothallus we find a
similar chain of cause and effect. In the flowering plant
the future seed vessel contains at first unfertilized cells, from
which part of the vital nucleus has been removed to make
way for an independent part, subsequently provided from
the equally diminished pollen or male cell. In the process
of fertilization these two half nuclei are brought into con-
junction and so form a perfect cell, which is then enabled
to divide and multiply, forming in the process a perfect
seed, which eventually reproduces the plant. The seed
here is capable of detachment, and of being scattered
abroad to propagate its kind. In the Fern the detachable
propagating body, the spore, is an unfertilized cell protected
by a coat or husk. By virtue of this unfertilized condition
it is incapable (except under abnormal circumstances to
which I will refer later) of direct reproduction, but when
it finds suitable conditions where it becomes deposited, it
produces a small flat green scale attached to the soil by
roothairs, and on the underside of this there are generated
two sets of organs, male and female [anther idia and
archegonia). The male ones are tiny pimple-like bodies, and
the female ones small elevated hollow teat-like bodies, at
the base of each of which, embedded there in the thickened
body of the scale, is a cell. This cell, like that of the
embro seed, has only half a nucleus. When ripe the male
bodies burst and emit a swarm of small swimming tadpole-
like organisms, in the head of each of which is a similar cell
also deprived of half its nucleus. We have here, to my
mind, an exactly paralled case to that of the flower, since
eventually the two half nuclei come together, the male
germ travelling to and thus reaching the female one. This
junction being effected the reproductive female cell is com-
pleted, divides and redivides, produces a root and a frond
with a basal bud, and thus reproduces the Fern precisely

•85

as does a seed proper. The main difference then is, that
whereas a seed proper is provided with a store of nourish-
ment to give the young plant a start in Hfe, the fern equiva-
lent of a seed derives its primary nourishment from the
scale or pYothallns, and hence does not become detached, the
prothallus acting as fostering nurse until the young fern by
means of its root system is fairly established, when the
scale decays and dies.

It is for these reasons that in my several works on
British Ferns, and in many descriptive articles, I have
always regarded the two kinds of organs under the Fern
prothallus as the " homologues " or counterparts of pollen
grains and ovaries in the flowering plants. They perform
the same functions entirely, though in somewhat different
fashions, and I cannot but regard it as " hair-splitting " to
raise objections to the parallel, or, under such circum-
stances, to find fault with the use of the word "seedlings,"
instead of " sporelings," in connection with young Ferns so
raised. The abnormally produced Ferns mentioned above,
and which may be regarded as true " sporelings" and not
" seedlings," are those in which " apogamy " occurs. In
these the prothallus is produced in the usual way, but
instead of the young Fern being sexually produced, as
above described, a bud appears, usually on the site of Lhe
suppressed " archegonium," and thus develops directly into
a Fern. Here of course there is no " seed " or its equivalent,
and hence to such plants as are thus produced the term
" seedling " is inapplicable, as is also that of " sporeling"
in all cases of proliferous Ferns, which are propagated by
buds formed on the fronds or elsewhere.

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

THE LADY FERN.

Athyrium Filix Fcemina.

The Lady Fern, like the male fern, was christened without

any regard for sex, and simply on account of the relative

delicacy or coarseness of make; but though modern

i86

scientific research has shown that in most ferns, as in most
flowers, the two sexes exist, to which the so-called Lady
Fern is no exception, the equally modern research of the
fern hunter has proved that in diversity of costume and
delicacy of taste, the lady-like element comes out very
strongly indeed. No fern, in fact, in all the world has by
virtue of its sportive character adopted so many fashions,
beautiful or curious, as has the Lady Fern. Even with
the common types, which we find in such profusion in
ferny country places, in glens, damp woodlands, ditches,
and indeed in most shady places in the vicinity of water,
we often find it difficult to match exactly any two plants
in detail of cutting, texture and habits. Like ladies of
the human persuasion, each seems to have a taste of its
own, and Dame Nature, sympathetically, has invested them
with the faculty of indulging it in this way, though, as a
rule, to a limited extent. Every now and again, however,
for some reason best known to herself, she invents a new
fashion entirely. How, we know not. All that we know, as
fern hunters, is that some fine day, rambling through the
Lady Fern's particular domain, we find some regal form
enthroned in state amid her court of commoners, or,
equally meritorious, but more modest, endeavouring to hide
her unique charms behind her neighbour's flounces so to
speak. To drop metaphor, it is a simple fact that while
the Athyviiim ranks with the three or four of our native
species which have given the bulk of varietal sports, it
eclipses them all in examples of quite peculiar formation,
to which no other fern has so far afforded parallels.

Normally the Lady Fern, delicate as is its make, is a
remarkably robust and sturdy fern, and under favourable
circumstances, such as we find in a secluded glen or
ravine, walled in by shading trees in such a way that the
blustering breeze is entirely excluded, and traversed by a
wild cascady stream which saturates at once both soil and
air with congenial humidity, we may find huge feathery
specimens shoulder high and a yard and more through.

1 8;

The freer the growth, as a rule, the more the fronds are cut
into sub-divisions, this extending even to the third degree
(tripinnate) under the conditions described. The fern is
quite deciduous, the fronds dying to the ground in autumn,
a fact which the amateur cultivator must bear in mind, as
undoubtedly many deciduous plants perish by being
assumed to die in the autumn instead of simply going to
sleep, subsequent neglect in watering, confirming the
wrong assumption. In cultivation ordinary garden soil
does quite well, but a good leafy compost does better ; the
chief thing is protection from drought.

{To he contimied.)

BLECHNUM SPICANT VAR. CONCINNUM.

In 1 88 1 I was fortunate enough to find a very beautiful
form of Blechnum spicant on Exmoor, which was named by
Mr. T. Moore " concinnum," or neat, and pronounced by
him to be a new form, which has been confirmed since by
every specialist. In this variety the normally long lance-
shaped fronds, with smooth edged side divisions, is trans-
formed into a long narrow even one of ribbon-like outline,
but with round divisions, evenly serrated and resembling
small scallop shells, the fronds being nine inches long by
only a quarter an inch wide. Since that time, although a
number of " strictum " varieties have been found, in which
a similar narrow and serrate character is seen for some
distance up from the frond base, it is succeeded by pinnae
of the normal length, while Mr. Barnes' lineave, which is
similarly narrow throughout, has the round or confluent
division quite smooth edged.

As wild finds rarely agree exactly in character, I was
greatly interested recently on receiving among a number of
other fronds for naming from Mr. W. A. Barker, Vale
View, Backbarrow, Ulverstone, a long nine inch frond of
B. s. concinnum, precisely similar to my own and marked
•'wild find," and on enquiry I learn that this was found in

i88

July, 1909, by Mr. W. Lancaster, near Backbarrow, by
Windermere Lake, in a coppice wood by the roadside, and.
has therefore no connection at all with the original find.

This discovery is the more interesting to me that B. s.
concinnum constituted my first find of any value, and from
it 1 caught that severe attack of " fern fever " with which I
have been affected ever since and have, I have every reason
to believe, conveyed the infection to many others, even by
the insidious medium of books and correspondence. The
plant was found at the very end of a thitherto fruitless
fern hunt on Exmoor, in the little village of Simonsbath,
a final and forlorn hope inducing a search in a stone dyke
on its outskirts, the result being a glimpse of the extreme
tip of a narrow frond peeping through a bunch of normals
in a deep chink ; following this up, six perfect fronds were
discovered all springing from one centre in the heart of the
clump. A crow-bar gently lifted the rough stone covering
the roots, the whole bunch was extracted intact, and the
precious " find " carefully disentangled. It and its roots
were then wrapped up in wet moss. The following year
it throve and bore spores, and in another season or two
several hundred typical plants found their way to all
collections worthy the name. Our illustration represents
Mr. Lancaster's find reduced from 9I inches, as indication
of the character of the true concinnum- (page 174, Fig. 6).

NEW FERNS.
From Mr. Henry Bolton, of Warton, near Carnforth, we-
have received fronds of a very beautiful form of Scolopen-
drium crisptim raised by him, which we have named S. v. c.
fimhyiatum Bolton. It is distinguished from all the other
forms which we have seen of this section by having well
crisped and fimbriate fronds, branching from the base into
usually distinct and separately stalked fronds, each of
which bears a well-developed terminal bunch crest. The
plant is of fine erect habit and very robust. A decided
acquisition.

i89

Mr. J. C. Rugman, Plusterwine, Woolaston, near Lydney,
Glos., sends fronds of a very good wild find, about three
years ago, of F. angtdave, which we have named F. a?ig.
aciitilobiim Rugtnanni ; it belongs to the proliferum section.

THE BENBOW HERBARIUM COLLECTION

OF FERNS.

We are indebted to our friend and member, Mr. C. B.
Green, now of Linden Villa, Argyle Road, Swanage,
whither he has retired to spend, we hope, many pleasant
years, and find many good varieties of Ferns, for a very
remarkable and unique discovery. Mr. Green has for a
long period devoted himself not merely to Fern study and
culture, as his recent article on " My Fernery " demon-
strates, but also to the study and collection of the Middle-
sex wild flora ; and in this connection some years back he
met Mr. Benbow, of Uxbridge, who followed the same line
but made no mention of Ferns at all. Mr. Benbow
died some few years back, and left his herbarium to the
nation, and Mr. Green learning that it was deposited in the
Natural History Museum at South Kensington went there
to inspect it in connection with the Middlesex flora, and to
his extreme surprise discovered that it was accompanied
by a collection of several Jmndveds of Fern fronds, repre-
senting Mr. Benbow's personal finds in Devon, Dorset and
elsewhere, mostly in the 'sixties. A large number of these,
particularly of Polystichums, rank with the very finest
forms yet discovered, and were accompanied by dates and
localities and also notes, which, apart from distinctness of
type, rank the finder as amongst the most fortunate, even
when compared with such men as WoUaston, Moly, Wills
and others of the early pioneers. Of this fact Mr. Benbow
appears to have been fully cognizant, but he also appears
to have been a very reticent and retiring man, which is
evidenced by an autographic slip in the collection, that he
desired to remain anonymous. To this unfortunate desire

it is due, it would appear, that not only did his name remain
absolutely unknown and unmentioned in all published
Fern records (Dr. Stansfield even never heard of it), but
even Mr. Lowe, with whom he corresponded and to whom
he sent some of his finds, did not apparently see his way
to include such finds in his Fern list of 1890 even
anonymously. Neither did Mr. Barlow, as was the
salutary custom of his Fern-loving contemporaries,
distribute divisions among them and so secure, or assist
in securing, their survival as well as appreciation and
propagation, the unhappy result being that in all proba-
bility the Herbarium in question is now the sole repre-
sentative of his labours. Our members, Mr. W. B. Cran-
field, Dr. Stansfield, and Mr. T. E. Henwood accompanied
the writer and Mr. Green to the Museum, and were equally
struck with what they found, while the waiter subsequently
went there on several occasions and made a descriptive
list of the choicest forms and of the attached notes, which
appears m extenso in the Gavdenevs' Chronicle, and by kind
permission is reproduced below.

Enquiries have been made as to the possibility of some
of these finds having survived in the late Mr. Benbow's
garden or elsewhere at Uxbridge, but these so far have had
a negative result, and although trial sowings are in progress
of some of the spores, it is a very open question whether
half a century is not too long a period for survival of
vitality. Mr. Benbow, too, appears to have been extremely
unfortunate, having left a number of finds in the train on
his way to Mr. Sim's nursery at Foots Cray, while a fire
destroyed many on another occasion.

The following represent the best varieties of the several
species concerned, in which the Polystichums are by far
the most striking, and are therefore described more fully.

THE SHIELD FERNS.
PoLYSTiCHUM ANGULARE (about 150 Varieties in all).
Deconiposituin spkndens, all fine decomposite forms,

191

found at Nether Stowey, October 21st, 1866; Seaton,
May 25tb, 1865; Babbacombe, October 3rd, 1868;
Teignmouth, October loth, 1868; Densum, very close set
subimbricate pinnules, very fine, Lyme Regis, October
1 2th, 1864. Lineare, very slender, central divisions thorn-
like, several places in South Devon. Pferophomm, sub-
imbricate pinnules, sessile. Foliosnui, handsome broad
form, South Devon, October 3rd, 1868 ; Uplyme, October
nth, 1864; Hayes, Middlesex, July 6th, 1866. Con-
cinnum, very small pinnules, Ottery St. Mary, July 14th,
1864. Hivondelle Barlow (D.), pinnule pairs, like swallow's
wings, Teignmouth, October loth, 1868. Decttrvens
flexiiosum, flexuose, with falcate, aculeatum-like pinnules,
Honiton, July 19th, 1864. Distans, divisions widely
separated, Uplyme, October nth, 1864. FUxtiosum, very
sinuous fronds and pinnae, Honiton, July 19th, 1864.
Revolvens (D.), several finds of this type described as
recurved, Sidmouth and elsewhere. Oxyphyllnm, a good
acutilobe, Colyton, May 25th, 1865. Angustatum pvo-
lifevum {D.), near Charmouth, October 12th, 1864.
Tvipinnatum, very fine forms found in several places.
Acutilohum, Kingskerswell, October 3rd, 1868; near Ryde,
July 27th, 1863. Acutilohum pvolifevum, bulbils from base
to tip, Paignton, October 6th, i858 ; also Axminster and
elsewhere. Angustatum, a remarkably narrow form
a la A.f.f. Frizellice, Maidenscombe, October loth, 1868 ;
Branscombe, May 25th, 1865; and Lyme Regis, October
loth, 1864. Cvistatum, two forms crested, Langley,
September, 1863; Honiton, October i8th, 1864. ^'^'^"
spicuilobum (D.), Nether Stowey, October 21st, 1866.
Pevcvistatum, crested pinnules, counterpart of Gray's,
Somerset, June 7th, 1865. Brachiatum, broad-based form,
Lyme Regis, October 15th, 1864. Brachiatum, trifonded,
basal pair of pinnae transformed into fronds, like Keall's
form. Capitatum, huge spherical comminuted head,
pinnae plain. Acvocladon, very ramose and bunch crested,
counterpart of Mapplebeck's form. (All three found in

192

one lane in Teignmouth, October loth, 1868. They
differ much, but Dr. Stansfield thinks they may be
seedling variants of the brachiate type, despite diversity.)
Gvacile (D.), very slender, distant pinnules, Stoke-on-
Teign, October loth, 1868. StipidaUmi (D.), very like
Carbonell's form, Babbacombe, October 3rd, 1868. A
considerable number of other finds were of the depauperate
gvandidens type, or otherwise defective, and are mostly
arranged as a separate set, presumably indicating
inferiority.

P. ACULEATUM.

Bavlowii, a form very like P. a ptdcheyvimum, but very
fertile, and with non-imbricate tips, Dartmouth, October
8th, 1868.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE.

Of this species over one hundred specimems represent
Mr. Benbow's finds ; the best are as follows, the names
indicating the character, but the large majority are more
or less defective forms of " marginatum " type, or other-
wise of little interest : S. v. covmitum, Brixham, 1868,
Kingskerswell, 1868; marginato-cornutum, Minehead, 1864;
iacevato-covnuttim, Wilmington, 1865 ; voUindifolmm, several
places; vamo-cvistatnin, several places; multifidum, Ilfra-
combe, 1S64; gvandiceps {D.), two places; flahellatum {D.),
Nettlecombe, 1864 ; coyymhifevum, Kingsbridge, 1865 ;
lacevatum, Nether Stowey, 1866; ramosum, same wall;
cvistatnm, two places; vamo-lobatum (D.), Littlehampton,
1872 ; sagittatum, Dartmouth, 1868 ; cvispum, five types of
this rare frilled and barren section were found at Little-
hampton, 1872, Gettisham, 1864, Babbacombe, 1868,
Charmouth, 1864, and near l^yde, 1863 ; digitatum, Berry
Harbour, 1864; cristato-multijidufii, same place and time.

^To be continued.')

LIST OF NEW MEMBERS.

Mr. A. B. Abbey, 325, Park St. West, Roxbury, Mass., U.S.A.
Mr, R. L. Goulder, Woodcroft, near Chepstow.
Mrs. H. K. Greene, " Grove," Craven Arms, Salop.
Monsieur R. de Litardiere, 4, Rue Cloche Perse Poitiers (Vienne),
France.

Mr. J. O. McCleery, Ava House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.
Mr. John E. Walpole, Highbury, Whitby, near Chester.

•'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 cxtenso. In cloth ys. 6d. net; in half
morocco, gilt, los. 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 Colonel Jones' nature prints, accompanied by his
contemporary notes, which the author has been kindly permitted by
Miss Jones to use as a supplement, 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
II, Shaa Road Acton W.

ifaMnadKa

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, 6rcciil)0U$c, and oibcr Planis
. . .arc also larscly 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. 1. No. 9.

. . . Zbc . . .

©asette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

September, lOlL

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

I

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hon. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Rd., Acton, Lcndon, W.),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

^^1

The Hartstongue.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

SEPTEMBER, igii.

No. 9.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Editorial Notes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 193

Our Frontispiece (The Hartstongue) .. .. .. .. 194

The August Meeting .. .. .. .. .. .. 195

The Lady Fern {contimied) .. .. .. .. .. 199

The Benbow Herbarium Collection of Ferns {continued) 201

Fern Spore Sowing .. .. .. .. .. .. 202

A Fern Paradise .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 205

Erratic Fern Spores .. .. .. .. .. .. 207

A Note on Pteris aquilina cristata.. .. .. .. 210

Spleenwort Culture .. .. .. .. .. .. 211

Fern Hunting .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 213

Supplement —

Reports and Records, 1894 — 1905 .. .. .. 217

Contents of "Gazette," Nos. i to 8 . . .. .. 219

List of Members .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 221

EDITORIAL NOTES.

This number forms the commencement of the third
annual series of the " Gazette," and, as will be seen by the
contained Report of the Annual Meeting at Barnstaple,
not only has the membership of the Society been largely
increased by its issue, but this has been effected with benefit
to its funds. We may therefore safely regard it now as an
assured success. That no effort on our part will be spared
to maintain its interest may be taken for granted, but we
would strongly impress upon our fern-loving friends our
wish for support in the direction of new members, since
we are quite sure that every one of our present ones could
at least enlist another, and this alone would put us in
a position to enlarge the "Gazette" and increase its
attractions, both literary and pictorial, for the benefit of all

194

concerned. We also sorely lack support of another kind^
viz. in the shape of contributions of notes and experiences
of our members, so that we may spare our readers a possible
overdose of the C.T.D. element, which naturally embraces-
the experiences of only one individual, while it is abundantly
obvious from our face to face conversations with other
members at our meetings that their experiences are equally
valuable and worthy of record. First, then, please bombard,
your fern-loving friends and acquaintances, show them the-
"Gazette," tell them of the society, give us "the tip" if
necessary, and in this manner help us in one way, while not.
omitting to send us a note of anything striking which may
turn up within your ken for publication. In this number
we give a supplement embracing the names and addresses-
of the members for reference and some other particulars
of interest to new ones to which we draw special attention.
Finally, kindly note that subscriptions for 1911-12
are now due and should be remitted to the Editor, 11,,
Shaa Road, Acton, London, W.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

The Hartstongue.

Our frontispiece represents a selection of the most
marked varieties of that wonderfully Protean Fern, the
Hartstongue Scolopendvinm vulgare, which gives a good idea
of the varied forms into which it has sported, mostly under
purely wild conditions. Their names are as follows : —

I. S. V. supralineatum (shewing approximately the
normal outline).

2,

3-

4
5
6

7
8

,, ,, crispum sagittatum.

,, ,, peraferens.

,, ,, cristatum Millett.

,, ,, laceratum.

,, ,, ramo-cristatum Moly.

,, ,, cristulatum (Stansfield).

,, ,, spirale.

9

lO

II

12

13

14

15
16

^95

S. V. crispum fimbriatum.
,, ,, crispum grande Wills.
,, ,, capitatum.

sagittate cristatum Hankey.
,, projectum Sclater.

capitatum Forsterii.

grandiceps John Cousins.

inequale furcans Elworthy.

»5 )>

THE AUGUST MEETING.

The annual meeting of the members was held this year
at Barnstaple to enable them to judge of the ferny possi-
bilities of the Southern Counties of England, their visits
hitherto having been confined to the Lake District or
Scotland. Prior to the actual business meeting at the
Golden Lion Hotel, at which Mr. Alex. Cowan as President
took the chair, several informal ones were held on the
previous days and a very large number of Fern fronds
were exhibited by Mr. Cowan on behalf of himself and Mr.
Phillips, these embracing a number of remarkably fine
varieties, clearly evidencing immense progress in the
development of superior forms by selection, and some new
" finds " of great merit. The most noteworthy were a
splendid form of Osiminda regalis juidiihita found by Mr.'
Phillips, and far excelling in foliose character an otherwise
similar variety of that name found many years ago in the
Azores, Lastvea dilatata crispa ochracea, shown by Mr.
Cowan, had beautifully crispate fronds, liberally and
constantly splashed with golden yellow. A cross effected
by Mr. Cowan betw^een presumably Polypodiiim vulgave var,
€ornnhiense and P. v. grandiceps Fox or Foster has yielded
a very fine "grandiceps" form of cornubiense cutting
P. V. c. grandiceps Cowan. Another very fine variety was a
subplumose form oiLastrea filix mas of a very promising type
for cultural selection. Various excursions were made to
Woody Bay, Hedensmouth, and other ferny districts in the

196

locality, but owing to the intense and long continued
drought, hunting was severely handicapped, the ferns in
many places being scorched and flaccid, and their growth so
stunted as to mask their varietal character, if any, to an
unrecognisable extent. Dr. Stansfield, however, found an
Asp. ad. nigvitm with multifid frond tips throughout and some
very foliose forms of L. moniana ; Mr. Druery, among other
minor finds, discovered a Hartstongue on lobatum lines but
with all frond terminals symmetrically rounded off with sori
radiating round the abruptly shortened midrib like the
figures on a clock dial, a rare variant which he named
Scol. V. lohattun radiosorum. Mr. W. B. Cranfield was the
most fortunate, alighting upon two remarkably fine varieties,
one a wild deltoid foliose form of Lastvea filix vms with
broad dilatata-like basal pinnae, and the other, on private
ground, a peculiarly fine foliose and imbricate variety of
P. aciileatum on truly handsome lines which had been found
many years ago near Holsworthy. He also found a very
marked form of Scol. v. undulatum.

The weather throughout was most delightful and the
meeting was a pronounced success in every way. Of the
business meeting itself the following are the minutes : —

Minutes of the 2oth Annual Meeting of the British
Pteridological Society, held at the Golden Lion, Barn-
staple, at g.30 a.m., on August 7th, 1911, with twelve
members present as per signatures on opposite page, Mr.
Alexander Cowan as President taking the chair.

The Hon. Secretary, Mr. Chas. T. Druery, read the
minutes of last meeting of 1910, which were confirmed on
the motion of Dr. F. W. Stansfield, seconded by Mr.
Eley, 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 £g 1 7s. 4d. in the Society's funds and duly audited
by Mr. J.J. Smithies, and on the motion of Mr. Cowan,
seconded by Mr. Bell, it was approved and accepted.

The election of President and ofiicers for the ensuing year

197

was then effected, viz. Mr. Alexander Cowan as President
being unanimously re-elected, as was Mr. W. B. Cranfield
as Treasurer, Mr. Chas. T. Druery as Hon. Secretary, Mr.
J. J. Smithies as Auditor, and the following Vice-Presidents,
viz. Dr. F. W. Stansfield, C. T. Druery, J. J. Smithies,
W. H. Phillips, and W. B. Boyd (Mr. R. W. Praeger
was not re-elected he having resigned his membership). On
the Committee were re-elected Messrs. T. Bolton, J. J.
Smithies, R Whiteside, W. E. Farrer, G. Whitwell, and
W. Wilson. Messrs. T. G. H. Eley and W. Bell were
elected to fill vacancies caused by non-election, owing to
residence abroad and resignations, of Messrs. Millward,
J. M. Barnes and E. Wiper, it being understood that the
President, Vice-Presidents, and officers were ex-offlcio
members of the Committee.

It was proposed by Dr. Stansfield, seconded by Mr. Cowan
and carried unanimously, that the British Fern Gazette be
continued under the Editorship of Mr. Chas. T. Druery.

It was proposed by Mr. Cowan, and seconded by Mr.
W. Gordon and unanimously agreed to that the Committee
be asked to consider the advisability of allocating a sum
not exceeding £^ for expenses of vehicles in connection
with the Fern hunting excursions at the Annual Meetings
and the provision of a room for such meetings.

It was proposed by Mr. Cowan, seconded by Mr. Eley
and carried unanimously that the Meeting in August, 1912,
be held at Arnside, Mr. Eley kindly undertaking to
assist in making the necessary arrangements.

It was proposed by Dr. Stansfield, and seconded by Mr.
Henwood, that the thirty-one new members who have
joined since the last meeting and whose names and
addresses appear on the page preceding the signatures of
those present, be elected, which was carried unanimously.

It was proposed by Dr. Stansfield and carried unani-
mously that a very hearty vote of thanks be given to the
President, Committee, Treasurer, Hon. Secretary and
Auditor for their services to the Society, and to jNIr. Chas.
T. Druery for his editorship of the British Fern Gazette.

198

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199

LIST OF OFFICERS.

President : Mr. A. Cowan, Penicuick,

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. Whit well, Kendal.

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

Together with the President and Vice-Presidents as members ex officio.

THE LADY FERN {continued).
The varieties of the Lady Fern, in the main, divide
themselves into two classes, as in' other ferns, viz. the
tasselled and the extra feathery ones, but added to these
characters we have others forming the unique combina-
tions we have referred to. The Victoria Lady Fern
\(A.ff. Victovia) stands at the head of this section, and yet
was found by the side of a country lane in Scotland in all
its curious development. Incidentally we may mention
here that fern varieties can be crossed together through
their spores, in which way some curious combinations
have, so to speak, been made by man, but this Victoria
Lady Fern is no such product. Nature alone had a hand
in it, and man moreover so far has failed to better it by
selection. In this fern the fronds are very long and
narrow, the pinnae or side divisions are also long and
slender, and, like the frond tip, are divided at the end into
slender many-stranded pendulous tassels. The marvel,
however, comes in in the fact that these side divisions are not
set on singly at nearly right angles to the stalk, as in most
ferns, but are set on in pairs at right angles to each other,
and as each pair has its fellow pair on the opposite side of
the midrib, the two form a cross, and of course the two

200

rows from end to end of the frond form a delicate lattice
work bearing two rows of charming tassels. Where, we
ask, in all vegetative nature can be found a parallel to such
a "sport " ? Finally, on close examination, it is seen that
even the smaller sub-divisions are set on in pairs in like
fashion, so that the pinnae are formed of tiny crosses too.
The spores of this variety always yield typical plants, but
we have never yet seen a seedling attain the full size of the
parent, nearly four feet.

Other peculiar types are the Frizelliae section, crested
and uncrested, in which the side divisions are bunched up
into round knobs, giving the fronds a resemblance to a
string of beads. VevnonicB and conioides are examples of
curious makes of the pinnae, which cannot be described but
have no parallels. The crested or tasselled forms are
many, varying considerably in make and habit and rang-
ing from pretty little flat tassels up to ball-like dense ones,
where the flat frond is maintained, or running into single
balls of fine mossy looking growth, where the fronds
branch over and over again to form that effect {A. jj.
acvocladon and uncoglomevatum). The varieties, indeed, which
are good are so numerous, that space precludes description,
and we must refer to published catalogues.

The plumose varieties are by many considered the finest,
and in these the cutting is carried even to the fifth degree
(quinquepinnate), imparting an extremely feathery appear-
ance. The wild finds are Axminstevense, Hovsfall, Wills,
Hodgsonae, Pounden and others, all quite distinct from each
other. The Axminster, however, has proved the greatest
prize, as a wild find, by yielding first plumosum elegans,
a still finer cut form, and through this the really marvellous
section of superbums, crested and uncrested, among which
are the two absolutely finest Lady Ferns extant. A. ff.
plumosum Dvuevy (uncrested) and A. ff. sup. pevcristatum
(crested to the fourth degree), while at least a dozen other
distinct crested and uncrested plumose forms are in the
same section. These varieties by themselves would suffice

20I

to stamp the Lady Fern as standing alone among the

varied ferns for versatility of taste and exquisite delicacy

in expressing it.

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

THE BENBOW HERBARIUM COLLECTION

OF FERNS {continued).

POLYPODIUM VULGARE.

Three very good forms were found, viz., onmilacevum
cristatum, a very promising deeply serrate form with furcate
pinnae, Holford, 1866 ; omnilaceriim, a thoroughbred deeper
cut form, Cleve Abbey, on wall, 1864; and crenatiun, a
deltoid form, near Fulmer, Bucks., 1892.

Cystopteris fragilis.
A good crested form was found on a wall near Totnes,
which yielded fairly true progeny from its spores.

Lastrea filex-mas.
Three forms only worthy of note of this species were
found. L. f.-in. brachlatum, a very marked variety, foliose
and ramose, but not tasselled, Fulmer, 1866; ^^sevrata"
(£).), a beautiful deeply serrate form with fringed pinnae,
Axmouth, 1864 ; and polydactyla, strongly resembling
Dadd's Ilfracombe form, Kingsbridge, 1865.

It will be noted that no varieties of Athyvium filix foemina
or Blechnuni spicant appear in this list, since though a
considerable number of both figure in the Herbarium, the
curious fact transpires on inspection that all of them were
found either in Black Park, Bucks., or its vicinity, and in
the case of the Lady Ferns, appear to be variable seedlings
of the Craigii type, while the Blechnum are variants,
sometimes very singular ones, of the *' strictum " type.
The inevitable inference, therefore, is that Mr. Benbow
here struck either upon a favourable locality in which
spores of these forms had been previously scattered or had
unwittingly raided a collection of planted out seedlings, no

202

less than sixty-eight crested Lady Ferns being gathered in
a comparatively short time, plus the Blechnums. This
being the case, we naturally refrain from ranking these as
wild finds proper, but with regard to the others, the
attached notes and particulars and general character of
the fronds, put their value as such beyond all doubt.

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

FERN SPORE SOWING.

As I have been asked to write with regard to the relative
length of time required for the germination of fern spores,
and the subsequent development of the fern from the
prothallus, I may say that so much depends upon season,
temperature, and treatment, that it is not easy to give
definite data. One fact is certain, and that is that different
species vary greatly in the relative rapidity or slowness of
the process, as they do in the subsequent development into
established specimen plants. Undoubtedly the best results
are obtained when the spores are sown so soon as they are
ripe, that is, about July with most of the species. By
sowing freshly gathered spores of Hartstongues, Lady Ferns
and Lastreas at that season, pvothalli are usually visible
in two or three weeks, and the young plants may be visible
in five or six weeks later, always provided that the culture
be kept thoroughly moist, free from sunshine, but otherwise
well exposed to light. Polystichums, however, are much
slower in development, and spores sown in July, though
they produce prothalH in the early autumn, may quite
possibly refuse to produce plants until the next growing
season. Osmuiida regalis spores must be gathered as soon as
the fertile spores complete their growth, they are then quite
green in colour, and if the brown stage, usually indicating
ripeness, be waited for, all the capsules will be withered
and the spores shed. Germination in this species is rapid,
a week or ten days sufficing to show green pvothalli^ though
of course it is some weeks later before these grow to full
size, and effect their reproductive functions.

203

For the beginner, Lady Ferns, Hartstongues and Las-
treas are the easiest to deal with, as is proved by the fact
that under glass they appear in abundance as strays, i.e.
self-sown plants, which is rarely the case with Shield Ferns.
Polypodiuni vulgave varieties are very slow, and it requires
several years to bring the young plants up to specimen
size. Next to sowing immediately when ripe, that is in
the middle of the growing season, collecting spores then
and sowing them early the following Spring, say in March,
has the advantage that if the summer-sown pvothalli do
not make plants before the winter, there is a danger of
confervoid growth invading them or sourness setting in
during the resting season, from which Spring sown spores
of course are exempt. If, however, a moderately warm
house be available for winter accommodation, all the stages
of growth are greatly accelerated and much time saved.

The first essential in all cases is persistent moisture.
The pots or pans containing the spores should be well
drained and kept standing in saucers of water, and be covered
with glass slips. As already stated in former articles, the
soil should be of a leafy open character surfaced with a little
loam in small lumps and pressed flat. Prior to sowing a
piece of paper should be laid on this, and boiling water
poured thereon until it runs out at the bottom scalding hot.
This kills all worms, germs, and alien spores, and gives a
fair field for the fern spores, which should be scattered very
thinly and evenly over the soil when it has cooled. Cover
with glass, make a registry of the sowing by means of a
number, marked clearly on the pot or pan, or preferably on
a small label, and put in a well-lighted position out of
sunshme, standing them, as we have said, in saucers or
bedding them in cocoa-nut fibre. As any small pot will
accommodate quite a sufficient crop for any amateur, it is
well to sow in thimble pots, a number of which can be
compactly bedded in a nine-inch pan, and covered with one
pane of glass. All that is then necessary is to see that the
fibre is kept quite moist. Watering must be done from

2 34

below when necessary by plunging the pan up to its edge
in water, until it appears glistening on the surface. Flood-
ing the soil surface itself is detrimental, until it is covered
with mature pvothalU when, if done with clean water, it may
facilitate the fertilizing process.

To return to our original point, viz. the time required for
germination, it may perhaps be roughly put down at three
weeks in the growing season, but the subsequent develop-
ment depends largely upon the nature of the caudex which
the Fern forms, and if this be large and fleshy in the full
sized plant, it is probably a question of four or five years
before the full character is brought out. When once, how-
ever, a course of sowing has been begun, each season brings
its own reward in turn, and many ferns when only a year
old or even less are very beautiful, even though not of full
size. Owing to the difference in the period of spore devel-
opment, it is always advisable to sow each species and
variety separately, unless crossing or hybridizing is intended,
since otherwise the more rapid growers are bound to develop
at the expense of the others. So soon as the young plants
show, or sooner if the pvothalli are crowded owing to too
liberal sowing, it is well to prepare pans, scalding them as
indicated, and prick out little patches of pvothalli an inch
apart, pressing them gently into the soil after inserting them
into little depressions made to fit them. Each will then
produce a little clump of plants which, when again crowded,
can be lifted and dropped into a saucer of water. This
will facilitate the separation of the plants, and particularly
the roots, and enable them to be pricked out separately
again an inch apart, when they will develop into a size for
potting on. By this time their character will be evident,
and any rogues or inferior forms should be thrown away or
improvements marked for special care.

C. T. U.

205

A FERN PARADISE. =^

While in Ireland during the end of June it was a real
pleasure to re-visit Lemonfield, Holywood, on Belfast
Lough, and shake hands with our octogenarian friend, Mr.
W. H. Phillips, and see his unrivalled collection of hardy
ferns, all British, with their many and variously tasseled
sports, the more especially as the friend travelling with us
was an expert, and knew the fern world from " A to Z." To
go over a thousand or two in such congenial company was
an educational treat, as well as a social delight, as Mr.
Phillips describes each variety with first-hand knowledge,
having found many of the rare sorts in his fern-hunting
rambles ; and the fine personality of his accounts where
this was got, or the happy accident that displayed another
gem to his '' eagle eye," gave point and interest of a most
characteristic nature. Readers of our paper have lately
had the pleasure (which all fern lovers duly enjoyed) of his
racy description of how he became a Fern hunter ; therefore
they will understand how the more telling voice, with the
very specimens before him, were striking texts from which
to expatiate on their qualities, differences, developments,
from common-looking forms to the crested, feathery beauty
they now displayed. As it takes a real judge to select from
a batch of foals one that has the making of a Cawdor Cup
winner, so only a born fernist can see in the rather raw,
half-developed seedling the future novelty, which all growers
will desire. It is impossible to detail, even by name, a
more than representative few of the innumerable Ferns at
Lemonfield. Non-experts have no idea of the "sports,"
the "finds," of the last twenty years in British Ferns!
Even in one or two classes, as Hartstongues, Athyriums,
and Polystichums, the varieties are legion. The cult is
very modern, but the enthusiasm of Fern lovers has been
great, so that in fifty or sixty years the results are amazing.
Mr. Phillips grows them in flat, sunshiny borders in
ordinary garden soil, fortified with leaf mould, etc., as the

^••By psrmission of The Scottish Ga-'d'-ner cvid Northern Forester.

206

subjects require. Think, for instance, of the drought of
June, and yet that day of our visit he had transplanted a
big bed of Ferns in full feather, and not one frond was
harmed. Novices must observe times and seasons ; experts
can do these things at all seasons. To give readers an
idea of the riches in Ferns in one collection, we will name
a few of each class, from which those seeking to add to
their stocks may rely on them as good. The Polystichums
are strongly represented, while P. angulavc fotundaUim and
P. plumosiun cvistatum, ditto setosnm, and a fine cuneatum
found by Mr. Phillips on Cavehill, across the Belfast
Lough, give a personal touch to these beauties. We must
not omit P. a. divisilohum densum, which was variegated,
but that is gone. However, P. a. p. vohusUun has retained
the golden colour. Lastrea dilatata, with a golden varie-
gation, without doubt marks a new feature in Ferns.
Polystichnm a. vetvofiexnin is a curiosity, as it looks as if all
twisted up. Then P. a. divisilohum stipulatum is a queer
thing, as the fronds look as if thatched with a secondary
growth. We admire P. a. divisilohitm perserratum longipin-
7iatnm. Phillip's Polystichnm plmnosissimum Stansficldii is
another gem. The Athyriums are a great family, and we
have worthy specimens, as A. filix fcemina acvocladon \o6ks
like a moss, while another, A. f.f. pagoda, is called so, as
the fronds curve up with fringes below, quite a remarkable
specimen among even many very much so. The Poly-
podies, as camhvictim, cormibiense, are most excellent Ferns,
growing vigorously, too, in the open garden, with very little
cover from overhanging trees. Comin^^ upon the Scolo-
pendriums (Hartstongues), we are struck with a big bed of
wondrous crested forms, some just like mosses, but the
marvel is that the major portion of them are variegated.
Even crispum is so, but capitatum is green. Now, some
authorities will not admit that this variegation is fixed, but
here we are assured of it, having ocular proof before us,
while certain that the colouring has stood so for ten to
twenty years. Truly the possibilities of new and beautiful

207

developments in Ferns are to be expected by and by, seeing
that hitherto hunters have gathered in their natural habitats
so many of the loveliest varieties we have, and these have
given seedlings of astonishing forms. Therefore, when
hybrids are raised from these variegated sorts, it is quite
evident that the colouring will repeat in the youngsters,
with even other characteristics we as yet wot not of. Ere
we conclude our notes we have a look at the Osmunda rei^alis
undulata, from the Azores, and O. v. intevnipta (Phillips), a
pair of fine varieties, also a form of Osmunda widnlata found
by Mr. Phillips near Recess, in Galway, similar to the
Azores form, with vevolvens, and others equally curious.
Near by we find Lastvea Padley's depaupevatuiHy as also Lastrea
filix mas Bavnesii, a fine memento of a great Fern friend it
is. Altogether we have but skimmed over the " ken-
speckle " varieties, leaving unrecorded the countless regular
forms and less notable ones, but time and tide, not to
speak of dinner, wait not, so we bid Mr. Phillips adieu,
having seen and enjoyed a Fern paradise such as we have
not experienced before, and with a guide who combines the
knowledge and the gift of imparting it in a high degree, not
to speak of the geniality and enthusiasm he displays and
provokes in others.

ERRATIC FERN SPORES.*

By the term " erratic " we mean in this case such spores
from a constant parental form as will yield very diverse
progeny, not merely on one occasion, but, as a rule,
successive sowings from different annual crops yielding
similar results. As is well known, when once the normal
type of a plant has broken into an abnormal one, yielding
a "sport," the seed or spore, as a rule, inherits the
peculiarity ; but it is also a well-recognised fact by all
selective cultivators that the peculiarity may appear in
different grades in the progeny, being more emphasised in
some and less in others, the more emphasised cases
-'^ By permission of the Gardeners' Magazine.

208

constituting the selector's opportunities for improvement of
type. In this way, sometimes by gradual steps and in
others by more advanced ones, the greater part of our
horticultural wealth of flower and foliage has been
acquired.

In the cases, however, which we have in mind, the
spores concerned have yielded such entirely unexpected
results that the cultivator has been unable to satisfy him-
self of the origin of the plants obtained until a second
sowing has convinced him by similar produce. Thus in the
case of the Jones and Fox wonderful plumose Shield ferns,
spores were sown from a wild decomposite or merely
tripinnate form, the result being a batch of such finely
dissected and feathery varieties, so widely ditfering from
the parent that their origin seemed an entire mystery,
until a second sowing from the same plant revealed the
fact that its spores were endowed with the capacity of
surpassing it to that extent, a similar lot arising.

These, however, resembled each other closely, varying
only in fineness of cutting or density of foliage. Another
form, however, known as Pearson's decompositum, while
producing also a beautiful plumose form far surpassing it
in delicacy and foliose character [Polystichum angulave
divisilohum plumosns Pearson) regularly produces, in con-
junction with a percentage of this plumosum and a number
of the parental form, a very remarkable and distinct form
of " grandidens," w^hich no one ignorant of its origin could
possibly impute to such a parent. In this the fronds are
narrow, the pinnae being short and somewhat irregular,
while the pinnules, instead of being extra feathery, are all
reduced to short pointed spikes, so narrow that the
abundant fructification shows on the upper side of the
frond. A greater contrast could not be imagined than there
is between this and plumosum, and yet both forms arise
from spores from one and the same frond or even pinnae.

Here it will be observed a character comes into evidence
of which there is absolutely no trace visible in the parent,

209

which is in itself a thoroughbred constant form, with no
eccentricities at all to which such results could be imputed
by inheritance. Yet by repeated sowings it has been
proved that the three forins — the parental, the plumose and
the " grandidens " type — arise in more or less the same
proportions whenever the decompositum spores are sown.
Ptevis aquilina pevcvistata is another fern which constantly
produces two different varieties when sown — viz., the
parental form quite truly, and a large percentage of
" grandiceps," a quite barren variety, with the fronds con-
sisting entirely of stalks and heavy crests, these also being
quite alike. This being barren, it can only be propagated
by sowing spores of the parental form when it is quite sure
to appear again.

The superbum section of Lady Ferns arose first from a
beautifully crested seedling raised from an entirely un-
crested form (Athyviuin filix foemina elegans Pavsons) raised
from an equally uncrested wild find [A. f.f. plumostim
Axiiiinstev). In this case the extraordinary feature was
that over go per cent, of the same batch were crested also,
only two of the parental form resulting, while most of
them were more or less defective, only two being perfect,
though no defects are visible in either parent or grand-
parent. Spores of the better of these tw^o (superbum)
being sown, the next unexpected result was the appearance
of two distinct sections, one uncrested and extra plumose,
and one crested on varied lines, some to the fourth degree
[percvistatum). Here again was a sudden divergence of
type in two distinct directions in spores gathered from one
and the same plant.

In the more recent case of Polystichiun aculcatum
piilchevviimim a similar divergence took place, some 20
per cent, of the plants assuming a quite distinct type,
" gracillimum," in which half-inch pinnules \vere lengthened
to two to three inches, quite transforming the plant, while
one plant assumed a decomposite plumose form of quite
distinct character, rivalling those of the Jones and Fox

2 I O

angulares. A subsequent sowing from another plant (of
which the first was, however, a division) is now yielding
the same results, so far as the gracillimum type is in
evidence, though the possibility of further divergencies is
evidenced by a very promising diversity in other directions
in the young seedlings.

In Blechnuui spicant, a long narrow variety [stvictum
Ha"tley) has in successive sowings yielded a percentage of
a very dwarf congested variety (cvispissimnm Hartley)^ quite
the antithesis of the parental form. Doubtless if fuller
records had been kept regarding the origin of new forms,
other cases could be cited ; but there is no doubt that the
above embrace the most remarkable. It will be noted
that in every case Nature has started the ball rolling by
providing an abnormal sport. Most of the types in
cultivation are due to such, though the selective cultivator
may have enhanced the original types through their spores.
The plumose types, however beautiful, are extensions of
Nature's " decomposite " inventions ; but so far, with the
exception perhaps of the mysterious A. f.j. Kalothvix, we
must credit the selective cultivator with the gracillimum
type of Shield ferns which are here described.

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

A NOTE ON PTERIS AQUILINA CRISTATA.

I have been commanded by the Editor to send in a note
on my plant of crested bracken, which he pronounces to be
a thoroughbred. Its main interest appears to be its
independent origin. It arose, in my greenhouse, on some
peat, of which I had brought a little from Woodham
Walter Common, near Maldon, in Essex. This is a patch
of undulating land covered with oak coppice, occasional
birch and holly trees, and an abundance of ling and bracken.
On the Common itself I have never found anything more
than the merest bifid tips to the bracken. Mr. Druery
naturally raised the question of a chance spore getting on

2 I I

the peat from a possible *^cvistata'' in my possession, or
in my neighbourhood. I think I am able to prove con-
clusively my non-complicity in the " design " on the
unadorned simplicity of P. aquilina. At the time my
seedling appeared in the greenhouse, some five years ago,
I had not a single plant of varietal bracken in my possession,
nor am I aware of any in neighbouring gardens. The
nearest place I know, also, as a local haunt of the wild
P. aquilina is some miles away from my garden.
Personally, I feel convinced that this is another instance
of a big jump in varietal character from a practically
normal stock. My patch of this plant has produced spores
freely for some years now, so I have been enabled to raise
seedlings. Amongst them, the *' gnmdiceps " type forms
a small percentage. The latest raised plants also shew a
tendency towards ramose fronds, so I am hopeful of
obtaining from this stock counterparts of most of the
crested forms already known to us,

Fras. W. Thorrington.

SPLEENWORT CULTURE.

The successful cultivation of the British Spleenworts
under glass presents difficulties which are not experienced
with most of the other genera, and a few words, therefore,
on a chance discovered method by the writer may be
welcome. Some years ago, after a visit to my collection by
some friends who evidently did not grip the fact that
variation was an essential therein, one of them sent me from
Scotland a bunch of quite normal Asp. tvichomanes. On
receipt I was somewhat in a quandary, as I did not want
them and did not like to throw them away. They came
in a bundle tied up with the roots in moss, and having a
tumbler handy I crammed them into the tumbler, moss
and all, so that some of the loose moss just reached the
bottom. Naturally, I watered the moss, and a little water
percolated through and remained at the bottom of the

212

tumbler, which was stood out of the way on a shelf. Much
to my surprise, growth commenced and proceeded rapidly,
and now, two years later, there is a strong healthy growth ;
quite a pretty specimen. Regarding this as a wrinkle
worth following up, last year, when I received a somewhat
curious form of the species from one of our members in
the shape of a small, and by no means strong plant, I
resolved to test both the plant and the new system. I
therefore installed it with a little soil in the middle of some
moss, and crammed the mass into another tumbler in the
same w^ay. It immediately started healthily, and at the
present moment is a beautiful strong specimen, showing
very peculiar characters of subimbrication and partial
subdivision on quite distinct and interesting lines.
Encouraged by this, I treated an almost moribund plant
of Ap. fontanum in the same way, and this, to my delight,
is recovering rapidly, while a seedling Asp. lanccolatum
transferred when at the point of death, crammed into the
moss at the edge of the tumbler, but just in contact with
the thimble pot-full of soil in which the fontamim was
installed, lias sent up two or three fronds on the healthiest
possible lines. By this system it is clear that the living moss
induces a circulation of moisture and permits an aeration
of the soil which is very congenial to such species as those
concerned. The moss, be it noted, does not fill the
tumbler, about an inch is left at the bottom, where a little
water remains to be drawn upon as required by the little
wisps of moss which reach it. Now and again, when this
water disappears, the tumbler is immersed in water to the
edge until it is full, it is then reversed and the water run
out, until only a little is left as before. On one occasion
the normal specimen originally installed was forgotten for
so long, that all the fronds, old and new, were curled up and
withered, as occurs on its native walls during a long drought.
A few hours entire immersion under water, however, restored
it completely, precisely as would be the case when soaking
rain succeeds a drought. This method involves a minimum

213

of trouble, watering is only required at long intervals, the
tumblers can be kept clean outside and with the growing
moss inside and the pretty ferns surrounding them look far
better than pots. We strongly recommend further
experiments in this direction to our members, especially
with Cetevach, which remains yet to be experimented upon,
and is a by no means easy subject to deal with.

C. T. D.

FERN HUNTING.
During the holiday season a great number of visitors to
the country amuse themselves by collecting ferns, and on
their return to town we may see on the railway termini
the primary results of their quest in the shape of baskets,
hampers and bundles of ferns mingled with their luggage,
indicating a taste for the natural beauty and grace of these
pretty plants. Looking, however, backwards and forwards
from this particular point of view, we shall become aware
of two very serious drawbacks to the true fern lover's
appreciation of such popular Fern hunting. In the first
place, if we examine the ferny sources whence these
plants have been derived, we shall frequently find them
ravaged and despoiled, and it may be even entirely denuded
by remorseless and repeated raids. Too often we may find
abundant evidence that the plants have been rooted up at
one place only to be thrown away at another, when
through utter lack of care they have become wilted and
unsightly, while invariably at places of popular resort, even
in our ferniest counties, we must travel far afield to find the
ferns in anything like their natural robustness and beauty.
So much for the backward aspect of these Fern hunting
expeditions, which embraces, as we see, a very large
admixture of that vandalism which is gradually denuding
the country of many of its rarest and most precious native
plants. As regards the forward view, i.e. the fate of such ac-
quisitions, were it the case that the ferns thus removed were
carefully and appreciatively tended when they reach their

2 14

destinations in town gardens, so that eventually they
displayed their beauties there to the best effect the environ-
ment permitted, we would say nothing against their
collection, but it is safe to assert that not one in a thousand
has such an opportunity, and that the vast majority perish
entirely for lack of attention or care in planting. The
" tripper " fern hunter unfortunately is not the only sinner ;
there is the resident village collector, who advertises in the
horticultural press and raids the seedlings for a mile
or so around to supply the demand induced by cheapness
and the beauty of the plants ; and there is the wholesale
vandal, who raids the district with a horse and cart and
sacks galore and supplies the market dealers by the
thousand, leaving desolation in his track. Happily, of late
years, the law has stepped in to emphasise the property
rights in these plants and to punish those who steal them
in the several ways indicated, a measure which has had
marked results in many ferny localities.

The curious fact, however, in this connection is, that
from the true fern connoisseur's point of view the great
bulk of this so-called fern hunting is energy entirely
misplaced. Not one in ten thousand of the so-called fern
hunters knows what he or she should really look for, and is
aware that here and there where ferns grow freely there
are scattered among the common or weed forms others
which are quite distinct and very much more beautiful or
curious. These are of the same species as their fellows, but
Nature in some occult way has not only shaped them
diff^erently both generally and in detail, but in most cases
has stamped this diff"erence so deeply in their constitutions
that they reproduce themselves truly from their spores, or
if they vary, do so in such a way that much improved forms
can be obtained by selection. The result of this capacity
to sport is marvellous. A complete collection of varieties
of over forty odd species of British Ferns would consist of
at least two thousand distinct ones, of which the majority
have been found wild in our hedgebanks, glens and ferny

215

woods, or on our wild moorlands and hillsides, from Land's
End to John o'Groats, and in the sister and Channel Islands.
Naturally these wild sports are not so common that a
merely superficial search will mean a good " bag ; " it is, on
the contrary a case of one in many thousands, so that the
connoisseur fern hunter is glad if a day's or even a week's
hunt results in a single really good thing, although as a
matter of fact the writer has rarely devoted a day to careful
hunting without finding something distinct and worth taking
home. Naturally such ** finds " present themselves in
different guises, they may be mere seedlings in which it
is only the experienced eye which can detect any promise,
or they may be old-established plants. Two of the writer's
best finds, for instance, consisted of a tiny plant an inch or
two high, and a huge clump of thirty-three crowns, which
required the assistance of two men to lift and a horse and
cart to transport. As a general rule these " sports " are
solitary, or, if there be more than one, the others are
obviously the offspring either by offset or spore of the same
progenitor. They may betray their presence boldly, or
by the mere projection of part of a frond from a mass of
common ones, or they may be entirely hidden and only
discernable by pushing asunder the foliage of their com-
panions. In any case, he or she \vho aspires to be a fern
hunter of this class must be prepared to be patient and
persistent, and be also thoroughly well acquainted with the
common forms of the species, so that any difference may
be noted. As a rule, the successful fern hunter commences
by a more or less chance find, which appears to be essential
to infuse the necessary faith in the existence and discover-
ability of such sports into the beginner, but once this has
happened the fern "fever" is caught and the student
speedily becomes the enthusiast. The main point to bear
in mind is that wherever ferns are growing there is a
chance of a find, and some of our own finds have turned
up where plants were few and far between. So much for
the hunting. And now for a word or two on the quarry. It

2 l6

will be asked, How do these " sports " differ from the
common ones ? This could only be answered clearly pictori-
ally, for they differ in many ways. The more general
form, i.e. the one into which most species have sported, is
that of the tasselled or crested section. Normally fern
fronds and their side divisions terminate in points, blunt
or acute, as the case may be, but in a very large number
of species "sports" have occurred in which these points
are multiplied so as to form tassels, and as this capacity is
usually inherited and often varies in extent in the offspring,
selective cultivation has given us some very beautiful forms
indeed, derived in every case, however, from a wild sport to
begin with. It is, indeed, one of the peculiar features of the
Fern hunting we are considering that we are indebted to
Nature for nearly all the types of variation, the original
designs, so to speak, and all we can do when we find
marked forms is to sow them and select those which show
this form on still more marked lines, and so improve it.
Another type or class of " sports " consists of abnormally
divided Ferns. The common Polypody of the hedgebanks
and old wall tops, for instance, is only once divided, each
frond being like two bluntly-toothed combs set back to
back, but quite a number of varieties have been found wild
in which the teeth of these combs are themselves toothed,
or even divided and redivided so as to lose all resemblance
to the common type, while being much more beautiful.
Ferns also sport in many other ways, in shape of sub-
divisions as well as number, in habit of growth, and also
in size, some being tiny dwarfs, little gems of compact
verdure, while others are extra robust, so that with all this
diversity of size and make it is obvious that it is nothing
less than absurd to fill rockeries with some three or four
species, all normal and all alike, and dignify them with the
name of Ferneries, as is so often done. Our point, however,
is that wherever ferns grow wild it is well worth while to
carefully examine them individually as far as possible on
the chance of coming across one of these " sports." They

217

are by no means so rare as to render the search all but
hopeless, and when found, even if they only be curious
instead of high-class thoroughbreds, they form souvenirs,
while if they be new, the gratification is, of course,
infinitely greater. In any case one thing is certain, and
that is, that once a decent ''find" has been secured, the
finder will never dream thereafter of carrying home a
bundle of common ferns indiscriminately collected, but
will leave these religiously alone, as Nature's raw material,
for the '' prizes " he has now learnt to look for, and conse-
quently there is one Vandal the less.

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

SUPPLEMENT.

For the guidance of new members we would call their
attention to the following reports and records of interesting
papers read at the Society's meetings prior to the
institution of the British Fern Gazette. These can be supplied
at 6d. per number, or the set of eleven for 4s. These
would make an instructive volume. We append thereto
the "Contents" of the eight numbers of the Gazette
preceding the present issue. These also are available
(but to members only) at same price, viz. 6d. each or 3s.
the set of eight. Orders and remittances should be sent to
Editor.

REPORTS AND RECORDS, 1894— 1905.

1894 and 1895. " Selective Culture." By C. T. Druery,

V.M.H., F.L.S.
** Some Results of Fern-Hunting in Ireland." By

W. H. Phillips.
" Notes on some Irish Finds." By R. Lloyd

Praeger, B.E., B.A.
" Fern Reproduction." By C. T. Druery.

2l8

1896. " The Marvellous Side of Fern Life." By C. T.

Druery.
" Weissmann's Theory of Heredity and its Relation
to Fern Life." By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

1897. "The Ferns of the Diamond Jubilee." By C. T.

Druery.
" Fifty Years' Varietal Development in British Ferns."
By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

1898. " Ferns as Pet Plants." By C. T. Druery.

" Fern Growing in the Towns." By W. H. xVtkinson.
" Polystichum angulave pvolifevum — Past, Present and
Future." By W. H. Phillips.

1899. " Own Finds and Specialities of British Ferns."

By C. T. Druery.
*' Lastrea filix mas, its Past and Present Divisions."
By W. H. Phillips.

1900. ^' The Growth of a Hobby." By C. T. Druery.

" My own Finds of British Fern Varieties in the
Lake District." By G. Whitwell.

1901. " The Culture of some Difficult British Ferns." By

Dr. F. W. Stansfield.
" Scolopcndvium vulgare, its Varieties and Culture." By
C. B. Green.

1902. *' The Lady Fern " [Athyvium filix fcemina). By

C. T. Druery.
" A List of Finds by Various Members."

1903. " The Study of the Abnormal." By Dr. F. W.

Stansfield.
" Varietal Types of British Ferns." By C. T. Druery.
" The Propagation of Varieties of Lastrea montana.*'

By C. T. Druery.

1904. "The British Polypodies.'' By C. T. Druery.

1905. " Some Personal Reminiscences during Fifty Years

of Fern Hunting and Cultivation." By \V. H.
Phillips.
*' Correlation of Characters in British Fern Varieties."
By Dr. F. W. Stansfield.

2 19

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.
Contents Nos. i to 8.

Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, igog.

XT I c^ldLf" •• •• •« •• «« •• •<

Our Frontispiece (P. acul. gracillimum cristulatum)

Our Native Ferns . .

The Life History of a Fern

Fern Hunting Episodes ..

Wild Sports in British Ferns

Personal Fern Finds

Vol. I. DECEMBER, 1909.

Editorial Note

Our Frontispiece (L. montana plumosa Stansfieldj. .
Spore Propagation

Personal Finds— Mr. G. Whitwell's

Polypodium Vulgare

Polystichum Aculeatum and Angulare — Dr. F. W. Stansfield

Fern Hunting in Winter . .

The Hybridization of Ferns

Pioneers of the Fern Cult— Dr. F. W. Stansfield

Vol. I. MARCH, 1910.

Editorial Note

Our Frontispiece (P. acul. pulch. plumosum Green)
The King of the Male Ferns
The Naming of Fern Varieties . .

Fern Curios

The Decorative Value of our Native Ferns

Some Ancient Uses and Beliefs in Ferns

The Jones and Fox Collection in the Clifton Zoological

vjra.TQ6riS »• .. •• •• •• •,

Spring Treatment of Hardy Ferns

Vol. I. JUNE, 1910.

Editoral Note

The August Meeting

Our Frontispiece (Asp. t. inciso-congestum Clementii)

Plumose Variation in Ferns

Cystopteris Fragilis Sempervirens

Raising Lastrea Montana from Spores

Seed Bearers and Spore Bearers ..

No. I.
Page I

3

5

8

1 1
18

No. 2.

Page 25
26
26
29

34
38
40

41

43

No. 3.

Page 49
50
50

.54
.5G
60
64

65

70

No. 4.

Page 73
74
75
76

79
80

S3

220

The Late Mr. James Moly

Apospory . .

The Decorative Value of Our Native Ferns

The Book of British Ferns

List of Members ..

No. 2

Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, 1910.

Editorial Note

The August Meeting (Report and Balance Sheet, etc.)

Our Frontispiece (Lady Ferns) . .

The Decorative Value of our Native Ferns. No. 3 {concluded)

The Common Bracken (Pteris Aquilina)

Cresting in Ferns . .

Fern Wonders

Variegated Hartstongues

Effect of Environment on Variation . .

Polystichum Aculeatum '■ Gracillimum "

New Ferns . .

List of New Members . .

Vol. I. DECEMBER, 1910.

Editorial Notes
Our Frontispiece (Mr. C. B. Green's Fernery)

" My Fernery," by Mr. C. B. Green

British Ferns of the Future

British Ferns in Gloucestershire, by Rev. E. H. Hawkins

A Successful Spore Sowing

The Pedigree of A.f.f. Kalothrix, by Dr. F. W. Stansfield

New Ferns . .

List of New Members

" British Ferns and their Varieties " . .

Page 86
87
91
94
94

No. 5.

Page 97
100
103

105
107

no

113
114
117
119
119
120

No. 6.

Page 121
122
123
126
129
133

137
141

144

144

Vol. I. MARCH, 1911.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece (Polypodium vulgare)

Spring Treatment of Hardy Ferns

" My Fernery," by Mr. C. B. Green (continued)

Mysterious Ferns, by Charles T. Druery

An Aposporous Polystichum, by Dr. F. W. Stansfield

Variegated Hartstongues, by J. W. Tucker ..

Some Adventures of a Novice, by F, W. Thorrington

Our Wonderful Native Ferns, by Charles T, Druery

List of New Members

New Ferns . .

No. 7.

Page 145

146

147

147

154
158

160

161

166

Inside Covey

2 2 I

Vol. I. JUNE, 1911. No. 8.

Editorial Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 169

Our Frontispiece (P. vulgare omnilacerum) .. .. .. 170

The August Meeting .. .. .. .. .. .. 171

Fern Pockets and other Contrivances (z7/i<s/;'a/i?i) ,, ,. 173

Our Wonderful Native Ferns, by Charles T. Druery {continued) 176

The Transmutation (?) of Lastrea ^Emula . . . . . . 179

Fern " Seeds " .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 183

The Lady Fern (Athyrium filix foemina) . . . . . . 185

Blechnum spicant var. concinnum .. .. .. .. 187

New Ferns.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 188

The Benbow Herbarium Collection of Ferns .. .. 189

New Members . . . . . . . . . . . , Inside Cover

*' British Ferns and their Varieties " .. .. ..

LIST OF MEMBERS.

(With Addresses.)

Askew, W. F., Junior, Fern Nursery, Grange, Keswick.
AUchin, F. A., Tredadwell, Fowey, Cornwall.
Aiken, Rev. J. J. M. L., Manse of Ayton, Berwickshire.
Adkin, F. N., Westwood, Oaklands Road, Bromley, Kent.
Apperly, Sir Alfred, Rodborough Court, Stroud, Glos.
Abbey, A. B., 325, Park Street, West Roxbury, Mass., U.S.A.

Boyd, W. B., Faldonside, Melrose.

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

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

Brown, J., 86, Castle Street, Forfar.

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., 10, Avenue d'lena, Paris.
Broadbent, J., Thornlee Fern Nursery, Grotton, Oldham.
Ballantine, H., 5, Heath Bank Road, Birkenhead.
Barker, W. B., Vale View, Backbarrow, near Ulverston.

Cowan, Alexander [President), Valleyfield House, Penicuik, Mid-
lothian.
Cranfield, W. B. [Treasurer), East Lodge, Enfield Chase, Enfield.

222

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.
Chapman, A., The Gardens, Westonbirt, Tetbury.
Crisp, Sir Frank, Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.
Cutbush, Herbert J., Highgate Nurseries, N.

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.
Dorington, Lady, Lypiatt Park, Stroud, Glos.
Dowell, Philip (Editor, American Fern Journal), Port Richmond, N.Y.,

U.S.A.

Eley, T. G. H., Croslands Park, Furness Abbey, Lanes.

Edwards, J., Feme Deane, Oak Bank Avenue, Moston, Manchester.

Edelsten, F. A., The Elms. Forty Hill. Enfield.

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

Firth, O., Dean Head Sanitorium, Horsforth, Yorks.

Frances, J., 3, Glan Aber Road, Chester.

Eraser, G., Ucluelet, British Columbia.

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

Gordon, W., Victoria Road, Maxwelltown, Dumfries.
Green, C. B., Linden Villa, Argyle Road, Swanage.
Goulder, R. L., Woodcroft, near Chepstow.
Greene, Mrs. H. K., Gro\e Craven Arms, Salop.

Heward, Miss M. E., Little Falcourt, near East Grinstead.

Harris, G., Zoological Gardens, Clifton.

Hawkins, Rev. E. H.. Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud.

Hart, G., Woodside, Howth, Co. Dublin."

Henwood, T. E., Auricula Villa, Hamilton Road. Reading.

Hemming, G., The Palace, Alexandra Park, London.

Hargreaves, A., 62, Wrigley Street, Oldham.

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

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

Jacobs, Rev. J., Whitewell Rectory, Whitchurch, Salop.
Johnston, G. Forbes, 163, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, N.B.

Kingscote, T., m.v.o.. Watermoor House, Cirencester, Glos.

Lett, Rev. Canon H. W.,Aghaderg Rectory, Loughbrickland.Co.Down.

2 2"*

Lambert, J., 46, Dantzic Street, Manchester.

Lawson, G. C, Mayfield House, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Litardiere, R. de., 4, Rue Cloche Perse, Poitiers (Vienne), France.

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

Malcomson, G., Castle Place, Belfast.

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., Cliff House, East Cliff, Bournemouth.

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, Crawfordburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down.

Marling, S. S., Stanley Park, Stroud.

Marsh, Miss S. A., Glenlyon, Holyrood, Co. Down.

Milligan, R. M. (Nurseryman), Holyrood, Co. Down.

]\Iorrison, W. T., 23, Gowrie Square, Bridgend, Perth.

McCleery, J. O., Ava House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.

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

Ormerod, G. F., Ashgrove, Elland, Brighouse.
O'Brian, W., 4, Kildare Street, Dublin.

Phillips, W. H., Lemonfield, Holy wood, Co. Down.

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

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

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

Parker, J. B., 14, Adelaide Terrace, Waterloo, Liverpool.

Perkins, ]\Irs. C. E., The Rectory, Hinton Parva, Swindon.

Pritchard, ]\Irs., The Quarry, Colwall, Malvern.

Perry, A., Hardy Plant Nursery, Enfield.

Poole, Mrs. Batten, Road Manor, Bath.

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

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

Powell, Mrs. Stanley, Dorcas, Staplefield, Crawley, Sussex.

Rogerson, Miss B. Stanley, Argaty, Downe, Perthshire,
Read, R. L Gifford, i, Great Chapel Street, Westminster,
Rugg, H. G., Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hamp-
shire, U.S.A.

Raschen, H. H., 56, Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport.
Relton, H. Underfell, Low Fell, near Gateshead.
Rugman, J. C, Plusterwine, Woolaston. near Lydney, Glos.
Railton, G. S., Senior Council School, Tewkesbury.

224

Smithies, 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., Dryden Bank, Loanhead, Midlothian.

Sergeantson, Rev. W,, Acton Burwell, 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., Olympus Mine, West Nicholson, South Rhodesia,
South Africa.

Sonnenschein, W. S., High Morcote, Shalford, Surrey.

Shaw, J. D., 23, Ulsterville Avenue, Belfast.

Start, F., East Lodge Gardens, Enfield Chase.

Salkeld, Mrs. Mary, Greengate, Levens, near Milnthorpe.

Thorrington, F. W., Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hornchurch.
Turner, J. H., Lynwood, Caversham, Reading.
Thatcher, Mrs. E. J., The Manor House, Chew Magna, Somerset.
Tucker, J. W., Ferncroft, Woodah Road, St. Thomas, Exeter.

Wilson, William, 7, Ferney Green, Kendal.

Wiper, J. {Hon. Mem.), Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, British

Columbia.
Wiper, E., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, British Columbia.
Whit well, G. {Hon. Mem.), Serpentine Cottage, Kendal.
Wilson, J. A. {Hon. Mem.), Millbeck Stock, Bowness.
Whiteside, R., 8, Barrowdale Road, Lancaster.
Walton, J. W., Finkle Street, Richmond, Yorkshire.
Williams, J. C. {Life Mem.), Caerhays Castle, St. Austell, Cornwall.
Wilson, Walter, 9, East Lane, Fergustie, Paisley.
Whiteley, T. L., 206, St. Leonard's Road, Bradford.
Wognar, Herr H. Graz, Brockmanng 118/26, 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., Bellahouston House, Glasgow.
Wright, J. H., Courtlands, Rosemont Road, Acton, W.
White, W. L. Salusbury, Lanwern Lodge, Leicester.
Winslow, E. J., Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, Mass., U.S.A.
Winser, Mrs. Anne C. C, Adderley Rectory, Market Drayton.
Watson, W., Curator, Royal Gardens, Kew.
Wootten, Mrs., Boyn Grove, Maidenhead.
Walpole, John E., Highbury Whitby, near Chester.
Woolard, J., 52. Churchfield Road, Acton.

• • • 1 llv • • •

Humorous Side of Horticulture.

A little nonsense now and then
Is relished by the wisest men,
And even Solomon, no doubt,
Was not a solemn'un throughout.

" My sun Bill sez the Tatur Disees is bound to be
sumthin of a cacchy nsLtuvJ'—lVillytim Gvubbius.

"The Tatur Disees"

and Other Essays.

BY

WILLYUM GRUBBINS,

with further matter (wise and otherwise).

COLLATED BY

CHAS. T. DRUERY, V.M.a, FX.S.,

Author of "The New Gulliver, or Travels in Athomia," *' Versatile

Verses/' "The Rocking of the Lilies/' "Choice British Ferns/' ♦^Thc

Book of British Ferns/' "British Ferns and their Varieties/' etc.

Published by the Author,
MOORGATE STATION CHAMBERS, LONDON, E.C.

Bevelled Boards. Illustrated, 2/6 net. 2/9 post free.
But offered to Members of the B.P.S. at 1/6 net, 1'9 post free

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.

* ^ *

Stoijc, GrcenDouse. and otfccr Plants
. • .arc also laraclp sroion. . . ♦

^ * *

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

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDr^ONTOli

VOL. I. No. 10.

♦ » * wDC » ♦ ♦

JBriti6b 3fem
©a3ette»

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

©ecember, 19U.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Ho)i. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, Shaa Rd., Acton, London, W.),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

pr

r. ACULEATUM GRAC'LLIMUM l^RUERY.

{Full Development]

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

DECEMBER, igii.

No. lo.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

Our Frontispiece ..

Some Polystichums Species and Varieties

"Round my Fernery"

POLYPODIUMS and DROUGHT

Some Fern Hobby Experiences

Varieties and Varieties..

Ferns and Mendelism

Cystopteris sempervirens — dorsally proliferous

New Fern

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EDITORIAL NOTES.

The Editor is happy to announce that from all quarters
he is continually receiving most gratifying letters of ap-
preciation regarding the "Gazette," while new members
are swelling the ranks of its subscribers on fairly satisfac-
tory lines. Fairly satisfactory, however, by no means
realises the Editor's ambition, and he begs the present
members once again to aid him to the utmost by bringing
the " Gazette " under the notice of their fern-loving friends,
or at least providing him with the names and addresses of
such, so that he may send them a specimen copy and do
the recruiting himself. The list of members given in the
last issue contrasted with that available at the outset of the
"Gazette" idea, little more than a score, puts him, it is
true, on the right financial side, but it still leaves him no
margin either for the extension of the letterpress or of the
illustrations which he has in view. The subscription of
five shillings per annum, entitling to membership and
consequent association with a large number of fellow

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hobbyists, plus four issues ot the "Gazette," is surely
moderate enough for anyone inspired with a sincere interest
in the marv^els of our Native Ferns, while every increase
in the numbers is a step to that improvement of the
"Gazette" itself, and consequent personal benefit, to
which allusion is made above. All communications should
be addressed to The Editor, 11 , Shaa Road, ActoUj London,

W., WHO WOULD ALSO BE GLAD TO RECEIVE ANY OUT-
STANDING SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR. As

regards the matter of the present issue, we have been again
favoured by Mr. C. B. Green with a most interesting paper
on the Shield Ferns, and also a contribution from the Rev.
W. Kingsmill Moore on the Polypodies. Practical papers
like these, or suggestions for same, are always welcome to

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

The frontispiece to No. i represented a frond of that
remarkable strain of P. acnleatiim pnlclierrhmim (gracil-
limum), to which we have alluded on several occasions^
and to which Mr. Green's article in the present issue also
refers at length. To give an idea of the possibilities of
this strain, we reproduce a photo, kindly taken and supplied
by Mr. Green, of a frond which had developed on another
plant in the Editor's fernery, and which shows the cristu.
late character developed on a much finer scale than before.
It is a curious fact that while in the parental plant P. ac.
pnlchervimum, a piece of which is depicted on p. 4 of No. i,
the pinnae adhere to the specific form by bearing pinnules,
which gradually decrease in length as they taper off towards
the slender tip of the pinna, in the " gracillimum "
section they get longer and larger, and in addition follow
out the same plan by expanding at their tips into pinnuloid
growths, which go far to imitate crests, though not
produced as with crests proper by any ramification of the
midrib. The result is extremely beautiful and unique, as

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our frontispiece shows, and appears to characterize in a
greater or less degree, all the plants of the gracillimum
type as they reach adult size. C. T. D.

SOME POLYSTICHUMS; SPECIES AND

VARIETIES.

The genus Polystichuin, as regards species, constitutes a
very small, but interesting group of British evergreen
Ferns. The two or three species — for doctors differ — into
which this group is divided, fortunately for specialists,
abound in varieties of the most beautiful description. The
term Polystichiim, it may be as well to emphasize, is com-
pounded of two Greek words — polys, many, and stichos^
order — which terms refer to the numerous and orderly array
of the lines of sori, which are so freely distributed over the
backs of the fronds. The common name. Shield Fern, has
reference to the round or shield-shaped indusia, which
cover the spore cases, and which have a central attachment.
The common name, however, is really a translation oiAspi-
dittm — another name for the genus — which is derived from
aspideon, a little shield. Hence we get Aspidistra, a favourite
room-plant, which is often grown in association with Ferns,
in fact, I have a pot in which some self-sown spores have
developed into nice little plants. Here the same etymo-
logical idea prevails with two distinct classes of plants.
If, however, I seem to lay stress on this fact, it is only
because a knowledge of the one is a great assistance to the
understanding of the other.

Having thus disposed of some encumbrance, so to speak,
in regard to nomenclature, which I know is a stumbling
block to many, the most useful thing to do now is to
proceed to a description of varieties. But as varieties are
also subject to technicalities, I would like to point out that
common names are often misleading, whereas scientific
ones should spell accuracy, definition, and absolute identity.
Personally, I have respect for technical terms ; to me they

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are aids to memory, lessons in elocution, and guides to
orthoepy. But as I may be peculiar in this respect, I will
now cast away the shadow for the substance, and the
substance in the Polystichwn world is representative of an
enormous number of concrete examples. Here again,
before we can deal with varieties, we must refer them to
their respective species. And what are varieties but
variations, or departures from the normal ?

As I know least about P. Lonchitis, it will be as well
to dispose of that first. That I have not succeeded with
this Fern is not, perhaps, remarkable, when one considers
its alpine proclivities. These are very difficult to imitate
at lower levels, and in a vitiated atmosphere practically
impossible.

It is, however, a neat little Fern, with speav-like rigid
fronds of pinnate character, and is usually called the Holly
Fern. It was not known as a British Fern when Ray
published his " Catalogue " in 1670 ; although in the second
edition of his ''Synopsis" he adopts the name of Lonchitis
Aspeva Majov^ or "larger rough Spleenvvort, with indented
leaves." He says, " It issues from clefts in the rocks on
the tops of the mountains of Wales, as at Clogwyn-y-
Garnedh-y-Grib-Goch-Trygvylchan ! " A Welsh member,
perhaps, can supply the key, and possibly also the habitat.
Anyhow, the species itself is interesting, while the two
varieties, cvistattim and imbricatiun, are little gems, and are
self-descriptive.

We now come to another species — P. aculeatum, the Hard
Prickly Shield Fern. This species may not inappropriately
be regarded as a magnified form of P. Lonchitis, for a frond
of the latter may well be taken to represent a pinna of the
former. However, it is a Fern of splendid possibilities,
especially in regard to one of its varieties. It is also a Fern
of robust constitution, and differs from P. angnlare in
several particulars, which, however, are more technical
than practical, for it is easier to distinguish between the
growing plants than to define their characteristics. Hence

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in "high places" angtilave is regarded as a variety of
aculeaUtm. To me this seems quite an obverse arrange-
ment, as here, except in Scotland, aculeatitm is considerably
less common than augulare. For garden purposes, how-
ever, they are sufficiently distinct, and we may so regard
them.

P. actikatum, then, although less profuse in the matter of
varieties, has produced a few — or at least one — of surpassing
merit. That one — pulclierrimnm — has hitherto been described
as "an unique beauty." But what shall we say of its
progeny ? Well, I think we must " wait and see " ; for
they are still developing, and unfolding more charms,
" Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." As a
matter of fact, the full capacity of the variations has yet
to be recorded. But as this "beautiful" Fern — and its
progeny — has been fascinatingly dealt with from time to
time in the pages of our much-appreciated Gazette, I merely
refer to it en passant as a part of the subject I have been
asked to promote. (See frontispiece No. i and part of
parent form on p. 4, also frontispiece of No. 3, B.F.G.)

And yet, as second thoughts are often best, and as a
recent visit to Mr. Druery's Fernery compelled my atten-
tion to one of the progeny, I feel forced to refer to this one
as an improved form of gvacillinmni cristulatuni, a certificated
plant {vide frontispiece). That this is capable of still
further " cristulation " is really remarkable ; and yet the
plant in question has pinnules from two to three inches long,
capped with broad sub-crests — a sort of pinnuloid growth
forming pseudo-tassels ! The pinnae are about six inches
long, the fronds lax and graceful, while the Fern, taken as
a whole, is extremely handsome. In fact, like Romeo, one
is inclined to ignore the beauty of Rosalind for the greater
charms of Juliet. Another of the same type occupies a
good deal of air space, for it has a spread of five feet over
and a full set of fronds.

Other varieties are acrocladon, capitatnm, coryinhiferum,
cvistaio-gvacile and grand iceps Ahottcp, all of which are more

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or less crested, as well as distinct and beautiful. Densiim
is another fine foliose form, while hyhvidum acideato-crjiciatum
is one of the late Mr. Lowe's remarkable crosses between
P. ang. Wahleyaimm and P. ac. densuni, which ought to go a
long way towards the argument in favour of unity of species.
This plant, however, is more curious than beautiful — hence
one might reason per contra and vote for purity of species.

The third species of Polystichum — or well-defined garden
form — is P. angiilave. Having already commented on the
disagreement of botanists in the relation of this with
acideatum, I will merely add that, in normal specimens,
their distinctive characters are sufficiently clear for our
purpose. Apart from technical differences, however,
angulare is more soft and delicate in texture and more
pendant and elegant in habit.

As to the varieties, they are so numerous that I cannot
pretend to deal with a tithe of them. In E. J. Lowe's little
book 394 varieties are recorded ; in " The Book of British
Ferns," by Mr. Druery, about i8o forms receive attention;
while in the latest publication — " British Ferns and their
Varieties " — also by Mr. Druery, the author has endea-
voured to slightly curtail this number — to choose, in fact,
only the very best. As, however, there are still too many
for me to manipulate, I will content myself by dealing only
with those that I can recommend. Out of so large a
number, even of good things, one has perforce to be
eclectic — to pick and choose to suit one's own accommoda-
tion and requirements.

At the outset one is confronted with some good things
in the acutilobuin section. Here the fronds are much divided
and the lobes acutely pointed. There are forms of Gray,
Hartley and Phillips, and many more of bulbiferous
character. These are perhaps better known outside the
cult on account of this proliferous habit. They are pro-
pagated by the trade, and seem to find a ready sale, for one
often comes across them. This proliferous peculiarity,
however, is not confined to this section, as all Fern-growers

231

are aware. Then we have the imdtilohiun section, among
which there are some very fine forms. Here the pinnules
are divided into rounded lobes and the fronds assume a
tripinnate character.

At Kew both sections are well represented and looked
wonderfully satisfactory in October last, the season not-
withstanding. I particularly noted tvipinnaUim.

C. B. Green.
(To be cofitinued .)

''ROUND MY FERNERY."

One of the chief delights of the Fern lover who possesses
a good collection is to receive a visit from a sympathetic
and appreciative fellow hobbyist and to take him round,
and, without a fear of boring him, dilate upon the
peculiarities and the histories of his specialities and acquisi-
tions. In this way there is always something to be
mutually learnt by the comparison of experiences, and
although it is not quite the same thing to address such
sympathetic spirits by mere pen and ink, in the absence of
the precious pets, the ferns themselves, there is a pleasure
in undertaking such a task, and quite possibly a sympa-
thetic one is evolved on the part of the reader or readers.
My Fernery then, or rather my collection, consists of three
departments, viz. a cold conservatory on the north side of
the house about 23 feet by 14 feet, a garden about 80 feet
by 30 feet, and a spare north room in the dwelling house,
in which there is a Wardian case for spore culture. In the
conservatory, in some 500 pots of various dimensions, there
are some hundreds of the choicest varieties mostly of the
more delicate structural kind which are the better for
protection, while in the open there are some hundreds of
plants, embracing a large number of Ferns, raised from
spores and otherwise acquired, which better stand the
influence of sun and wind. The first thing we note on
entering the conservatory from the house is an immense
plant of the original A . f.f. pUimosuui Dviievy, four feet high

232

and more through, the beautiful cutting of which must be
seen to be appreciated. In the corner to the left is the
** King of the Male Ferns" (L. p. m. cvistata)^ with aa
eighteen-inch trunk, due to constant suppression of lateral
off-sets, which we have had over thirty years, and in the
opposite corner a larger but trunkless specimen oi L. p. m.
polydactyla Wills. Behind this, on a shelf, stands a half-
round cork receptacle with a roofing-slate back, in which,
for at least twenty-five years, a Lady Fern of the well-
crested Craigii persuasion has thriven without any change
of soil save now and then a handful or two by way of mulch
to make up for shrinkage. From holes left in the cork a
number of self-sown seedlings of several species protrude
and thrive without detriment to the Lady Fern aforesaid,
a curious example of persistent growth without special
attention, division, or shifting, for an extended period. At
this end of the conservatory, as companions to those named,
there are arranged on a series of step shelves or supported
on drain pipes as space demands, a fine specimen of the
original A . /./. Victoria; ^ the original A . f.f. pevcvistatum
Cousens, an immense plant about five feet across of P. ang.
plumosum Gviinmondii on the lines of the Jones and Fox
plumosums, a division of the original P. ang. acrocladon
received from Mr. Mapplebeck the finder, a few of
the choicest Drnevyii pevcristatiim Lady Ferns, an
immense specimen of P. aculeattim pulchevnimim , and last,
but by no means least, an original division of A. f.f.
Clavissima Jones, upon which apospory was first dis-
covered by the writer. In and among these are
smaller examples, including L. p. ;/;. finbriafa cvistata,
P. ang. pevcristatiim Moly, a charming fern with evenly-
crested pinnules, and Moly's P. ang. grandiceps^ a particu-
larly fine seedling form, while on shelves there are several
pans full of the new and promising brood of P. aculeatum
gvacillimum Drnery, which so unexpectedly sprang from
P. aculeatum pnlcherrimum a few years back, as described in
the first number of our " Gazette."

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We now descend a step into that part of the conservatory
which represents an extension of the short one originally
built, and to which we have adverted above, and here we
find a large oblong central step-staging with lateral step
stages all round with red tiled pathways between and a
wide shelf across the end, which is entirely of glass, while
the sides are of wood or brickwork for half their height.
The chief ornaments in the centre consist of another huge
specimen of P. acul. ptilchevvimum^ the actual parent of the
new batch in question, WoUaston's P.ang.cvistatum No. lo,
a gem of first water, and also one of A. f.f. phimosum
Dvuery, the latter a single crown division of the original,
Wills' A. f.f. pi lunosuiii, a presumed cross of the writer's
effected between A. f.f. pevcristatum Cousensii and A. f.f.
Kalothvix, but only suggesting the influence of the latter by
its elongated pinnules, the original A. f.f. superbiim, from
which sprang all the " superbum " strain now so prominent
among the elite of the Lady Fern tribe, including plumosum
Dviievy itself, several choice descendents of same, L. p. m.
ramosissima, L. f. in. polydadyla Dadds, a grand Scol. v.
crispttm (Stablerae), 5. v. sagittato grandiceps, a curio with a
sort of triple bunch crest on the top of a bare stalk, raised
by the writer from a merely suhsagittate lohatnm (one of
nine ail alike), Mr. Alexander Cowan's beautifully crested
Pseudathyrium alpestvc, several fine plumose Polystichums of the
Stansfield strain and a score or two of other interesting
varieties on a smaller scale, including a mottled crested
Lady Fern, presumably a Cousensii seedling, but variegated.
This central group is very interesting, and we may here
indicate an essential point in its arrangement and that of
the other shelving around it, viz. that all is so arranged
that every plant is within easy reach, experience having
taught us that otherwise it is not only difficult to examine
and appreciate, but sooner or later plants of difficult access
are bound to be neglected. On the left hand shelving there
are particularly arranged specimens of interest as our own
finds or raisings, and practically every one has its history

234

as such. The most prominent plants are naturally a row

of now finely developed specimens of P. aculeatum gvacilliimim

Druevyj probably of full size in several instances. These

have^turned out to be, not merely of quite unique beauty with

their long lucent surfaced pinnules an inch or two long, but

as having a fine robust constitution. No tv/o are precisely

alike in make but all are peculiarly beautiful, a symmetrical

circlet of characteristic fronds nearly a yard in length is a

sight to be seen. About half a score of these, including a

specimen of Mr. C. B.Green's "plumosum" of likeorigin,but

on very different lines, are ranged along this side, and only

interrupted by a grand specimen seedling of P. ang.

B al dm iuii, with perfect tips and without a blemish. This,

unfortunately, though raised from spores gathered by

ourselves from the original finely dissected form, does not

repeat the parent, but only rivals, or perhaps excels, in

constitution P. ang. d. p. denswn Jones and Fox, whence,

according to Mr. E.J. Lowe, Baldwinii arose as a bulbiL

Along the shelf upon which these gems are elevated are a

number of Hartstongue finds of our own and one or two

specimens of that unique gem L. p. m. pevcvistata apospora^

any portion of whose delicately fringed and tasselledfronds,^

is capable of producing an indefinite number of plants by

associated apospory and apogamy, first growing out into

Prothalli, while these almost immediately bud out into

the parental form, the usual slow sexual process being

omitted. Garnett's aposporous and crested ^././. Clavissima

is here in fine form, but it is quite obvious that space

precludes detail of all the specimens.

On the opposite^ side are grouped the Polypodium vnlgave
varieties, a number of good specimens monopolizing half
the length. Along the window at the end are grouped a
considerable number mostly of small-growing forms, among
which is Scol. v. Cousensiij the most marked of the dense
ramifying varieties as found wild. Here, too, is our own
spirale, rainoso-cristatum, finibriattim and others of the Harts-
tongue tribe, and, as an exception in size, a fine plant

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of Moly's P. ang. pulcnerrimnm variegatunif which is quite
unique as a permanently aposporous and symmetrically
variegated British Fern. On a second shelf in front of this
one is a row of ninety potted seedlings of P. actil. pulchevri'
nmiii, many of which have declared themselves as future
" gracillimums," while among the rest are many promising
foliose forms. This lot, and those in pans mentioned above^
undoubtedly represent one of the most remarkable batches
of British Fern gems ever obtained. The opportunity of
watching their development may be ranked as one of the
highest rewards a fern lover can desire for his toil and trouble.
At this point we feel we should have been wiser to have
headed our notes " A Shelf in Our Fernery " rather than
as entitled, so much has been omitted in this necessarily
limited glance, particularly as the plants outside remain to
be considered. Stepping, then, into the open, we see before
us one oblong bed containing a jungle of long-established
forms, and in the shadow of the Fernery and the partial
shadow of the west wall a similar jungle extends almost
the whole length of the garden. Further on, and entirely
unshaded, are two wide beds recently established, and in
the centre of the lawn there is an oval bed with a large
white Lilac tree in the centre, under the shade of which a
group of very choice plumose and other Shield Ferns are
doing marvellously well. The old-established specimens
would appear to be handicapped by the profuse growth of
self-sown Primroses, Scillas and, truth to tell, an abundant
supply of weeds, and amid which may be discerned much
of the debris of old fronds of previous seasons. In point
of fact, however, we find that the soil being thus covered
forms a great protection against drought, and the very
robust character of the Ferns shows clearly enough not
only that they can hold their own, but derive an advantage
from their untended environment. Even Lastvea montana
grows vigorously in the full sun, L. dilatata and other
Lastreas attain full size, as do many of the Athyria, while
Shield Ferns thrive as if in a Devonian Combe.

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With the Hartstongues we have for years been terribly-
handicapped by the Weevil (Otiovhynciis sulcatus), particu-
larly under glass, where the beetle in summer destroyed the
fronds, and its grubs the roots during the winter, to such
an extent that we could never raise a presentable specimen.
We have, consequently, contrived two narrow beds in the
passage-way between ours and our neighbour's house, and
as this is protected from the wind, and also from the sun,
save for about an hour in the day, we have transferred our
damaged specimens thither,and to all appearances they are
taking hold and mean to thrive.

Reading over the above, we find that the Polypodmm
vulgare section has been too briefly treated, especially as,
owing to the curious fact that many of the best forms do
not start growth until July, they extend the interesting
growing and developing season for several months. In
pots and pans under glass there is a splendid group
embracing all the best, while two large wire baskets
mounted on drain-pipes standing in corners, and containing
fine specimens of several varieties each, complete the
collection.

The Cambricum section is represented by vigorous
specimens of the old Camhrictiin, Bavvoivii, Pvestonii and
Hadwinii, a smaller-growing variety being, we believe,
Oakleyac. The crested ones are hifido-cvistat^im, cristatnin,
gvandiceps Parker, Forster and Fox, glomevatiim MuUins,
yamosum Hillman, cvistatum Scarborough (received from Mr.
W^oUaston) and Covnuhiense hifido-innltifidum, a curious cross
effected by Mr. Clapham which rings the changes on the
normal, the several grades of cutting of Cornubiense itself,
and all these types with the hifido-nmUifidum blood evidenced
by divided tips, all these forms cropping up in the shape of
entire fronds, or parts of fronds, in a sort of "anyhow"
manner. Cornubiense itself figures in its forms of tricho-
manoides and Clapham's plumose cross, and, of course, the
old original erratic form is found. P. v. pulcherruiium,
our own find " luacrosoravi," a deltoid, well-cut variety of

237

a particularly fertile character, inacvostachya, longipinnatnm^
sevvatum, seniilaccvum, omnilaceviiui and a number of other
varieties all figure and suffice to show the wonderful
versatility of this species. We must not forget to add
P. V, Rohevtsii, found last year as a tiny plant near Barn-
staple, and promising to be a very fine form on probably
J)ulchevvimum lines, though not yet sufficiently developed to
name otherwise than provisionally.

Finally, we may mention three seedlings from the L.
thelyptevis polydactylay found in the United States, which are
developing fme g y and iceps cresting, entitling them justifiably
to election as British-born varieties of that hitherto unvaried

species in this country.

C. T. D.

POLYPODIUMS AND DROUGHT.

In most parts of the United Kingdom the summer of
igii has been rainless. I spent August in Devon and
Cornwall. Everywhere the growth of the ferns was
affected, often the Polystichums and Scolopendviums being
limp and helpless, like dying animals craving a drop of
water.

But the Polypodiums, so far as my observation goes,
have not only tolerated, but have thriven upon the drought.

In my " Polypodery " in Co. Dublin upwards of twenty
varieties flourish. They are in shade and in shelter ; but
most of them are planted after a fashion which, even in a
normal season, involves a minimum of root moisture.
Noticing the fern's liking for having its roots in connec-
tion with wood, and its love of quick drainage, I hollowed
out a number of elm logs differing in height from one to
two and a-half feet. Some others, made hollow by nature,
were filled with rough stones, which carry off water at
once, those hollowed artificially were drained by many
augur holes. The result has been a bed for the ferns not
far removed in dryness from the top of a wall.

238

The plan, which was first tried some half-dozen years
ago, has succeeded beyond expectation, and many kinds
which almost refused to grow before now flourish and give
no trouble. This note, however, is concerned not with the
general conditions of the " polypodery," but with its
behaviour this dry summer. Speaking comprehensively,
I may say that these ferns have actually done better in
the drought than before. One or two may be a little
shorter ; this is certainly the case with P. v. Ptdclievvinmm,
which usually attains to abnormal dimensions in a tall
stump ; on the other hand, some are taller, e.g. P. v.
Cvistatum Minor has ceased to be Minor by doubling its
usual size.

But all show a luxuriance and fulness of development
which I have not noticed before. This is particularly the
case with the beautiful P. v. Tvichoumnoides and its near
relative P. v. Ekgantissimum, but it applies more or less tO'
all. Such growth, under such trying climatic conditions,
would have been less remarkable had artificial watering
been employed, but as a matter of fact the watering-pot
has not been used for the Polypodmms more than once or
twice during the season.

H. KiNGSMILL MoORE, D.D.

Cedar Mount, Dundrum.

SOME FERN HOBBY EXPERIENCES.

Every hobby-rider is, of course, particularly enamoured
of, and engrossed in, his own special pursuit, and it is a
good thing that it is so, since sincere enthusiasm in any
direction involving collection and studious research is
almost bound to add something to the general store of
knowledge by the investigation involved and the facts
ascertained and put on record which otherwise might have
been lost. There are, however, hobbies and hobbies, and
we may legitimately divide them into two categories, the
natural and the artificial. The artificial hobby may be
described as one which is entirely devoted to human handi-

239

work or ideas of some kind or other, while the natural
hobby deals with the work of Nature, at any rate as a
basis, and it is to this class that the British Fern hobby
belongs. A natural hobby is absolutely inexhaustible, we
can never plunge deeply into it without perceiving that the
special branch involved in our studies is part and parcel of
the great scheme of Creation, with all its marvellous laws
and phenomena, while in a hobby of the other kind, the limit
is that of human capacity as contrasted with the infinite.
In my '•' case, perhaps, this enthusiasm has been emphasised
by peculiar good fortune, since success, whether the result
of chance or that of careful study, is bound to inspire
greater vigour in the pursuits concerned.

Chance, indeed, has been the main factor with me in
establishing a hobby on successful lines. It was pure
chance that a mixed sowing of spores in 1881 should yield
two quite different varieties of Lady Ferns, a young
seedling of which in each case was dotted profusely with
bulbils. That was practically the starting point of recorded
observations, and it is a curious fact that despite hundreds
of subsequent sowings, it is only this year (thirty years
afterwards) that a similar experience has occurred. A
published record of this led to other bulbil-bearing Ferns
being submitted to me for my opinion, and this eventually
brought under my notice the bulbil-bearing pinna of A. f.f,
plumosiini eleganSf^hich. in two generations, from its associated
spores, gave the wonderfully beautiful and diverse strain of
the '' stt'pevbujii" plumosums to the world. This again was
pure chance ; I sowed merely to get eiegajis, which I did
not possess, and good fortune did the rest. It was to the
reputation based on the original bulbil discoveries (and
which led the late Mr. Burbridge to dub me " Bulbil
Druery") which brought the mysteriously barren and yet
apparently sporiferous ''A. ff, Clarissima Jones" under my
notice, and I still vividly remember my repeated remarks
to my wife during the investigations I was making in that
* These notes are too personal for the editorial " we."

240

connection that at last " there was something new under
the sun," which indeed, so far as records went, proved to be
the case when the new phenomenon of " Apospory " was
demonstrated, proved and accepted by the Linnean Society.
Who could avoid becoming an enthusiastic hobbyist when
so rewarded, not by the acquisition of an inanimate piece
of bric-a-brac or a new or old postage-stamp, but by a
discovery which enabled me to produce from a bit of a
fern frond of a peculiarly beautiful type, and as a barren
fern, individually unique, some hundreds of counterparts
for wide distribution. In artificial hobbies, as we have
defined them, there are, at any rate, no experiences of this
enthralling kind. The recent experience with Polystichum
aculeatum pulchcvrimiim is another stroke of absolute luck
due to nothing but a desire to increase a beautiful parental
form, rare because always deemed barren, and a host of
far lovelier and quite new varieties is vouchsafed both to
Mr. Green, who made a joint sowing, and myself.

Many of my old fellow Fern hobbyists, who, alas ! in
many cases have joined the majority, have been signally
fortunate in another line, viz. that of Fern hunting, adding
scores and even hundreds to the list of known and beautiful
varieties, by their assiduous search in the districts round
about them. These discoveries were mostly favoured by
residence in the ferny districts of Great Britain, but I,
a Londoner born and bred and constantly resident therein,
had but the autumn week or two, and these only in occa-
sional years, to devote to this branch of the hobby, and yet
fortune has favoured me again with numerous finds of value
as a proof that it is well within the competence of the town
dwelling Fern hobbyist to reap success in that direction.

One point I have always borne in mind and recommend
strongly to my fellow enthusiasts, and that is not to hide
their light under a bushel by failing to record and publish
their discoveries or experiences for the benefit of their
fellow Fern lovers. This does not involve, or, at any rate,
should not involve censure for egotism. Personal experience

24 I

always appeals far more strongly to the mind than

indefinite hearsay, and it is this convection rather than

egotism, which has dictated this little excerpt from my

own career as a fern hobbyist for the possible benefit of my

readers.

C. T. D.

VARIETIES AND VARIETIES.

In the study of variation in the Fern world, novv that it
is known that the number of varieties, natural, i,e. wild,
and cultural, as resulting from subsequent sowing of spores
from wild finds, is practically unlimited, discrimination of
what is worth growing and what is not becomes more and
more essential. The wild forms, of course, possess the
greatest interest as the results of natural evolution since
their abnormalities, however curious and in our present
knowledge inexplicable, must inevitably be due to some
underlying natural cause, some subtle influence in the
mother cell within which they must oiiginate. This must
be so, since every fern and every part of a fern starts growth
with a single cell, which by subsequent division and multi-
plication builds up a structure which, as a rule, conforms
to the specific plan of the plants concerned. We find,
however, that if we, as fern hunters, carefully examine a
large number of plants in a wild state, departures from
the normal specific type are by no means infrequent, mostly,
it is true, of a minor, or it may be, partial type; but as we
are aware, every now and again examples present them-
selves of a very marked character indeed, the peculiarities
pervading the entire plant, including its reproductive system .
As a result of this, not merely is the individual markedly
modified, but its progeny is similarly or even more markedly
affected, which of course is the selective cultivator's oppor-
tunity. Some species we find to be much more constant
to the normal type than others. With the Spleenworts, for
instance, we may examine thousands, nay, scores of
thousands without finding any appreciable departure ; while

242

on the other hand, with the Lady Fern, in many places
where it is abundant, there is so much variation in cutting,
habit and general detail that it is difficult to match the
fronds of any two individuals. In the Lastreas, L. filix mas
is much given to the production of " rogue " forms, partial
forkings and irregularities characterizing some fronds on
a plant while the rest are quite normal. L. montana, where-
ever it is found, is apt to produce the '* truncata " type, and
also varies greatly in width and foliaceousness independently
of environment. L. dilatata, too, varies so much as to
constitute a subject of disputation between botanists, who
have considered it to consist of several distinct species,
L. spinulosa, L. uliginosa, and L. cristata, though in the
opinion of our most experienced British fernists all these
are so linked together by intermediate forms that L. dilatata
should be held to embrace them all, they thus ranking
merely as varietal forms and not species proper.

Recurring to L. filix mas, however, we consider that Mr.
G. B. WoUaston was fully justified in dividing this into three
sub-species, L. filix mas, L.pseudo mas, and L. pvopinqua mas,
since each of them has its distinct characters which he has
clearly defined and which fern hunters easily recognize.
No one, for instance, seeing filix mas side by side with
pseiido mas can confound one with the other, and pvopinqua,
with its local distribution and curved pinnae is equally
recognizable, linking forms not being found. Poly podium
vidgare may be classed with the generally constant, but
careful study will show local differences of make particularly
in the arrangement of the terminal pinnae, sometimes
tapering gradually towards the frond tip, which at others
finishes off with a pinna set as it were on end. All these,
however, are minor forms of variation, which are now
practically ignored in favour of the really abnormal types
which crop up sporadically and are rarely found in quantity.
These represent very wide departures from the normal,
involving often great differences in structure such as no
■normal species presents. There is, for instance, no known

243

species which bears crests or terminal tassels, and yet
curiously enough so large a number of both British and
€xotic species have sported in that way, and fresh and diverse
species are so constantly displaying it under culture or as
wild finds, that the whole Fern world would appear to be
subject to variation in this particular way. It is even a
matter of surprise that in the process of specific and generic
evolution, in which it is reasonable to assume " sports " or
*' mutations " must have played a part, no crested species
should have appeared, particularly as cresting does not
involve any reduction of spore-producing energy, the very
crests or tassels indeed often bearing spores in profusion.

Variation naturally assumes all grades, and ranges from

the comparatively slight departures from the common type,

which may be regarded as mere individualities, such as in

the Lady Ferns we have alluded to, up to such marked and

thorough types as form the elitey and represent the

material upon which the expert selective cultivator works,

and from which he has obtained through the spore most of

the finest forms in cultivation. Many thorough-breds yield

progeny so true to their own type that no progress is

made, but it by no means follows that every season's

sowing will yield the same results. When once the normal

type is departed from, it may be accepted as a general rule

that variation will occur again. Some years ago we

made a sowing from our own find Atliyviiim f. f. cristatum

Kilrushense, the finest wild tasselled form yet discovered,

but to our surprise the sowing yielded no crested ferns, a

subsequent second sowing however yielded nothing but

thoroughly typical forms, including a qvandiceps. We

therefore concluded that an error had been made in the

registration of sowing No. i, but this opinion has been

greatly shaken by the fact that a third sowing, made last

season with particular care, is showing a mass of Lady

Ferns, among which so far we are only able to detect two

or three slightly crested ones. This would seem to indicate

that different seasons may differently affect the repro-

244

ductive system, inducing reversions at one time and
adherence to parental type at another. Years ago Mr.
Whitwell accidentally raised a number of very dwarf ramo-
cristate plants of Lastvca propinqna in a sowing of Blechnum
spores, and these were so diverse from any fern in his
possession that their genesis has always been a puzzle.
On a visit, however, this season to Messrs. H. B. May's
nursery we saw a large batch of precisely similar dwarf
plants, all of which had originated from a registered sowing
of L. pvopinqua crispa, which is neither dwarf nor ramo-
cristate, the parental fern not appearing at all. The genesis
of Mr. Whitwell's batch is thus established, but why two such
diverse batches should appear at long intervals and not at
all in the interim is as great a puzzle as the original one,
and must apparently depend upon some seasonal influence
which only occurs at intervals. These examples, however,
lie a little apart from the moral this article is intended to
inculcate, viz. that only thorough-bred symmetrical and
constant forms and not sub-varieties or defective types,
should be used for selective purposes or given names which
will leave an impression of value on the minds of fern
students.

Members of the "curio" tribe, unless beautiful as well,
should be ignored (except as souvenirs) when found wild.
That it is only the best which will engender the best is
the motto to be adopted, and whether mentally formulated
or not, it embodies the principle that has raised our
British Ferns to their present elevation as embracing some
of the most beautiful Ferns the world has produced.
Half a century ago popular taste for them was, if not
killed entirely, rendered entirely dormant, by the
exhibition of " monstrosities," whose very defects
were made the subject of high encomiums and high
prices to fit, while the small comparative number of
" thorough-breds " were lost in the crowd. To-day the
latter, thanks to enthusiastic collectors and cultivators, are
so numerous that the case is entirely reversed, but still we

245

have to be careful, or the ease and abundance with which
the rogue forms assert themselves, and are thus liable to be
put forward for sale, may water down the popular interest
now felt and revive to some extent the old idea that British
Ferns are not worth growing.

C. T. D.

FERNS AND MENDELISM.

I have sometimes been asked whether I considered that
Ferns were subject to Mendelian laws of heredity, but
although I have no doubt that those laws pervade all
organic life and embrace therefore Ferns, it appears to me
a matter of extreme or indeed insuperable difficulty to
establish this as a fact in the same way as has been so
abundantly done in the animal and plant world generally.
The reproductive operations of the Fern appear to me to
be conducted on such lines as practically to exclude
scientific certainty in tabulating results or even in tracing
results to definite causes. The well-established fact that
when once a fern has " sported " its progeny are liable to
sport again, introduces a disturbing factor, as indeed the
faculty of spontaneous " sporting " must do in all Mende-
lian experiments, by introducing new " characters " which
may entirely upset the calculations of the experimentalists.
Another grave difficulty is involved in the minute
character of the reproductive operations, which renders
crossing on systematic lines a practical impossibility. The
only line to be followed by would-be investigators is to
ignore varieties and to confine their efforts to the crossing of
normal forms of species sufficiently closely allied but also
sufficiently distinct in character to permit of recognition of
such distinctive characters in the crossed progeny should any
result. Even here, however, should F^, or the first family,
produce recognisable results, which it might not, even with
a successful cross, since the dominant character usually
asserts itself in Fi, the cross, thus showing that type only,

246

no systematic second crossing afterwards would be
practicable even if the progeny were fertile, and the only
way would be to sow again from Fi, by itself, and trust to
the segregation of character in F., showdng the Mendelian
proportions. A further drawback is that ferns are not
usually fertile in the first year or two, so that experiments
would require a much longer period than, for example,
annual peas or other plants which yield a fresh generation
every year. In this connection it may be w'ell to record
here that an undoubted cross between the percvuciate A. f. f.
Victoria and the bristly A. f. f. setigevum was raised by
Mr. Birkenhead some years ago, the progeny being of true
Victorae form, but bristly like setigerum. A sowing
from one of these by the writer yielded a number of plants
all quite true to the mixed type, a proof, so far as it goes,
that in this case no segregation of character occurred on
Mendelian lines.

C. T. D.

SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE VAR.
SAGITTATO-GRANDICEPS.

It is a well-known fact to those who raise Scolopendrium
varieties from spores that the progeny is very apt to vary
considerably, and, although maintaining the particular
characters of the parent, to present them in varying grades.
The above-named form, however, is interesting as forming
a marked exception, although from its history it would
have been expected that considerable variation would have
arisen. In the first place the immediate parent was found
wild in Cornwall as a form of " lobatum," a common type
of quite normal make save that the tips of the fronds are
divided into several. In this case, how^ever, the basal
lobes were lengthened and somewhat fanned at their tips,
so that it was named sagittato-lobatum. As the wild fronds
so characterized sent to me bore spores, by way of experi-

247

ment these were sown. The result, greatly to my surprise,
was the appearance among a number of variants, normal
or irregularly inheriting the comparatively simple parental
form, of nine plants, all alike, in which the flat strap-like
specific frond had disappeared, being replaced by three
ball-like crests agglomerated together to form one ball-like
mass at the top of a long, bare stalk. This evidently
resulted from the fingered lobatum terminal of the parent
and the fanned tips of the basal lobes having been so
modified as to form three heavy crests on grandiceps lines,
while these absorbed so much of the energy of each frond
that the leafy or strap-like portion became suppressed, the
three crests thus being merged into one, though on
examination the triple character is clear enough. I
therefore named it as above. It is, so far as I know, an
absolutely unique form, and has, moreover, on several
occasions developed bulbil plants on the frond surfaces.

By way of further experiment I sowed spores, which are
sparsely produced, some two years ago. The result has
been a considerable batch of plants, every one of which is
producing exactly the parental character without any
reversion at all to the grandparental type, so that the new
character seems to be entirely fixed.

The original batch of nine plants arose, it will be
observed, from a sowing of spores from the wild form
before it had been under cultivation, taken, in short, from
a wild frond, and it is clear that had these spores been
scattered the new form might have appeared as an inde-
pendent find, which nobody would have been inclined to
attribute to the actual parent. As a rule, when discovering
varieties, it is impossible to find forms in the locality which
indicate the probability of step-by-step variation instead
of the sudden assumption of a new type in its full develop-
ment. Obviously, however, in this case, the possibility of
such gradings being masked by the extent of the change is
not excluded.

C. T. D,

248

CYSTOPTERIS SEMPERVIRENS
(PROLIFEROUS).

I have received from Dr. Stansfield a portion of a frond
of this species from Mr. H. Stansfield's Nursery at Sale,
near Manchester, on which a large number of young
plants with nearly inch-long fronds have been developed
from dorsal bulbils amid the spore heaps. Although
similar dorsal bulbils are produced in conjunction with the
sori on several abnormal varieties of British Ferns — viz.
the plumose Athyria, P. vnlgave degantissimum and Adiantum
capillns veneris var. wibvicaUim — this appears to be the first
instance of their appearance in a normal British species.
C. sempevvivcns was found many years ago in both Kent and
Devon, but was assumed to be an introduction from
Madeira. A full description, however, of a more recent
find in Scotland is given in No. 4, pages 79 to 80, of the
** British Fern Gazette," which establishes its indigenous
character, and the question now is whether it should not be
recorded as a distinct native species rather than a mere
variety of C. fvagilis. C. T. D.

NEW FERN.

The Rev. E. H. Hawkins, of Stroud, has kindly sent
me a plant of a very fine P. angidave cvistatum found by
himself five or six years ago at Finure, co. Cork. It is a
perfectly constant and symmetrical form, of full size,
neatly crested both terminally and laterally. The pinnules
are set with fine teeth, giving a suggestion of the percris-
tatum character, but are not crested. On a well-developed
frond the lateral crests are so heavy as to give an elegant
pendulous character to the pinnae. The plant is sparingly
bulbiferous and abundantly fertile. As a cristatum pure
and simple, it is, I think, at least equal to the very best
previously found, and I am not sure that it has an equal in
thoroughness, grace and symmetry. F. W. Stansfielp.

Reading, September 2nd, 191 1.

^^ 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.

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 sires, from the smallest to gigantic specimens,
inspection of which at all times is cordially invited.

* * *

stove, 6reenDou$e, and otDcr Plants
. . .are also laraeip arotun. . . .

* * *

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

H. B. MAY & SONS,

THE FERN SPECIALISTS,

THE NURSERIES, UPPER EDMOKTON.

VOL. I. No. 11.

♦ ♦ ♦ wDv ♦ ♦ ♦

JBritieb Ifcm
©asette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

fIDarcb, 1912.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

{Hojt. Secretary, C. T. Druery, ii, SJiaa Rd., Actons London, 11'.),
KENDAL, WESTMORELAND.

The Polystichums.

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

MARCH, 1912.

No. II.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Editorial Notes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 249

Our Frontispiece (The Polystichums) .. .. ., 250

The Narrative of a Resuscitated Collection .. .. 251

Our Common Ferns (The Lastreas) .. .. .. .. 258

Some Polystichums : Species and Varieties {continued) . . 262

New Fern Strains . . .. .. .. .. .. .. 267

Spring Treatment of Hardy Ferns .. .. .. .. 271

The Angulare Pulcherrimums. . .. .. .. .. 274

New Ferns .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 280

EDITORIAL NOTES.

Naturally during the winter and dormant season
for Ferns we have little to report as to new things,
but we present with pleasure to our members a most
interesting article from Dr. F. W. Stansfield on that
peculiarly interesting section of the Shield Ferns, which
has been christened the " pulcherrimums " or the beautiful,
which in their best form they richly deserve, but which
had their discoverers known of the phenomenon of
" apospory," which is a characteristic associated with all
the angulares so named, a more appropriate name in the
scientific sense would doubtless have been given. We
have also been favoured with an interesting and amusing
paper by Mr. W. B. Cranlield, relating to what may be
termed the "resurrection" treatment of moribund ferns,
by virtue of which a large number of Mr. Moly's original
and unique finds have been not only restored to life but
multiplied into the bargain. We would once more impress
upon our members our desire that they will help us with
MSS. relating to their finds and experiences, since the

250

Gazette is expressly founded for the publication of records
of this kind for the general benefit, and it is undoubtedly
in the power of every thorough-going student of the cult to
add something to his or her fellow student's knowledge.
Finally, we should be glad if those members who have not
yet remitted their subscriptions for the current year, 191 1 -12,
will do so by an early post in response to the request sent
herewith. To save reference the subscription is only
5s., entitling to membership and four issues of the Gazette,
and such remittance should be made to the Hon. Secretary
and Editor, 11, Shaa Road, Acton, W. Finally, once
again, we want more members, and a copy of the Gazette
will be willingly sent gratis to any Fern lovers likely to
join. If each member would enlist only one new one,
the Gazette could be greatly increased, both pictorially and
otherwise, which is the great objective of

The Editor.

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

In the frontispiece of this issue we give a representation
of a group of the most striking forms of the Shield Ferns
(Polystichums), the names of which we append. This
genus, owing to its thoroughly evergreen nature and the
wonderful versatility of its varietal types, to say nothing of
the peculiarly feathery beauty of the plumose forms, ranks
undoubtedly as the head of the elite of the Fern world, so
much indeed is this the case that every ardent British
Fern cultivator is bound sooner or later to become a
Polystichum enthusiast, and hence ^ve make no apologies
for the predominance of matter in this issue concerning
this remarkable family.

No. I. Polystichum aculeatum acrocladon.
„ 2. ,, angulare acrocladon. [Gray.

3. ,, ,, brachiato cristatum

4. „ aculeatum pulcherrimum (Pinna

and frond tip).

251

No. 5. Polystichum angulare Thompsoniae (Top

half of frond).

,, 6. ,, ,, divisilobum cristatum

Ivery (pinna).

7. ,, ,, pulcherrimum varie-

gatum Moly.

8. ,, „ plumosum Pateyii

(pinna).

9. ,, ,, cristatum Wollaston

(crest).

10. „ ,, grandiceps Talbot

(crest).

11. ,, ,, rotundatum (top half

of frond).

The Editor.

»•

i>

})

))

THE NARRATIVE OF A RESUSCITATED

COLLECTION.

I am induced to put pen to paper, firstly in the hope
that others may profit by my experience, in the second
place to record the resuscitation of varieties collected by
the late Mr. James Moly and possibly unknown to the
majority of Fern hunters.

At the outset I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness
to the Editor for his assistance and suggestions of treat-
ment, without which the experiments would probably have
ended in failure.

For some years I had corresponded with the late Mr.
Moly on subjects ferny and otherwise, and a few years
before his death he wrote me that, with advancing age and
the death of old friends, he was unable to look after his
ferns, and offered me his collection. I need hardly say
that I at once accepted his offer, but as I was about
changing my residence, arranged for the ferns to remain in
situ until I could conveniently remove them. It was not
until August of 1908 — an exceptionally hot and dry month

252

— that I found an opportunity of transferring the coUeG-
tion to their present quarters. I persuaded my wife and
one of my daughters to accompany me, and on arriving
at Axminster we journeyed to Charmouth by the omnibus
which meets the principal trains, and here we met with our
first surprise. The coachman, who had to drive a pair
of horses, manipulate the brake and handle luggage had
lost one arm, but appeared to be able to discharge his
duties with alacrity with the aid of one hand and an iron
hook attached to the other arm. I am afraid the authori-
ties in some parts of the country would have hesitated to
grant a driver's license to an; individual so afflicted, but I
learned that the coachman had driven the omnibus for
years, and was regarded as an institution.

On reaching Charmouth I explained my mission to the pro-
prietor of the hotel, where we had arranged to stay, who bade
me joy of my quest. Mr. Moly was regarded as, to say the
least, eccentric, leading the life of a recluse, and no woman
had been known to pass through his gates, and as my
wife and daughter with me were proposing to render me some
assistance, this was not encouraging.

The next morning I walked to Langmore Manor House
with a view to reconnoitring, but I was not prepared for
the task with which I was confronted. What was
originally a fern paradise was completely overgrown with
rank weeds, brambles and sapling trees, many of which
had sprung up through the crowns of old specimens-
Huge clumps of apparently dead crowns, standing in some
cases a foot above the ground, others prostrate, and the
whole place a wilderness of neglect with only here and
there cultivated patches. I looked round in despair, and
then departed to purchase mattocks and forks, and to find
a man to render assistance. That afternoon I commenced
operations, and for five days we toiled early and late,
commencing a bed and making a clean sweep of every-
thing, as it was hopeless to endeavour to make selections.
Seedlings had sprung up everywhere, and in many cases

253

the choice specimens were completely overgrown. The
task completed, the resources of Charmouth were not equal
to supplying crates and cases in which to pack the speci-
mens, and I had to go to Lyme for china crates and
cases in which to pack the ferns. A quantity of apparently
dead crowns were packed in sacks, a local trolly was engaged,
and a railway truck chartered, which in due course
arrived at Enfield, In a weak moQient I decided to pot
the whole lot, as being the simplest method of dealing with
them, but although from time to time I have started on
some tough propositions, I can safely say that this was, in the
slang of the day, the frozen limit. Hundreds of pots
varying in size from large 48 to 12 in., were filled and
carried on hand-barrows distances varying from 70 to
100 yards, and stood in rows on either side of walks
through a spinny bordering the garden. The task
accomplished, the Editor was invited to inspect the
result, and whilst revelling in some of the specimens, did not
enthuse over the handiwork, pointing out that in many
cases sufficient of the aged caudices had not been
removed, and expressing doubts as to whether many
would survive the ordeal, having regard to their weak
condition. Permanent quarters having been prepared
during the winter, the following spring they were planted
out, thus receiving a double check. In the result a few of
the most robust started with vigour, some made feeble
growth, a frond or two only appearing, and in the majority
of cases no sign of life was visible. After repeated
consultations it was decided that nothing short of drastic
surgical operations would save or prolong life, and once
•decided on it was carried into effect without delay.

The crowns were dug up, and with strong knives the old
bases were cut away until signs of life were found in the
caudex ; in many cases crowns 12 inches round were
reduced to the size of a champagne cork, the fragment thus
obtained was inserted in a thumb pot plunged in a bed of
cocoa fibre and covered with a small glass tumbler, and

254

when the frame was filled, it was covered with a light after
giving the contents a good soaking with water. At one
time we had three gross of tumblers so employed.

The varieties treated were P. aaikatum and angulare
Lastreas, filix and pseudo mas, A. f.f. and Scol. vuJgave^ the
latter being the simplest to deal with, as you can tear them
to pieces anyhow, and every piece which has any life in it
will grow if treated properly. Taking the Scolopendvinms
first, a number of Moly's vamo cvistatwii (figured in Jones's
'* Nature Prints ") have been raised from bases. The parent
plant was in a very poor condition, but was recognizable
(I have also raised from this a number of fine varieties from
spores).

Another form of Scot. v. cvistatuin turned up, Sinum,
various peraferens, some fine undulatums, one a giant form,
two fine projectums, a crispum called by Moly splendens,
which Mr. Cordery (Messrs. May's foreman) declares to
be as fine as Wills', a robust and broad crispum beauti-
fully marbled with white (which Mr. Moly told me of, but
could not find, except that he knew it was growing by the
side of a path which was quite smothered up by Anemone
Japonica and young sycamores), the old plant showing
full character, and the young plants from bases an occa-
sional frond, and another Scclopendriiun with white variega-
tion, which I saw in striking form, but which has not yet
displayed more than traces of character. There were also-
a very robust muricatum, a narrow undulate form called
abruptum, and other less interesting varieties. The
Athyvinms have given poor results, a variety called Trifidum
by Moly is large and very broad, but otherwise almost
normal. Several snh-phimose forms have been transferred
to hedge banks, and a variety called by the raiser Miserahile
Visti to the dust heap, save for a solitary specimen retained
as a souvenir to mark the frailty of its kind.

In Lastreas Filix mas and pseudo mas little more than
known forms turned up save three interesting grandiceps
and crested forms found by Moly at Rousden, Chard, and

255

Chiddiock, a very foliose and confluent ///.vr mas of robust
habit, forming a handsome specimen, and some so-called
variegated forms and a normal form, a giant. The two
crested forms of the Azores L. Dilatata weathered the storm,
and have assumed robust proportions in a sheltered position
amongst Bamhiisa anvea, and are to-day (Feb. 8th) carrying,
after the severe frosts, fronds quite fresh and green, though
prostrate.

It is amongst the Polystichums that the gems have so far
made their appearance, but many of the Resuvgams are still
too small to show character, so that one may look forward
for some time to pleasant surprises. In P. AculeaUnn quite
a number of the Bevis Piilcherrimwn have appeared. These
were huge crowns and were reduced to the smallest dimen-
sions, but hardly one failed to start. Other Actileatiini-like
forms may turn out to be fine things when fully developed ;
at present they are too small to determine the varieties.
In one case I have some seven or eight plants raised from
bases from a very foliose one.

In Angulare a hne range of Acictilohes, including one
called Laciniave, which is certainly one of the finest, having
fronds this dry season upwards of 3 feet 6 inches long and
bearing quantities of bulbils, another nearly as robust, and
a very fine form very much like Wills', but more finely
divided. Others I may be able to identify this coming
season as original finds of other hunters. CvucipinnnUim,
Flahellipinnulum, Conciiinnm (Moly's), many tvipinnatnms,
one probably and one certainly a grand form christened by
the Editor Falcato Tfipinnatiim. In this plant the inferior
pinnules are very much produced, assuming a sickle-like
outline and being of a very robust habit makes a handsome
specimen with fronds 3 feet long. From this I have raised
a large batch of seedlings which may show further develop-
ment. A very bold votundatuni of a very dark green colour
and leathery texture with large pinnules also attains a
stature of 3 feet 6 inches, and of this plant I have a con-
siderable number from the treated caudices ; several

256

hvachiatiims, one uncrested but tripinnate with the brachiate
character well developed, the side fronds being about half
the size of the central frond ; a very handsome and dark
coloured stib-phiniosum, with very broad fronds ; several
gvandiceps forms which may be seedlings from Moly's
original find, of which latter a quantity have declared
themselves. There are also Divisilohes not yet identified,
and many others which have not yet fully developed their
character.

One of the happiest resuscitations was Moly's original
plant of decomposituni splendens, found by Moly in 1875,
and from which the late Colonel Jones and Dr. Fox raised
the beautiful plujiioso-divisilohumSj Deiisum, Rohustuin, Laxiim,
etc. Mr. Moly particularly drew my attention to this plant,
pronouncing it as historic. He related Colonel Jones' visit
when he took away spores, and when doubt was cast upon
the parentage of the seedlings by the late ]\Ir. Lowe, a
farther supply of spores was sown wnth a like result. I
believe the exact history was conveyed to the Editor by
the late Dr. Fox by letter. The letter was sent to the late
I\Ir. Lowe to convince him of the truth of the descent, and
it was either lost or inadvertently destroyed by that gentle-
man, much to the regret of the sender. Unfortunately
there are now none of those living who participated in the
triumph. The plant when it came into my possession was
in a sorry state. I labelled it INIoly's parent, and as such the
small plants are still marked. When the first small fronds
appeared, it was to all appearances a normal angulave, and
the Editor was more than sceptical, I might almost say
rudely so, of my cherished treasures, but as the strongest
of the seven plants began to grow away the character began
to declare itself on a few of the basal pinnules until last
season one plant assumed quite a different character, and, as
it was fertile, I have sown spores which may or may not
reproduce the phimoso divisilohuin section, should it do so
there will hardly be longer doubt as to the parentage of
those grand forms. Another brand saved from the burning

was Hivondelle, a most distinct and graceful plant, so named
from the fact of the pinnules being set on in pairs at an
angle which, when held up to the light, present the appear-
ance of a swallow in flight. This plant is incorrectly
attributed to Dr. Wills in the " Book of British Ferns," as
also in Lowe's " British Ferns, and where found," page 123.
It is a Lineave, and was found by Moly at Hawkchurch.
When I thought I had lost the plant, the caudex had
decayed and been cut away again and again. I wrote to
Moly asking him its history and whether he has ever had
an offset. He wrote me, fully recommending a course of
treatment, informed me it had remained a single crown ever
since its discovery. The Editor came to see me, and I
produced the stump of caudex which was then and there
reduced to the size of a cigar end. It was thoroughly washed,
placed in a tumbler on a bed of moist silversand — which
was first thoroughly scalded to destroy spores of confervae —
covered with a slip of glass, and put in gentle heat. Within
three months three buds appeared, and I have now two
plants with fronds nine inches long, but as yet they show
no lineare character. I managed to find a few spores on a
dried frond that I had preserved and have a dozen seedlings,
but they are also in a juvenile stage and time alone will
prove them. There are a large number of other Resurgams
of which it is only possible to remark that they are develop-
ing, and in course of time may have surprises in store. It
is too much to hope that a pulchcrriinuni may declare itself.
Possibly on some future occasion I may have other dis-
coveries to announce. In the meantime I can only say that
watching the development of the erstwhile cripples and
moribunds is an endless source of interest. Should any
of our members desire to sow spores from any of the
varieties I have named, I would be only too pleased to
supply them, or possibly send young plants should I have
any to spare.

W. B. Cranfield.

^58

OUR COMMON FERNS.

The Lastreas (Nephrodiums).

As a necessary preliminary to a knowledge of the varietal
forms of our British Ferns, whether as natural "sports"
or " mutants," or as the result of selective cultivation
through the spore, is a familiarity with the common forms
which constitute Nature's raw material, and as we cannot
expect all our readers to be experts, we intend in this and
succeeding issues to give a description of each normal
species so as to permit of its discrimination from others.
Starting with a genus which embraces the commonest or
most prevalent types we begin with
The Lastreas (Nephrodiums), or Buckler Ferns.

This genus is represented in Great Britain by six definite
species, viz. L. filix mas, the common J\Iale Fern, L.
montana (Oreopteris), the Alountain Buckler Fern or Lemon-
scented Fern,L. dilatata, the Broad Buckler Fern, L. amula,
the Hay-scented Fern, L. rigida, the Limestone Buckler
Fern, L. thelyptevis, the iNIarsh Buckler Fern, and three
indefinite species, L. spiiuilosa, L. uliginosa, and L. cvistata.
In their fertile state, all those may be distinguished by their
spore heaps being protected by a kidney shaped indusium,
attached to the frond at the point of indentation of this
cover, this being the generic character which gives the
name of Nephvodittin {Nephron, Greek for kidney), and also
the popular name of Buckler Fern to the genus. By
remembering this fact, we can consequently immediately
determine, at any rate, the genus or family by examining the
fertile frond backs. Each species, however, has its individual
form of frond. In the common ]\Iale Fern (L. filix mas)
the fronds grow erect and form a shuttlecock-like circle
round a scaly brown caudex or rootstock built up of the
persistent bases of old and otherwise perished fronds. In
the centre or heart of this caudex there are formed the
future fronds during the season, only one circlet rising as a
rule during the year. This species produces offsets by buds,

259

latent at first but subsequently developed near the frond
bases, and thus in time forms clumps of several crowns.
The fronds in the autumn develop a weak point near the
base and fall down, disappearing entirely during the winter
or only surviving as withered debris. In the spring the
new fronds rise and the species may then be distinguished
by the uncoiling fronds assuming the form of a shepherd's
crook or crozier, the top part hanging loosely forward,
while those of the Shield Ferns turn backwards, forming
a reversed hook. The ^Nlale Fern frond is of lance-like
outline, with a bare stalk for some inches when the side
divisions begin an inch or two long, and gradually widen
up to about two-thirds the length, and then taper off
gradually to the tip. The pinnae, or side divisions, are
again divided into pinnules which are bluntly saw-toothed
on minute lines at the edges. The round spore heaps lie in
parallel rows on each side the midribs of the pinnules. The
pinnae are flat and several inches long at the widest part of
the frond, and taper off gradually to the pinnae tip. These
indications should enable anyone to recognize the Fern in
its ordinary form. Mr. G. B. WoUaston has quite justifiably
separated this species into three sub-species, first the Fern
we have described L. filix mas, secondly, L. psendo mas,
which differs from it in being of lighter colour, tougher
texture, robuster growth and evergreen, while the third form,
L. propinqua, which occurs mainly in hilly districts has its
sub-divisions concave, is of a duller green and softer texture?
and is quite deciduous. L. filix mas is one of the commonest
Ferns we have, and is one of the few which appear in
thousands of gardens, suburban and other, all over the
country, L. p. mas is much less common, but ,is found
associated with it, while L. propinqua is only common in
hilly districts.

L. MONTANA (OREOPTERIS),

The Lemon-scented Fern,
We treat of next, as it is the most easily confounded
with the Male Fern, the general habit and make being very

26o

similar. It is, however, easily distinguished on closer
inspection by the fronds having hardly any naked stalk at
the base, the side divisions beginning close to the caudex
as rounded lobes which gradually lengthen as they ascend,
until the upper two- thirds of the frond assume the form of
the Male Fern frond, the tapering base therefore is the
sign of L. montana. In addition to this, the fronds are of
a yellowish green, and when drawn through the hands a
distinct lemon-like scent is perceptible owing to the rupture
of innumerable tiny glands on its surface, which contain
an essential oil of that odour. The spore heaps are very
small and dot-like, and finally when the fronds are un-
coiling they do not form a hook but a ball-like mass,,
whence the tops of the subdivisions protrude like little
spikes so as to resemble the spiky ball such as we see at
the end of a pole in the hands of Magog in the Guildhall,.
London. If, too, we examine the caudex we shall find it
to be a mass of white knobs and not so definite in shape
as that of the Male Fern, the persistent bases of old
fronds being less in evidence, while no shuttlecock plan is
perceptible. This fern, too, is truly deciduous in the sense
that the fronds wither right down in the autumn, and do not
merely fall outwards and subsequently decay. L. montana,.
as its name indicates, prevails on mountain sides, where it
grows with full exposure to wind and sun, but attains per-
fection only in more sheltered and moist habitats in the
vicinity of streams. It is, however, by no means confined
to the hills, but occurs, sometimes plentifully, in damp
lowland lanes and woods. We have found it ourselves in
Epping Forest, and in the Sussex Forests it exists in
abundance. It cannot stand drought or lime in the soil,
but otherwise is not very dainty.

L. DILATATA.

The Broad Buckler Fern.

As indicated by both names, the fronds of this species
are very broad and quite unlike those already described.

201

In outline they are almost triangular, the lowest pinnae
being very long and tripinnate or thrice divided, which is
the case with the upper ones but on less and less marked
lines as they approach the frond tip. This fern forms no
cup-like caudex like the Male Fern, the fronds rise
irregularly, with bright green, brown-scaled stalks which
unroll ball fashion, not forming hooks, the brown scales
being thus very evident, though eventually falling off to
a large extent. The fronds, when the plants are full grown
and well-developed, may be three or four feet long and spread
out in a very handsome fashion, but on smaller plants
in exposed situations they are more erect. The
species is subject to a good deal of minor variation,
and it is due to this that the older botanists thought
fit to name as separate species the ferns known as L.
iiliginosa, L. spimdosa, and L. cvistata. The last-named is
not a crested form at all, and it is difficult to imagine why
such a name was given. It is an erect-growing narrow
form with a long bare stalk and rather short side-
divisions, set on at some distance from each other, the
frond having a narrow lanceolate outline. This is, there-
fore very distinct from the typical L. dilatata, but is
regarded as the extreme type of a range of intermediate
forms embracing L. uliginosa and L. spimdosa among the
gradations, rather than a distinct species.

L. ^MULA.

The Hay-scented Fevn.

This may be described as roughly resembling a smaller
form of L. dilatata, the fronds being of very similar make in-
deed. It is, however, distinguished by its subdivisions being
crispy and its caudex more caespitose or bunchy, con-
sisting of a mass of embryo fronds far more numerous
than those which are evident in the other allied species.
It affects moors, hillsides, woods and hedges, and in favour-
able positions may produce fronds a foot and a half long in
pretty clumps. It usually crops up locally in more or less

262

isolated colonies, and in but few places prevails in any
quantity. The hay scent is more perceptible in dead
fronds than green ones, it is very persistent, and is not
dissimilar to the perfume of the Tonquin Bean.

L. THELYPTERIS.

Tlie Marsh Buckler Fern.

This differs markedly from the other members of the
same genus in having a creeping rhizome or rootstock, like
Ptevis aquilina or the Polypodies, whence the fronds spring
singly in succession. It is found locally but always in
boggy ground, its stolons permeating actual mud. The
fronds commence with very long bare stalks and are tall
and slender, the pinnae commence high up, and the fronds
resemble in their upper part drawn-up fronds of L,
montana, i.e. of narrower lance-like outline, and the pinnae
more distant. It is quite deciduous, and its creeping roots
form dense mat-like masses.

L. RIGIDA.

This species is only found on limestone formations, it
resembles a somewhat stunted Male Fern with somewhat
wider fronds, which are of a dull green. Its general habit
is the same, but its peculiar glandular surface makes it
easily distinguishable. Deciduous.

C. T. D.

SOME POLYSTICHUMS ; SPECIES AND

W A'Rl'ETl'ES— continued.

The congestum forms are more or less dense, dwarf, imbri-
cate ; and although there is a good deal of foliaceous matter
it is necessarily compressed into a comparatively small
compass. Hence we have such little gems as C. Lyell,
Padley, and Wills. Cvistatnni and grandiceps may well be
taken together, as the latter is a magnification of the former.
Under both these designations there are many fine varieties.

203

in fact, a well-grown cvistaUiui may run a grand icfps very
close. On the other hand some crested forms are so slender,
graceful and neat that all the cresting is extremely small.
Such a plant is Moly's cvistato-qracile, really a percristatmn.
This variety comes true from spores. In gvandiceps we
have " swollen heads," especially in Barraud's form, which
is nearly all head. Moly's, too, is a bold and splendid
instance of a magnified crest. In the decompositums the
pinnules are sub-divided, therefore there is a plumose look
about them. All are handsome, in fact, Pearson's form has
given a fine pliimosum ; while splendens Moly is reputed to
be the parent of densiim, laxum, robustum, Jones and Fox, of
which more anon.

As we are now within measurable distance of the plu-
mosums we will accept the significance and proceed to note
a few. The beauty of this group is beyond cavil, and that
beauty is undoubtedly due to the increased development of
their foliaceous parts. But strange to say this super-growth
affects their fructification, which in consequence is scanty
or absent. Exception, however, must be made in the case
of Wollaston's yellow green variety, which not only spores
freely but gives typical progeny. Moreover, it is as free as
it is fine. One morning I was much impressed with a large
plant in my Fernery, for it happened to stand just where
the sunbeams came through and suffused the Fern with gold !
Hence niy partiality. Patey's form is exceedingly beautiful,
and so is Elworthy's. All fronds come symmetrical and
true, which cannot always be said of the phunoso-divisolohum
varieties. Phimosum grande, p. pevfecftim, and p. splendens are
equal to their respective designations. But what shall we
say of Birkenhead's plumosissimum ? Has it ever been seen
since so finely developed as in the illustration in " The
Book of British Ferns ? "

Dr. Stansfield very kindly sent me a small plant four
years ago, which was carefully potted up and ultimately
resulted in a respectable specimen, but it failed to produce
those wonderful, attenuated, thread-like growths in quan-

2()4

tity, such as give this variety its peculiar charm. I am
now trying this out of doors, where, after the heat and
drought and stress of the past season it is now (October)
sending up its seductive fronds. We now come naturally
to the plnmoso-divisolohums — they seem to follow as a matter
of course, but they do not always respond to our benevolent
attentions. In the early summer they affect a promise
which they do not always fulfil. Perhaps that is because
we do not understand them. Anyhow they are beloved of
all the cult ; and if they have shortcomings we look at them
only to overlook them. At their best they know no rival
in our native species — in delicacy of cutting, dense imbri-
cation, and piled-up moss-like development. One could
not conceive their beauty — they must be known and grown
to receive their fullest appreciation. It is only necessary
to mention Gvimmondii and Esplan, or dissectum and foliosiim,
for they are all synonymous with vegetative beauty in the
highest degree.

Gvimmondii, however, is one of those splendid forms
which under glass rarely complete their tips, and there-
fore give the cultivator some little cause for thought. Densum
Esplan, on the other hand, is probably too dense to always
bring about this very desirable achievement. Still it is
sometimes wayward in this respect, for recently I saw a
very good instance at Acton, in the fernery of Mr. J. H.
Wright. The plant also possessed a good colour and was
very well proportioned. Mr. Wright thinks it is all a
question of moisture, for pot and saucer were intimately
associated. The habit of this plant, too, is quite distinct,
and Mr. Druery's description of " star-fish-like " fits it well.
Possibly the highest phase of development has been reached
in the superb varieties of Jones and Fox. Here we have
Baldwinii, densum, imhricatnm, laxum and vohusinin, but the
greatest of these is Baldwinii. Moreover these are occasion-
ally sparsely fertile, and Mr. Druery is the fortunate
possessor of one which resulted from a batch of seedlings
raised from the original Baldwinii, irom the collection of the

265

late Mr, Lowe. This plant perfects its tips under circum-
stances where the rest of the batch fail. This unique
specimen is growing in a square 9-inch pan only 2^ inches
deep, where it has been for several years ! It also promises
well for another season, for it has a good fat crown and six
full-sized fronds about 26 by 8 inches across. In the matter
of culture Mr. Druery evidently believes in letting well alone,
for had the plant been mine it would at least have been
installed in a lo-inch pot.

Having rambled on so much and so far, and having
come to the climax in development there remains little more
to be said — except, perhaps, by the Editor — although I
am loth to leave this subject without referring to the
pitlchevviimnn section. All are heaiitifnl when in good con-
dition, while one is unique, viz. Moly's p. vaviegatiim. As a
rule variegated Ferns are not an acquisition — they savour of
disease ; but this one is distinctly and regularly marked with
a golden tint, and is moreover constant and recherche in
character. It is also aposporous, but Mr. Druery informs
me that the progeny are almost invariably depauperate and
inconstant. One more variety and I have done ; in fact,
I can almost hear some members say "overdone." [Ed.
No!] Mr. Phillips will not say so, for it is to his setoso-
cuneaUim that I wish to refer. Several years ago he sent
me a plant, and the sight of this invariably reminds me of
what he has done in the field, or rather mountain and
glen. And this one in particular is one of the best of his
many beautifubfinds, for it is lax in habit, silky in texture
and refined in appearance. My compliments to him
through the ** Gazette."

If I may still further prolong this article, I would like to
offer a few notes on

Cultivation.

As all the ordinary varieties of polystichtims are hardy,
robust, and easily managed, there is no particular reason
tor detailing their cultivation in the garden or frame.

25b

They are so free-growing and so full of vigour that almost
any soil or situation — minus a southern one — will agree
with them. They bear exposure well when planted in a
deep rich soil, but it is always desirable to bear in mind
their origin and history. They are shade and moisture-
loving plants ; hence it is wise to observe these facts.
There is, therefore, no reason why the finer varieties should
not adorn the garden — always assuming that the garden is
not too urban. At Kew they consider that soil that will
grow cabbages will grow Ferns. Perhaps this is so — with
certain reservations. I am inclined to limit this to Poly-
stichtims. Anyhow, these Ferns revel in a good deep rich
loam. But for many of the better forms frame culture is
more satisfactory. They are more under control, can be
protected from wind and weather, and make better
specimens. The compost, too, and the drainage can be
better manipulated ; and if the Ferns are planted out will
give little more trouble than their confreres of the garden.
Such an arrangement — rather a large one— is adopted by
Mr. Wright aforesaid. He recommends this mode of
culture and certainly the results are highly pleasing. It
is, however, when we come to pot culture under glass that
the soil question becomes more or less acute. Here the
area is limited and the conditions artificial. For pots,
then, I prefer a rather roup;h compost consisting of the
best fibrous loam and leaf-soil I can obtain, to which must
be added a sprinkling of charcoal, broken brick, or coarse
sand to keep the moisture sweet and open. If leaf-soil
cannot be obtained, then two parts loam and one of old
hot-bed manure, with, of course, the other additions. Pot
firmly — and less water will be required, a consideration in
the growing season when this indispensable commodity is
most in demand.

As to ivhen potting should be performed I favour autumn,
although in the hands of an expert it may be done at any
time. But there is potting and repotting — much or little
root disturbance. The Polystichuui resents root disturbance.

26;

Pull a crown to pieces in the spring and you will have to
wait and watch a long time before growth recommences.
Perform this operation in September or October and you
will gain a season. Little water will be required during
winter, but when the dog-days arrive, and the pots are
full of roots, saucers should be brought out to help to
keep the plants moist and cool. That I believe is a
desideratum for, say, the phuuoso-divisolohums. But, enough ;
although I have not said half as much as I could have
commanded. Polystichiims are fascinating plants, and I do
not wonder that those who have been "badly bitten"
require a Pasteur to relieve them.

In conclusion, I would urge that the Fernery should be
kept for Ferns. Eschew flowering plants. Let the Ferns
be the flowers: but if Mrs. Fern-lover will also have
Phanerogams, build her another structure, so that you may
pursue your pteridological studies with unalloyed content.

C. B. Green.

NEW FERN STRAINS.

When we study the history of Fern evolution, so far
as this relates to the development of varietal forms of a
particularly marked character from comparatively inferior
varieties found wild, we must speedily appreciate that
three particular examples stand out more conspicuously
from the rest. The three wild varieties concerned are
Athyviiim filix foemina plnmosnm Axminstevense, found by
Mr. J. Trott, in i860, near Axminster ; Polystichnm
angtdave decompositum splendens, found by i\Ir. Moly, 1875,
in South Devon ; and P. acideatmn pulchevyumiin, found in
1876 in a hedge in Dorset by a farm labourer named
Beavis, and given to Dr. Wills, who resided close to the
locality of the find. It is only by comparison with their
really wonderful offspring that we have termed these
"inferior " varieties, since their departure from the normal
type was marked enough, the Athyvmni being a fine

268

decomposite plumose form, though, happily, by no means
barren of spores, the P. angulave a triply-divided one
instead of being merely specihcally bi-pinnate, while the
P. acuieatuin was in itself an unique variety of great beauty
and a peculiar slenderness and delicacy of make, particu-
larly at the frond tips, which no other native fern has
exhibited. It was Moly's decompositum which was the
first to demonstrate the faculty of yielding offspring
through its spores, so widely different from itself that
the fortunate raisers — Colonel A. i\I. Jones, of Clifton, and
Dr. Fox, of Brislington — could not credit the real parentage
until a second sowing confirmed it by yielding similar
results. From the spores on an only partially tri-pinnate
or thrice-divided frond there arose a batch of the most
feathery and mossy-looking ferns conceivable, quadri- or
quinque-pinnate, and with all the main subdivisions so
expanded and dissected that, instead of lying in a single
plane, they overlapped and piled themselves one upon
another to form veritable heaps of delicate verdure. Since
the appearance of this strain a number of beautifully
plumose forms have made their appearance on similar
lines, such as Pearson's, Esplan's and Grimmondii ; but
the parentage of all these is so vague that the opinion would
appear to be justified that spores of the Jones and Fox
section, since spores are sparingly produced, may have
yielded them. Pearsonii, at any rate, originated in ^Messrs.
Pearson's Nursery at Chilwell, whither many of Mr. E. J.
Lowe's plants were sent, and we have ascertained from
Mr. Charles Pearson that the decomposite parent of
"Pearsonii" was one of these, and unrecorded as a wild
find. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume from the
nature of its offspring and their similarity to the Jones and
Fox strain that it was probably one of the original non-
plumose seedlings from Moly's plant. All this, however,
can be but conjectured ; but, in any case, the fact remains
that no divisolobe plumose variety has yet been found w41d.
All are secondary "sports" under cultivation. ''Bald-

269

winii," which is by far .the finest cut and most delicate of
the Jones and Fox section, is reported by Mr. Lowe to
have arisen from a bulbil of *' densum," a point which is to
some extent confirmed by the fact that the writer, who was
fortunate enough to find a few spores on Baldwinii which
were sown with J\lr. Lowe's sanction, raised thirteen
plants, all of which, save one, were counterparts of
•* densum," though in some cases rather more finely divided
and apparently of better constitution. The exception,
curiously enough, cannot be distinguished from the wild
find known as plninosnni Pateyii, which has flat papery, foliose
fronds of the wild *' plumosum " type.

We may now turn to the " superbum " strain of Lady
Ferns of " Axminsterense " origin, which in some respects
stands alone as regards diversity of type. The wild
Axminster plumosum was propagated for many years
through its spores, which produced the parental plumose
form. Then a more dissected form appeared, which was
named plumosum elegans Parsons. No trace of cresting
appeared in either of these, nor, so far as we know, in any
of their progeny. Axminsterense^ like others of the plumose
Lady Ferns, bears bulbils associated with the sporeheaps,
and the writer having found such on A.f.f. pi. divaricatum — a
quite separate wild find — a pinna of " elegans " was sent to
him by Mr. Fitt to show that it, too, did the same.
Attracted by the beauty of the pinna, the writer sowed
some spores, with the extraordinary result that only two of
the offspring were "elegans," while all the rest — about
100 — were well crested as well as plumose. All but two
of these, however, showed defects — missing or shortened
pinnae and pinnules — and were consequently rejected. Of
the two in question one was much finer than the other,
being heavily and symmetrically tasselled at all terminals.
This was at once named ''superbum." This soon bore a
few spores, which were immediately sown, with the
astounding result that the numerous offspring broke into
two distinct sections — crested and uncrested — all far and

270

away excelling in beauty and fine, dissection the grand-
parental and parental forms. Among the non-crested
forms A. f.f. plumosum Druevy speedily asserted itself as
incomparably the finest Lady Fern known, its great size
and fine cutting rendering it unique. At the head of
the crested section A. f.f. siipevbum percvistatuiii bore fronds
distinctly crested to the fourth degree, even the pinnulets
bsing beautifully fanned at the tips, while frond tips, pinnae
and pinnules bore w^ell-developed tassels of great beauty,
A considerable number of plants of both sections arose
from the sowing of the " superbum " spores, and all with-
out exception were extremely refined in character, some
of the uncrested type, such as " dissectum " and " plu-
mosissimum," constituting reversions to the original
" Axminsterense " form, but more finely cut than even
"elegans." Some of both sections have developed the
bulbil-bearing character, and, curiously enough, " plumosum
Drueryii," despite its extremely foliose and plumose
character, has had in some seasons its frond backs covered
with bulbils with developed young fronds. These bulbils
yield quite true replicas of the immediate parent, but only
on a few occasions have they succeeded in surviving the
winter, since, of course, they are terribly handicapped by
the fact that the fronds bearing them are quite deciduous,
dying down in the autumn, and thus depriving them of
support. Success has only been achieved by layering
portions of the frond early in the autumn, and inducing,
by close culture, the formation of sufficient roots to tide
them over the dead season.

The history of the third case — that of Polystichnin
acideatum pulclicvyimum — which has yielded us the entirely
new "gracillimum " type, is of peculiar interest. In 1876
Dr. Wills, of Chard, one of our most noted fern-hunting
pioneers, had a fern brought to him by a farm labourer
named Beavis, who had found it in a hedge bordering a
field in which he was w^orking and thought it curious
enough to engage the doctor's attention. Dr. Wills had

2/1

explored the locality for years, and found a large number
of very fine varieties ; but, on examining this one, he was
compelled to own that it quite surpassed anything he had
himself discovered, owing to its singularly graceful form,
great size, and the peculiarly pretty arrangement of the
terminal pinnae of every frond, these being curved inwards
towards the tip, so as to overlap each other, the tip itself
being long and attenuated. Despite its robust character it
was quite barren, but under cultivation it displayed a
strong tendency to produce lateral offsets, and by means
of these the doctor was enabled to distribute plants freely
among his fern-loving friends. One went to Mr. G. B.
Wollaston, and in time he gave the writer an offset, which
flourished, reached full size, and provided others. One of
these was given to Mr. C. B. Green, of Acton, a neighbour
of the writer, and under his fostering care, in a few years,
a very fine plant resulted. Dr. Stansfield, visiting the
writer's collection, was taken round to see INIr. Green's,
and under our joint close inspection with a lens, dictated
by experience of the sometimes minute character of the
fructification on very plumose Polystichums, to our great
delight here and there on a few of the pinnules single
sporangia were detected as tiny black dots.

Chas. T. Druery, V.M.H., F.L.S.
{To be continued.)

SPRING TREATMENT OF HARDY FERNS.

Since by the time this number reaches our members the
best period will have arrived for re-arrangement, repotting,
planting or dividing the hardy ferns in their collections, a
few words on that subject will be appropriate. It is in
March that active growth really commences; although
there is not much obvious evidence of it, the roots will be
found to be pushing their whitish points into the soil, the
crowns are appreciably swelling and from the bases of the
future fronds new fresh roots can be discerned pushing
their way down the sides of the old caudices in order

272

to reach the soil and do their part towards the forma-
tion of the coming season's crown. The fronds of
the previous season will, in the deciduous species, be
absolutely brown and withered, but still serve some
purpose as a protection of the crown from dry winds and
frost. Those of the evergreens, though more or less
battered if grown in the open by winter storm and stress,
will retain much of their verdure and not only afford greater
protection than the absolutely dead ones, but undoubtedly
contribute by chlorophyllic action to the formation of the
coming frond system. Hence, in neither case is it
advisable to be too drastic in clearing away the debris,
and if for the sake of tidiness the perished fronds are re-
moved, the protection indicated above should be maintained
by liberal mulchings of old leaves around the crowns. Other-
wise those new roots which always spring from the basis of
the new fronds may get nipped by cold drying March
winds, and the first set be thereby crippled.

The absence of any young and delicate growths at this
period, the coming frond crop being still snugly packed
within the crowns, naturally permits of freer handling than
at any other time, while the energy induced by the long
winter rest enables the plants to bear, with practically no
check at all, the stress of transplanting and dividing
operations, which in the growing season can hardly be
effected to such advantage. Ferns of the crown-forming
type such as Lasireas, Athyriums, Polystichums, whose fronds
arise on more or less shuttlecock lines round a central axis
cf growth, invariably display their finest character if they
can be grown as single crowns, instead of as clumps, which
most of them have a tendency to form by means of lateral
offsets. With single crowns, we obtain all-round sym-
metrical plants, of which each frond can display its
charms without interference with others. We also
encourage growth by preventing root competition in the
soil, which must follow where numerous crowns closely
compacted are allowed to form. The result is that not

2/3

only are the fronds larger, but the particular varietal
character is greatly enhanced. A secondary advantage of
course is that specimens can be multiplied, since with judi-
cious separation all such lateral offsets when removed will
be found to have their own root system and thus only require
replanting to form full-sized specimens in time. The best
plan is to lift the plant bodily with a strong fork and force
the various drowns gently apart with a blunt trowel, or, as
is often the case with Lady Ferns, which multiply rather by
fission or splitting up of the crowns on Siamese twin lines,
a sharp knife may be employed to cut down into the
connecting portion or neck until the two sections can be
forced asunder with the fingers. When this is done care
should be taken not to squeeze the upper part of the
crown in which the coming fronds are packed, as this
may do damage to eventual development. The Shield
Ferns have a greater tendency to retain the single crown
formation, but in many cases produce not only lateral
bulbils, but also others near the bases of the fronds on the
frond stalks. In the " proliferum " or acutilobe section of
P. angulave, innumerable bulbils are sometimes produced
all the way up the frond, whence the name of proliferum.
Nothing is easier than to propagate such forms by simply
layering the fronds in their entirety, or so far as they
shew the proliferum character, or they may be cut into
short sections and pegged down in special pans, or inserted
in the edges of pots containing other plants.

Ferns with creeping rootstocks, such as the Polypodies,
do not, of course, lend themselves to single crown culture
and are best left alone if doing well, though, as Nature
teaches us, a mulching of old leaves is beneficial, that
constituting Nature's own manuring. If clumps of P.
vulgave varieties are out of condition, they may be divided
into sections consisting of a few inches of rootstock with
roots, a few fronds and growing tips. These planted
superficially on a compost of mainly leaf mould, oak for
preference, only the fibrous roots being buried and the

2/4

fleshy ones pegged down on the surface, will scon take
hold and make good plants.

Under glass, with pot culture, the same remarks apply.
Pots and staging should be clean, and if, as is only too
frequently the case, watering has been neglected, a
thorough soaking for an hour or two is necessary to give
the droughted specimens a chance of recovery.

Those who are troubled with that worst of pests, the
Weevil, should narrowly examine the ferns, especially
Hartstongues, and if any show signs of wilted or loose
fronds they must be turned out, and the probable brood
of fat white grubs destroyed. It may even be necessary to
wash the soil entirely away and pull the plant to pieces,
since the grubs burrow into the very caudex itself, and
unless extracted will inevitably complete its destruction,
and not only that, but equally inevitably develop into a
brood of frond-devouring beetles in the coming season.

Baby plants resulting from last season's spore sowings
may now with advantage be pricked out into pans an inch
or two apart, or, if already in thumbs, transferred to
larger pots. Naturally, for the reasons given above, the
present time is the best for acquiring fresh varieties, since
packing and transport can be effected with impunity and
without damage. The installation of new rockeries or
beds cannot also be effected under more favourable
conditions, since we have the whole of the growing season
in front of us, and the mild spring conditions of showery
cool weather are the ideal ones for giving a fair start with-
out any handicap whatever. If spores have been gathered
and stored from last season, they too may be sown now, as
the next best time to that immediately following their
ripening in late June or July.

THE ANGULARE PULCHERRIMUMS.

These beautiful and interesting forms are but little
known to the collector and cultivator of the present day,
as they are rarely to be found in collections, and have not

2/5

been figured in any book or publication, with the exception
of the nature-prints by Col. Jones of Mrs. Thompson's and
one of Mr. Moly's forms, the former of which has been
reproduced in our Editor's latest book of ferns. Having
been reduced by photography, however, that figure gives
but a feeble impression of the great beauty of the frond
from which the print was taken, and which is well shown
in the original nature-prints. The notes by Col. Jones on
p. 394 of the same work constitute practically all that has
been published upon the subject. As the type is now so
rare, it is a little startling to discover that no less than
sixteen separate wild finds of this variety have been made
at various times, though, I believe, none has occurred
during the last quarter of a century. The late Rev. C
Padley and the late Mr. C. Jackson were the earliest
discoverers, but Mr. Moly was by far the most successful,
he having found no less than six of the intermittent and
three of the constant or permanent type.

The leading characteristics of a pulchevvumim are the
excessive development and fine cutting of the lower pinnules,
the peculiar foliose character which this gives to each
pinnule and pinna, and the extremely graceful and feathery
appearance of the whole frond. In addition to the above,
there is generally, if not invariably, the biological character-
istic of apospory to be observed. The thread-like tips of
the pinnules and pinnulets grow out, under moist conditions,
into prothalli expansions Vv'hich if layered will grow and
produce plants. The generally abortive sori also are capable
of giving rise to prothallic growths when the fronds are
layered. It is not too much to say that in this variety the
species rises to its highest flight of genius, at all events so
far as wild varieties are concerned. Mr. Moly, writing to
me in 1886, called them "the desired of all collectors," and
continued, " I have found some which, if you could see
them, would make your hair stand up 'like quills upon the
fretful porcupine ' ; but, alas ! although tended with the most
loving care, they refused to stay in this world." This

276

obstinate tendency to seek the Elysian fields or else to
revert to the normal has made this section the despair of
most cultivators. Of the sixteen forms found wild, only five
were of permanent or constant character, the rest producing
a varying proportion oipnlchevriinmn fronds among a number
of normal ones. Of Mrs. Thompson's form, which was
one of the most beautiful when in character. Colonel Jones
said : " You only get a really good frond about once in ten
years ; in average seasons two or three pinnae in character
are as much as can be expected." This kind of behaviour
might be reasonably expected to damp the ardour of the
most devoted admirer, but the fact remains that it did not
do so, as I think all those who ever had plants of any
pulchervimnm kept them as long as any hope remained of
good, or even decent, behaviour. I have myself a plant
which was once Mrs. Thompson's pulcherrimum, but which
has remained consistently a normal angulave for more than
twenty years. Mr. Wollaston, I believe, kept, to the time
of his death, a renegade plant of Padley's find as " a monu-
ment of fallen greatness." Mr. Wollaston, mighty hunter
though he was, never found a pulcJievriinnm, although I
believe it was his greatest ambition to do so. ]\Ir. Wills
found two inconstant forms and one, a great beauty, which
in some hands remained constant for many years, but there
was always the danger that individual plants would drop
their character like a mask and go on as normal angulave.
Having once fallen, they never, I believe, repented or
achieved reform. While in character Wills's was always a
rather difficult plant to please. It would appear robust and
luxuriant for one season, and the next would sulk in spite
of the most persuasive coaxing, and would not unfrequently
die in these fits of depression. The appearance of a normal
frond was always the signal for a return to physical health,
and also almost invariably the prelude to complete moral
degradation. I struggled with its moods and caprices for
many years, but for the last ten I think it has been perfectly
healthy, but quite normal. Whether it still exists in other

2/7

hands as a pulchcvviiniun, is, I fear, more than doubtful. Of
the whole sixteen wild finds two only are now known to
remain in character, both being finds of Mr. Moly. Both are
exceedingly beautiful forms, though perhaps neither of them
is equal to some of the lost ones.

P. ang. piilclievyimuui vaviegatum Moly is perfectly
constant as regards the pulcherrimum character, never
having thrown a normal frond, and is also consistently
and most beautifully variegated. The variegation is
quite regularly disposed and is developed in a curious
manner. The young frond while unfolding is of the
normal green colour, but as soon as it is fully developed
the upper pinnules turn to a pale yellow which gradually
deepens as the season advances until, in the autumn, it
becomes in favourable seasons a rich orange. The
lower pinnules, however, remain throughout the season of
a vivid green, which shows up in strong contrast to the
rest of the frond. The green also permeates the yellow
to some extent in veins, which produce a beautiful effect of
pencilling. The colour scheme, in a pure atmosphere, is
certainly the most striking and distinct which is known
among British ferns. As a young plant this fern is
perfectly symmetrical, and has every characteristic of high
breeding and perfection of form. As if to show, however,
how "great wits to madness are allied," no sooner does it
attain to adult size than it begins to show a lamentably
ugly depauperate character in the upper half of the frond.
The lower half remains quite perfect and beautiful, but the
extremity goes " all to rags," completely spoiling the
symmetry and grace of the plant. For many years it has
been my ambition to breed out this fault if possible.
There were many difficulties in the way. First, the miffi-
ness of constitution of the plant caused by the lack of
chlorophyll in its fronds. Unless it be treated with the
tenderest sympathy it will refuse to grow, and will incon-
tinently die if neglected in any way. It produces as a
rule no spores, although there are plenty of abortive sori,

278

and it is only occasionally that it can be propagated by
apospory. I have raised several batches, consisting of
hundreds of plants, in this way, but the offspring are
almost invariably rags.and tatters of the most disgraceful
kind, fit only for the rubbish heap. There has been, how-
ever, one exception to this rule — a plant which is not only
symmetrical when young, like the parent, but which
remains almost perfectly symmetrical when fully developed.
[ say almost, because even this plant shows traces of ihe
parental vice by an occasional abortive pinna or pinnule.
The majority of the fronds are, however, quite perfect, only
one in half a dozen or more showing a detective pinnule or
so. In this respect it is a great advance upon the parent.

Another (probable) exception is a plant, from the same
batch of pvotlialU, which is neither a rogue nor a pulcherviimim
nor a vaviegatum, but a strong green divisilohe. Inasmuch
as this is the only one of the offspring which shows no
variegation (even the worst of the rogues showing some
trace of that character), it is arguable that it probably
originated from a stray spore — was, in fact, a cuckoo in the
nest — and not from the piilchervimiim at all. While it is
impossible to prove that this was not the case, the fact that
this plant shows traces, when mature, of the parental
depauperation in an occasional abortive pinna towards the
tip of the frond, is fairly strong evidence of its legitimate
descent from the pnlcheyvimum^ especially as no other divisi.
lohiim is known to have a similar tendency to depauperation.''^'

The remaining (wild find) pulchevvimum is Moly's green

'-'= With regard to this plant we hardly share the doubts of its origin
suggested by Dr. Stansfield's notes. Some years back he showed us
a robust plant of it, and asked us if we could form an idea of its origin,
without, however, giving us the slightest clue. Examining it closely,
we immediately asked if it had not the blood of Moly's pitlcherrimtnn
vaiiegatuvi in it, so strongly did the make of its sub-divisions suggest
full parentage. His reply indicated little or no dou,bt of such origin, and
as we still possess a strong plant, from a division which he kindly
supplied on that occasion, our opinion, after a fresh examination, is
decidedly in favour of its being a " sport " from that beautiful fern.

Editor.

2/9

form. It belongs to the intermittent type, because,
although the majority of the fronds are true pulcherrimum
in character, there are generally a small proportion of
normal ones produced as well as a few of a mixed character.
This year, for the first time in twenty-five years, the fronds
have been all true pulclicvvinmm. This plant shares with
the variegated one, and with, I believe, all other pulchcrri-
vmms which have been tested, the character of apospory,
and offspring can be raised from it without much difficulty.
The progeny in this as in other cases (with the exceptions
I have named) are, however, depauperate or at best normal,
and show no trace of pulcherrimum character. Apparently
there is something in the pulcherrimum type in angnlave,
which presents its transmission to offspring. The fact,
however, that there has been no exception may well
stimulate endeavour not only for the propagation of
existing forms, but for the production of new and improved
ones. Another possibility, which has not yet been fully tested,
remains in the fact that the degenerate offspring not
infrequently bear perfect spores which may give rise to
atavistic offspring, i.e. to ferns which may hark back to the
grand-parental pulcherrimum character. This experiment
has already been made without success, but only upon a
small and indecisive scale.

In addition to the wild forms several pulcheyriniums have
been raised under cultivation. One or two of these have
already gone the way of the wild finds, i.e. they have either
dropped the pulchevrimniii character or died. The first one,
I believe, was raised by myself from mixed spores sent to
me by Colonel Jones, and this is still in existence. Fortu-
nately, or otherwise, the pidchevvinmm blood is crossed with
the polydactylum strain and the result is rather curious. The
spring fronds are of true pnlchevvimnm type with polydacty-
Ions tips, and are of very thin and fragile consistence ; the
autumnal ones regularly drop the pulcUerriinnm character to
a great extent, and become merely poly d act ylous or poly-
dactylous-pUimose. These latter are of much stouter

28o

texture and serve to build up a new crown for the
following year. Had it not been for this polydactyhim
admixture I strongly suspect that the plant would ere this
have perished from inanition. The comparatively coarse
poly dactyl 11 }n type gives a robustness to the constitution,
which is lacking in the high-bred pulchevrimuin form. More
recently a very promising seedling oi pulcherviynum type has
been raised by my brother, Mr. H. Stansfield. A very
young frond of this was figured last year in the " Gazette."
This year (191 1) it has developed the pulchevnmum character
in a more pronounced form and still continue to promise
well. Until it reaches the adult state, however, it cannot
be assumed that the character will be permanent. These
things are upon the knees of the gods.

Fern-hunters, wake up ! It is more than twenty years
since 3. pnlchevvimum was found wild. The womb of Nature
is inexhaustible, and the seventeenth find may surpass any
of its predecessors.

F. W. Stansfield.

Reading, Novemhev i^tli^ 1911.

NEW FERNS.

Miss Hawkins, of Kingston-in-Fields, near Derby, has

sent me a frond of a very fine Cvispnm Scolopendvium found

this year by her brother Mr. Richard Hawkins, near Mid-

dleton, CO. Cork. It is very near to crispum gyande, Wills,'

from which it differs in being slightly less deeply undulate,

and in having prominent veins on the upper surface, which

give an appearance of " tooling," such as is seen in 5. crispinn

diversifrons, Jones. The discoverer, who is a brother of our

member, the Rev. E. H. Hawkins, is to be congratulated

upon a first-rate find. I suggest the nan.e 5. v. crispum

grandcy Hawkins.

F. W. Stansfield.

"BRITISH FERNS AND THEIR
VARIETIES,"

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

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 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.

•* * *

$tovi, 6recnt)0U$e. ana otDcr Plants
. . .are also laraeip grown. . . .

* * *

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.

VOL. 1. No. 12.

. . . Zbc . . .

JBritieb ]fem
©a3ette.

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

June, 1912.

EDITED BY

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

PUBLISHED BY

THE BRITISH PTERIDOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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

The Lastreas (Nephrodiums).

THE

BRITISH FERN GAZETTE.

Vol. I.

JUNE, 1912.

CONTENTS.

Editorial Notes

The August Meeting

Our Frontispiece (The Lastreas)

Our Common Ferns (The Spleenworts)

New Fern Strains [continued)

British Ferns in Art

A Regal Osmunda

Polystichum Angulare Plumosissimum

British Ferns and their Varieties . ,

List of Members ..

Contents of Vol. I., Nos. 1-12

No. 12.

page
281

282
283
284
288
291

293
294

297
298
302

EDITORIAL NOTES.

It is with much pleasure that the Editor is enabled in
this number to complete the first volume consisting of
twelve consecutive issues covering three years of the
existence of the " Britis|i Fern Gazette," a record in this
country of a serial publication dealing exclusively with our
beautiful British Ferns. From the many appreciative
letters which he has received during that period, he cannot
help feeling that it has been all the success which he could
have desired, and he seizes this opportunity to express his
cordial thanks to those members who have aided him to
fill its pages with really interesting and practical informa-
tion. Thanks mainly to the establishment of the
Gazette, the original membership when it started of
little more than a score has been increased more than
sevenfold, with the result that instead of the Society's
funds being depleted by the expenses incurred, they have
actually been increased. The Editor, however, despite all
this, is not yet satisfied. Too few of the members contri-
bute to the pages of the Gazette, and it is his ambition

282

also to increase its attractiveness by more matter and more
illustrations, to which end more members are required to
cover the additional outlay. Several of the members have
assisted him greatly by enlisting fresh subscribers among
their friends, and he earnestly asks the rest of them to do
the like whenever opportunity presents itself. A free copy
will be sent on receipt of the name and address, and the
small subscription of 5s. per annum, entitling to four
Gazettes and membership, i.e. association for mutual
benefit with fellow fern lovers, is surely little enough.

THE AUGUST MEETING.

Due notice of this meeting, which will be held this year
at Arnside, will be issued beforehand, and it is hoped that
the central position of the rendezvous will enable a large
number of the members and also friends to be present.
Thanks to our member, Mr. T. G. H. Eley, we are enabled
to accompany this Gazette by an interesting little guide to
Arnside and its locality, which is sufficiently within the
ferny domain of Lakeland to justify the hope of some
good " finds " during the excursions which it is intended
to make prior to the meeting, in connection with which
excursions a contribution to the expense ex the Society's
funds was voted at the last annual meeting at Barnstaple.

As forming the completing number of Vol. T. of the
Gazette, we have included a title page and also a table of
the contents of the twelve numbers concerned, plus a list
of the members up-to-date, so as to enable them to be
bound up into what we think will be considered by every
fern lover as a very interesting and acceptable volume.

We have a sad note to conclude with, as our members
will learn with extreme regret that our President, Mr.
Alexander Cowan, has recently suffered the sad loss of his
wife, and we are sure that one and all will accord him their
heartfelt sympathy in his bereavement.

Thk Editor.

28

o

OUR FRONTISPIECE.

The Lastreas (Nephrodiums).

It will be seen by our frontispiece that the genus to
which our common Male Fern [Lastvea filix mas) belongs
has proved itself very capable of rivalling even the versatile
and multiform species of the Polystichums, and Lady
Ferns by the production of beautiful and symmetrical
" sports."

The varieties depicted, in the order of their species, are as
follows : —
Fig. I. Lastrea dilatata grandiceps Barnes.

10. ,, ,, cristata gracilis (top of frond).

15. ,, ,, folioso-cristata (top half of frond).
2. ,, -pseudo mas ramosissima.
4. ,, ,, ramulosissima.

,, 5. ,, ,, cristata (pinna).

7. ,, „ crispa cristata.

8. ,, „ revolvens (centre of frond).
14. ,, ,, ramo cristata Fitt.

16. ,, ,, crispa cristata angustata.
*3. ,, filix mas grandiceps Berry.

6. ,, ,, ,, BoUanda; (pinna).

11. ,, filix mas polydactyla Dadds (top of frond

and pinna).

13. ,, propinqua cristata (top of frond).
,, g. ,, a^mula (recurva) cristata.
,, 12. ,, montana cristata Barnes (top half of

frond).

For further details of the Lastveas generally, we refer to
our article, page 258-62, in our last issue, and elsewhere
as per " Contents."

* This very fine form turned out to be inconstant, and we doubt
very much if it still exists ; we have, however, inserted it to show
capabilities. It was found in North Devon,

J)

5>

>>

284

OUR COMMON FERNS.

The Spleenworts.

In continuation of my notes on our common or normal
Ferns, as representing the raw material from which Nature
has fashioned so many beautiful "sports" or varieties,
whence by the selective cultivator's aid a large number of
improved forms have been raised^ I will now deal with the
Spleenwort or Asplenium family.

The generic character of all the Spleenworts is that the
spore heaps are long and arranged herring bone fashion on
each side of the midribs, with a thin skin-like cover over
the immature spores, springing from the lower side, this is
eventually hidden when the spores are ripe.

Probably the most widespread of all is
The Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium Trichomanes).

This is a small growing species confined practically to
rocks, old walls, or hedge banks of a roughly constructed
stony character. It is never found in flat open soil such
as is favourable to the growth of larger species. It is only
at home in chinks and crevices, and in many parts of the
country colonies occupy old walls, which are covered with
hundreds of the pretty growths, whose roots are firmly
anchored in the old mortar, often exposed to sun and wind.
Under such conditions the fronds will not exceed a few
inches in length, but when growing under more sheltered
ones, say in a loose stone dyke with freer root room and a
little shaded, we have found specimens with fronds three
or four times as long. The plant grows in small clumps
of accumulated crownlets whence the fronds rise so as to
form a loose rosette or spreading bunch. Each frond
consists of a black hair-like stalk, whence the common and
botanical names, on each side of which is ranged a row of
even and almost round or oval pinnae of darkish green,
attached by a minute stalklet. The frond is narrow and
of even width until near the top when it tapers gradually
to a point. From the nature of its habitat it is of course
often exposed to drought, which if excessive causes the fronds

285

to curl up and appear shrivelled, but it has marvellous
powers of recovery, and given a good soaking rain speedily
recovers and is none the worse. The only fern which can
be mistaken for this is the

Green Spleenwort (Asplenium Viride).

The growth, size, and general appearance of this is ver5r
similar, but it is clearly distinguished by the frond stalks
being of a bright green, as are the pinnse, which are more
firmly attached to the midrib. It is furthermore by no
means so common, and although equally a true rock species,
it affects moister situations and ascends to higher levels.
We have found it in quantity near the top of Ben Lawers
associated with the Holly Fern (Polystichnm lonchitls), but
also low down round the pits which form in weathered
Limestone, It is a much more difficult fern to cultivate
than Asp. tvichomanes, though we have seen it doing fairly
well in a London garden. The next and afar more common
species is the

Black Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium

Adiantum Nigrum).

The common name is rather confusing in connection
with the Maidenhair Spleenwort {A. tvichomanes), but is a
translation of the botanical one. Visually, however, it
cannot possibly be confounded with it, being a much larger
Fern and very differently made. It has a jet black polished
stalk sometimes a foot or more long, frequents old walls in
a more or less stunted state, and stone dykes with a back-
ground of soil in a more vigorous one. Its fronds are a
dark lucent green, and it has large thrice-divided (tripinnate)
side divisions, which commence some distance up a longish
bare stalk, whose length is largely determined by the depth
of the chink in which it grows, and by the other vegeta-
tion it has to push through. Roughly the fronds are
triangularly shaped, about twice as long as the base is wide,
and are very handsome in vigorous specimens. The

286

divisions are sometimes acutely pointed, and sometimes
more bluntly, the difference appearing to depend largely
upon climatal conditions, blunter in the north than in the
south. Large quantities of fronds come from France for
bouquet purposes, and these are all of the " acutum '' type,
of which, however, marked examples crop up now and
again even when " obtusum " is the prevalent form here.

The next commonest Fern in many places is

AsPLENiUM Ceterach (Ceterach Officinarum) or the

Scale Fern.

This is very distinct from the rest of the family except
in its mode of bearing spores, which, however, is rather
masked by the fact that the backs of the fronds are so
densely covered with chaffy brown scales as to almost
entirely hide the fructification. The fronds, too, are thick
and leathery, of a dull dark green. They are only once
divided into semi-oval blunt ended smooth-edged lobes,
attached to the midrib close together by a broad base.
The frond has a narrow lance-like outline with a very short
stalk. It grows about six inches high in small clumps,
and frequents old walls for preference. It is never found
growing on the ground, or anywhere, except in thoroughly
drained positions and even prefers the sunny side. It is so
curiously resistant to drought that on one occasion we
obtained some specimens of a crenate form in Asia Minor,
which we placed in an envelope and then in abreast pocket
and forgot all about them until months later when we found
the dried and shrivelled plants in a discarded coat. We
dropped the apparent debris into a pail of water overnight,
and found the plant as "fresh as paint" the following
morning. When planted they grew on as if nothing had
happened. Curiously enough there is an exotic form ot
this (C. auveum) which only differs in its large size as it is
nearly a fo?t high, and this we have been told grows in the
soil under moist conditions.

28;

The Sea Spleenwort (Asplenium Marinum).

This Fern, as its name implies, is entirely a coast one,
it is found in abundance on sea cliffs and in caves where
access is difficult or in unfrequented localities. It lives
well within the reach of spray and even of waves in stormy
weather. It is one of the few Ferns which are not quite
hardy, under culture a few degrees of frost kill it, but in a
warm house it grows most luxuriantly quite independent
of saline baths. In a vinery we have seen it form a bush
two feet high and as much through, while seedlings of it
were weed-like in their abundance. Normally its fronds
are eight or nine inches long, very leathery, bright green
and lucent, with once divided side divisions, set apart on
the midrib to form a somewhat narrow frond of a lance-
like outline, commencing with a moderate length of stalk.
Its position practically indicates the species as only the
true Maidenhair, Adiantum capillns veneris ever keeps it
company, and that only on cliff faces and not in the caves.

AsPLENIUxM LaNCEOLATUM

is also a coastal Fern, rarely reaching very far inland. It
is very much like Asp. ad. nigrum^ but the side divisions are not
stalked so obviously, and the frond is therefore compacter
in make and somewhat thicker in substance, and the stalks
are not so black. It is found in chinks in walls, and stone
dykes near the sea. We found it once about two miles
inland from Falmouth, growing in a hedge with Asp. ad.
nigvum. It is by no means easy to grow in our experience,
but after many failures we have succeeded by installing
it in some soil wrapped round with living moss and rammed
into a tumbler with a little water in the bottom into which
a wisp or two of the moss dipped and drew up a supply
as needed by capillary attraction. The plant was all but
dead when installed as an experiment, but started a fresh
lease at once and is doing well.

The rest of the family native to Great Britain are small

288

growing plants of no decorative value, and have done little
in the varietal way. The prettiest is

ASPLENIUM FONTANUM,

which, however, has only been found in a few places, and
not at all we believe of late years in a wild state. It grows
erect about five or six inches high with prettily cut fronds,
twice divided and rather narrow, a little in the line of Asp.
ad. nigrum, but more compact. Owing to the arrangement
of the spore heaps on very short lobes, they lose much of
the lineal character, but the cover betrays the genus.

Asp. viita. nmraria, Asp. septentvionale and /4s/. gevinanicum^
may be bunched together as small growing rock and wall
Ferns of no cultural value. The first is plentiful on old
walls in many places, it has once-divided fronds with small
often wedge-shaped sub-divisions, and forms tufts an inch
or two high, though sometimes in shady positions as much
again. The other two are so simple as to resemble stiff
looking grass tufts rather than Ferns, and are only found
occasionally in moorland dykes or similar localities.

Charles T. Druery, V.M.H.

NEW FERN STRAINS (continued).

Some pinnules were carefully detached, and when laid
down on a glass slip and examined under a microscope they
were seen to burst and scatter a fair number of spores over
the field of view. Here, then, at last was afforded an oppor-
tunity of multiplying this still rare form on more liberal lines
than offsets permitted, but none of the three had then the
remotest idea of what that sowing would result in. In
due course prothalli developed on healthy lines in both
the sowings made by ^Ir. Green and the writer, the spores
being divided. No sooner, however, had the primary
fronds produced by the prothalli been followed by the
second ones than a peculiar slenderness was noted in a
number of the plants, and as they developed this character

289

became so marked that these were pricked oat for special
care. Eventually about a score of these were potted,
and Mr. Green and myself eventually were the owners of
as many extraordinarily beautiful specimens in which the
parental half-inch pinnules were narrowed and lengthened
into extremely slender ones, sometimes between two and
three inches in length, forming fronds of inconceivable
delicacy, while in some instances these pinnules were
prettily expanded at their tips on almost tassel-like lines.
One of Mr. Green's varied greatly by substituting for this
lengthening a multiplication of the pinnules and sub-
divisions, so that a dense plumose form resulted, reminding
one strongly of the Jones and Fox angulares described
above.

The Royal Horticultural Society recognized the merit
of two of the writer's exhibits of the " gracillimum "
type, as he named the slender section, and of Mr. Green's
"plumosum," by two First Class Certificates and an
Award of Merit. Encouraged by these wonderful results,
the writer narrowly examined his own plant, and found a
large number of sporangia, or spore capsules, in twos and
threes on the edges of the pinnules, and quite easily visible
to the naked eye. A second very successful sowing was
made of these, some hundreds of plants resulting, of
which over a hundred displayed the "gracillimum" type,
and are developing in some cases forms which promise even
to excel the first batch, particularly in the tassel-like ex-
pansion of the tips, which appears not to be actual crests,
but a sort of fan-like development of terminal pinnules.
The parent pulcherrimum shows this tendency slightly.
Happily, despite the delicacy of make, all the offspring
have inherited the parental robustness of constitution, and
several plants of the original batch now measure nearly
five feet across their frondage, rendered somewhat pendulous
and spreading by their great breadth and slenderness,
though the parental form is of upright habit. Some of
the results of these two sowings, and also the comparative

290

infertility, suggest the idea that the original find may be a
cross between P. angulave and P. acnieatnm, since some of
the plants which did not present the " gracillimum"
character bear undoubtedly the plainly-stalked pinnules of
P. angtilave instead of the wedge-shaped unstalked ones
of P. acnieatnm^ and also show the duller surface of
angulave. The majority of the seedlings, however, are true
to the parental (p til chew imum) form, so that the original
object of the sowing has also been attained plus the un-
expected and highly gratifying one.

Curiously enough, seedlings raised from the reversion
just described for the purpose of testing whether the
" gracillimum " tendency would be transmitted have
yielded plants which, so far, all appear to be of aculeatum
type rather than angulave, which the immediate parent
resembled. They are not, however, as yet sufficiently
developed to permit of certainty in this respect. Outside
the three remarkable cases we have described there are, of
course, minor ones. Mr. Wilson's A. f.f. setigevum, for
instance, with its bristly pinnae, has — whether by crossing
or otherwise is not clear — contributed, at any rate, to form
a bristly section of crested forms of very great beauty,
though, in some cases, rather addicted to reversion. We
have one plant of fine percristate type which has split into
two distinct crowns, one of which bears percristate fronds
of precisely the same outline and make but utterly devoid
of a trace of " setigerum," a clear proof, to our mind, of
reversion to a plain-crested parent. A. f.f. Frizellia, also,
probably in the same way, gave rise to a large number of
crested varieties on diverse lines ; but they, too, are
notoriously given to reversion, and, there is little doubt, for
the same reason. Both these types would appear to cross
extra freely with others of the same species, the two con-
joined types being apt subsequently to separate, a sort of
reversion resulting. A marked example of this "gay
Lothario " tendency is seen in Colonel Jones' P. ang, foly-
dactyliim, which appears to cross with any variety it is

291

sown with, and as it is not a thoroughbred, bearing plain

non-polydactylum pinnae on every frond and a very erratic

frond tip, it has spoilt scores of good varieties by imparting

its eccentricities to otherwise constant forms. The moral

here is, of course, " Never sow defective Ferns," since

they practically invariably transmit their defects, and, it

would appear, are very liable to transmit them even when

crossing occurs.

Finally, it is interesting to remember that all three of

the remarkable freaks which form our main theme, were

absolute surprises to their raisers. When thoroughbred

forms are sown improvements of type may reasonably be

anticipated, and in these days it is obviously waste of time

to sow from forms which do not show some refined and

distinct character. We have seen what has happened

with tne Axminster find of Lady Fern, and there are

several other fine plumose varieties, especially the far more

delicate Hcrsfall, which, if sown, might quite conceivably

break into strains of equal or even surpassing beauty.

Alliances between such a Fern and some of the refined

cristate forms are also well worth trying for ; but in that

connection we rather advise these as separate experiments,

sowings of Horsfall alone on the chance of an independent

break being also made. The field for improvement, in

short, is immense, but we think we have said enough to

indicate not merely the possibilities, but also the right

direction to pursue to realize them.

C. T. D.

BRITISH FERNS IN ART.

W^hen we consider how largely foliage figures as a factor
in artistic decoration, not merely in the living state as
decorative plants, but also in architecture, pottery, textile
fabrics, such as laces, curtains, tablecloths, etc., etc., and in
many other ways, it seems a thousand pities that the many
beautiful variants of oar native Ferns should not be studied

292

and utilized in similar ways. In architecture we see how
a simple plant like the Acanthus has been conventionalized
to form the beautiful capitals of the Corinthian order, and
in Oriental architecture the Lotus and Papyrus form the
pervading inspiration. Renaissance decoration, with its
complicated scroll work and incongruous admixtures of
conventionalized animal, human, and foliaceous twists and
twirls, also owes much of its beauty to its imitations of
climbing and clinging tendrils which are used to knot the
designs together. In our household textiles, draperies, and
linen, and in ladies' artistic costumes, we see the vegetable
kingdom largely drawn upon by the designers for both floral
and foliage decoration, but where the fern fronds are utilized,
it is rare indeed to find them other than purely conven-
tional, so that even the experts can seldom determine even
the species. The same remark applies to ceramics generally,
only now and again do we come across true representations
of Ferns, but never, so far as our own experience goes, do
we find the far more ornate varieties profited by to enhance
the beauty of the designs. We can, however, easily con-
ceive that a surpassingly handsome dessert service could
be devised, ornamented with judiciously selected fronds or
portions of fronds of the elite of British Fern varieties,
tasselled, frilled, fringed, or otherwise diversified. Lace
curtains, too, instead of unmeaning conventional scrolls and
so-called shells, etc., could be rendered both more interest-
ing and more beautiful if some of the choicest Fern fronds
were introduced on graceful lines, and the remark applies
to all lace-like textiles in which foliage designs are intro-
duced. Carpets, rugs, and tapestries all admit of profitable
application of Fern patterns, though we admit that a fern
lover would be apt to consider it sacrilege to tread upon a
carpet or rug representing his favourites, though no one
feels the incongruity of doing so upon the floral gems
which these domestic articles so often display.

Years ago the writer's wife, profiting by access to his
Fern collection, made a considerable number of beautiful

29

'>

table mats, large and small. On a basis of white satin
portions of carefully dried fronds of the best varieties were
tacked and then covered with very fine muslin, also tacked
unobtrusively so as to keep the fronds f^at and free from
damage. A fine lace edging completed the work, and with
care these most beautiful ornaments for the table have
lasted undamaged for years, and still exist in the possession
of old friends as cherished mementoes. The fern fronds
were so arranged as to permit of doubling the material
here and there, and as proper drying ensures the retention
of the normal green colour indefinitely, time has made no
difference in this respect. Here, at any rate, is demon-
strated the possibility of producing something permanently
beautiful and useful by any lady who can obtain the needful
material.

C. T. D.

A REGAL OSMUNDA.

Osmunda vegalis, the Royal or " Flowering " Fern, is I
fear a diminishing quantity. At any rate I know of dis-
tricts where it used to grow which to-day know it^no more.
On the other hand, I am pleased to observe that in this
neighbourhood (Studland) it is on the increase, although of
this fact the " Flora of Dorset " (1895) is discreetly silent.
It is rather a curious coincidence that 1895 ^^^^ ^^^ year I
first became acquainted with the specimen in question.
Since then I have visited this stately Fern several times,
and last year took its photograph and dimensions. The
former is unsuitable for reproduction, as although I watched
and waited for fifteen minutes, I could not catch the plant
in a quiescent condition. Only a photographer can appre-
ciate fully these quiet forces of nature which so cften
operate — especially by the sea-side — to render his efforts
nugatory. However, the dimensions still stand, and are: —
Caudex, or crown, 8j feet in circumference ; this crown was
2^ feet above the soil, while the average length of the fronds.

294

which were numeroas, was about 6^ feet — many were 6f
feet. Thus this " flower-crowned Prince of British Ferns "
in height and diameter equalled about 9^ feet — hence pro-
bably its immunity from disturbance. I doubt not there
are finer specimens, but this plant, by virtue of its elevation
on an oozy bank, one has — apart from its dimensions — to
look up to it, and thus its regality is considerably enhanced.
I remember many years ago coming across two of these
majestic Ferns at Keswick, one on either side a cottage
door — and the remembrance is still clear and well-defined.
At one time this Fern grew on Hampstead Heath, as wit-
ness *' Gerarde's Herbal " of 1597.

He says: — "It groweth in the midst of a bog, at the
further end of Hampstead Heath from London, at the
bottom of a hill adjoyning to a small cottage, and in divers
other places." We have to content ourselves with
" divers other places," and, forsooth, to go to Ireland to see
it in its greatest luxuriance.

Only recently Mr. Phillips, of Belfast, sent me spores of
a variety of this, which have been duly consigned to mother
earth ; but as this is a slow-growing Fern some time must
elapse before success can be chronicled by

C. B. Green.

POLYSTICHUM ANGULARE
PLUMOSISSIMUM.

The great varietal possibilities of the species polystichum
are really marvellous. If we take one section — the plumo-
sums — and compare the best known of the divisilobums,
decompositums and stipulate forms with the normal
wildlings, the difference in favour of the former can truly
be described as wonderful. What shall we say, then, of
that erstwhile peerless plumosissimum raised by Messrs.
Birkenhead, of Sale, some years ago, and which is figured
in the " Book of British Ferns," on page 76 ? The frond

295

there shown hanging down the side of the pot was indeed

feather-like in its h'ghtness and fulness. Good as this

reproduction is, much of the detail is lost in the process.

The full beauty of its mossy development is more apparent

in the original stereograph* ; in this the thousand little

tongue-like extensions are clearly seen, and the depth of the

feathery development more fully realized. Unfortunately,

but few of your readers ever saw this plant, and it may be

interesting to mention that when the above-mentioned

stereograph was taken the little tongue-like divisions of

the pinules were still growing and had assumed the thin

texture and paler green tint peculiar to apical apospory.

I ventured to suggest this to the Messrs. Birkenhead, and

shortly afterwards some of the material was placed under

culture both at their own and INIr. Stansfield's nurseries.

Unfortunately, while these cultures were developing the

parent plant died, but as quite a number of youngsters had

resulted from the cultures, we hoped to see the glories of

the original reproduced in the offspring. Alas ! the hope,

so far, has not been realized, for while the plants have been

in most cases fine examples of plumose development, they

have not, so far as I know, produced the long tongues

ending in apospory which was such a striking characteristic

of the original plant.

The parent of Birkenhead's plumosissimum is a matter of
doubt. The raisers thought it was a sporeling from
P. ang. decorum. Doubtful as this may seem, any of your
readers who can secure spores from P. ang. decorum might try
to repeat Messrs. Birkenhead's success by raising an
experimental crop.

P. ANG. PLUMOSISSIMUM PELLUCIDUM StANSFIELD.

It has been my good fortune on several occasions during
the past few months to have seen and feasted my eyes upon

* If any of our members would care to see the original stereograph,
and will send me their addresses, I will try to arrange to send it round

J. E.

296

a batch of plumosissimums that recall all the best features
of that of Birkenhead's, and, in a few cases, are even
superior to it. The batch referred to have been raised by
Mr. H. Stansfield at Sale. When I first saw them I
thought that Mr. Stansfield had recovered the glories of
Birkenhead's plant in some of its own offspring, but I soon
found that such was not the case. They are indeed a
batch of sporelings from a distinct source known, I believe,
to the raiser. They possess in nearly every case the
plumosissimum character to perfection, and are all charac-
terized by the subdivisions of the pinules being much
elongated and tongue-like. Some of them have already
produced prothalli by apical apospory ; bulbils are also
produced by some of them pretty freely, so that we may
fully expect the perpetuation of their fine characters. A
few of the best of them have a decidedly pellucid appear-
ance, and these have been named P. ang. pluinosissinmm
pellucidiim.

The pinnae are broad with a rounded apex, are beauti-
fully imbricated and subdivided to a remarkable degree,
all the subdivisions, or tongues, also terminating in a
rounded apex and running out in some cases to a great
length, the mature frond resembling in its fulness an ostrich
plume. In fact, one wonders, after seeing these gems,
whither plumose development can further go.

The Sale nurseries have enriched our ferneries with many
good things, and Mr. Stansfield is to be congratulated upon
this further striking success.

Joe Edwards.

297

^^ 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.

298

LIST OF MEMBERS.

(With Addresses.)

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

Askew, W, F., Junior, Fern Nursery. Grange, Keswick.

Allchin, F. A., Trecladwell, Fowey, Cornwall.

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

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

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

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

Boyd, W. B., Faldonside, Melrose.

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

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

Brown, J., 86, Castle Street, Forfar.

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., 10, Avenue d'lena, Paris.
Broadbent, J., Thornlee Fern Nursery, Grotton, Oldham.
Ballantine, H., 5, Heath Bank Road, Birkenhead.
Barker, W. B., Vale View, Backbarrow, near Ulverston.
Bayne, R. C, 14, Garrick Street, W.C.

Cowan, Alexander, Valleyfield House, Penicuik, ^lidlothian.
Cranfield, W. B., East Lodge, Enfield Chase, En6eld.
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.
Chapman, A., The Gardens, Westonbirt, Tetbury.
Crisp, Sir Frank, Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames.
Cutbush, Herbert J., Highgate Nurseries, N.
Cunard, Mrs. Cyril, The Manor House, Notgrove, Glos.
Collingwood, Mrs., Parkside House, Ferney Hill, Barnet.

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.

299

Davidson, J., Sommerville House, Dumfries.

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

U.S.A.
Dilworth, R., Dalegarth, Ulverston.

Eley, T. G. H., Crosland's Park, Furness Abbey, Lanes.

Edwards, J., Fern Holme, Oak Bank Avenue, [Nloston,. Alanchester.

Edelsten, F. A., The Elms, Forty Hill, Enfield.

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

Firth, O.. Dean Head Sanitorium, Horsforth, Yorks.

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

Eraser, G., Ucluelet, British Columbia.

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

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. R., Grove Craven Arms, Salop.

Heward, Miss M. E., Felcourt Lodge, near East Grinstead.

Harris, G.. Zoological Gardens, Clifton.

Hawkins, Rev. E. H., Holy Trinity Vicarage, Stroud.

Hart, G., Woodside, Howth, Co. Dublin.

Henwood, T. E., Auricula Villa, Hamilton Road, Reading.

Hemming, G., The Palace, Alexandra Park, London.

Hargreaves, A., 62, Wrigley Street, Oldham.

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

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

Jacobs, Rev. J., Whitewell Rectory, Whitchurch, Salop.
Johnston, G. Forbes, 163, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry, N.B.

Kingscote, T., m.v.c, Watermoor House, Cirencester, Glos.
King, J. N., Carndonagh, Foxrock, Co. Dublin,

Lett, Rev. Canon H, W.,Aghaderg Rectory, Loughbrickland,Co.Down
Lawson, G. C, Mayfield House, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Litardiere, R. de, 4, Rue Cloche Perse, Poitiers (Vienne), France.

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

Malcomson, G., Castle Place, Belfast.

Marshall, W., v.m.h., Auchinraith, Bexley, Kent.

300

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. }., Wellington Road, New Brighton, Cheshire.

Marshall, H. C, 8, Crawfordburn Road, Bangor, Co. Down.

Marling, S. S., Stanley Park, Stroud.

Marsh, Miss S. A., Glenlyon, Holywood, Co, Down.

Milligan, R. M. (Nurseryman), Holy wood, Co. Down.

Morrison, W. T., 23, Gowrie Square, Bridgend, Perth.

McCleery, J. O., Ava House, Old Cavehill Road, Belfast.

Naylor, E., Heather Bank, Hazelhurst Road, Bradford.

Nation, J. (Plumber), Bisley, Slough, Glos.

Ormerod, G. P., Ashgrove, Elland, Brighouse.
O'Brian, W., 4, Kildare Street, Dublin.

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

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.

Prichard, Mrs., The Quarry, Col wall, Malvern.

Perry, A., Hardy Plant Nursery, Enfield.

Poole, Mrs. Batten, Road Manor, Bath.

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

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

Powell, Mrs. Stanley, Dorcas, Staplefield, Crawley, Sussex.

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

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. Underfell, Low Fell, near Gateshead.
Rugman, J. C, Plusterwine, Woolaston, near Lydney, Glos.
Railton, G. S., Senior Council School, Tewkesbury.

Smithies, 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.

30I

Scott, W., Dryden Bank, Loanhead, Midlothian.

Sergeantson, Rev. W., Acton Burwell, Shrewsbury.

Sanderson, H., Eastmount, Galashiels.

Sweet, A., Braehead, Cathcart, Glasgow.

StansBeld, H., Fern Nursery, Sale, Manchester.

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

Scott, W. D. T., Olympus Mine, West Nicholson, South Rhodesia.

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

Thorrington, F. W., Ferncote, Emerson Park, Hornchurch.
Turner, f. 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. Dublin.

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

Wiper, J., Pleasant View Ranch, Malakwa, 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.

Wilson, Walter, g. East Lane, Fergustie, Paisley.

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., Bellahouston House, Glasgow.

Wright, J. H., Courtlands, Rosemont I^Load, Acton, W.

White, W. L. Salusbury, Lanwern Lodge, 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.

Wootten, Mrs., Boyn Grove, Maidenhead.

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

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

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

302

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

(NOS. I TO 12.)

Apospory . .

Asplenium trich. inciso-congestum (Frontispiece)

Athyrium filix foemina

A.F.F. Kalothrix, Pedigree of ..

August Meeting, The

PAGE

87,15s

75

103, 185

137
74, 100, 171, 195, 282

Benbow Collection, The ..
Blechnum spicant concinnum
British Ferns and Varieties

,, ,, Book of

,, ,, in Art

189, 201
187
144

94
291

Collection, A Resuscitated
Collection, The Jones and Fox
Cresting in Ferns . .
Culture, Spleenwort
"Curios," Fern
Cystopteris Sempervirens

251
65

no

211

56

79, 248

Decorative Value of Native Ferns
Drought, Polypodiums and

60,91,105
237

Editorial Notes

25 49. 73, 97. 121, 145. 169, 193. 225, 249,281

" Fernery, Round My " ..

„ My (Mr. C. B. Green)
Fern Life, History of

,, Hunting Episodes ..

,, ,, in Winter . .

,, British, of the Future

,, Wild Sports in

,, Hybridization

,, Cult, Pioneers of . .

,, Varieties, Naming of

,, Curios

,, Wonders

231

122, 123, 147

8

II, 213

40

126

14

41

43

54

56

113

267. 288
173

205
207

5, i66, 176
60, gi, 105

PAGE

Fern "Seeds" 183

,, Strains, New

„ Pockets, etc.

,, Paradise, A , ,
,, Spores, Erratic

Ferns, Our Native

,, Native, Decorative Value of

,, New .. .. .. .. .. .. 119,141,188,248,280

,, Hardy, Spring Treatment of .. .. .. 70,147,271

,, Plumose Variation in .. .. .. .. .. 76

,, Book of British, and their Varieties .. .. 94, 144, 297

,, Cresting in .. .. .. .. .. .. .. no

,, British, in Gloucestershire .. .. .. .. 129

„ Mysterious ,. .. .. .. .. .. .. 154

,, Ancient Uses, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

,, and Mendelism .. .. .. .. .. ,. 245

Green, C. B., Fernery of (Frontispiece) .. .. .. 122

Hartstongues, Variegated .. .. .. .. ., 114,160

,, The (Frontispiece) .. .. .. .. 194

Hobby, The Fern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Hunting, Fern, in Winter . . . . . . . . . . 40

Hybridization of Ferns, The .. .. .. .. .. 41

«

Jones and Fox Collection, The . . .. .. .. .. 65

Kalothrix, A. f.f., Pedigree of .. .. .. .. .. 137

Lady Ferns (Frontispiece) .. .. .. .. .. 103,199

Lastreas, The (Frontispiece) .. .. .. .. .. 258.283

Lastrea yEmula, Transmutation (^) of .. ,. .. 179

,, montana .. .. .. .. ., .. 26,80

,, ,, plumosa (Frontispiece) ., .. .. 26

,, pseudo-mas .. ,, ,, ,, .. .. 50

Life History of a Fern . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Male Ferns, King of .. .. .. .. .. .. 50

Members, List of .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 298

Mendelism, Ferns and .. .. .. .. •• •• 245

IMysterious Ferns., .. .. ., .. .. •• 134

304

Naming of Varieties

New Ferns . .

Novice, Some Adventures of a

PAGE

54
iig, 141

161

Osmunda, A Regal

293

»»

Paradise, A Fern . .

Pedigree of A. f.f. Kalothrix

Personal Finds

Pioneers of the Fern Cult

Plumose Variation

Pockets, Fern

Polypodium vulgare

Polystichum acul. gracillimum (Frontispiece)

„ ,, plumosum Green (Frontispiece)

„ An aposporous

ang, and acul. (Frontispiece)
,, plumosissimum
Polystichums, Some Species and Varieties

„ ang. pulcherrimums, The

i rcI3.CG •• •• •• •• •• ••

Propagation by Spores
Pteris aquilina

Reports and Balance Sheets

Seed Bearers and Spore Bearers

Seeds, Fern

Spleenwort Culture

Spleenworts, The . .

Spore Propagation

Spores, Fern, Erratic

Spring Treatment..

Stansfield, Dr. F. W., Polystichums . .

Varieties and Varieties . .
Variegation

Whitwell, G. (Finds)
Wild Sports

Winter, Fern Hunting in
Wonders, Fern

• •

205

• •

137

• •

18.29

• •

43

• •

76

• •

173

A. I-I6,

170, 237

3,

119, 226

• •

50

• •

158

• •

38, 250

• •

294

• •

227, 262

• ■

274

• •

I

• •

26

• •

107, 210

• •

100, 217

• •

83

• •

183

• •

211

• •

284

26, 80,

133, 202

• •

207

70,

147, 271

38

• •

241

• •

114

• •

29

• •

14

• •

40

113,

, 1C6, 17C

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, 6rceiil)ou$c, and oibcr Plants
. . .are also laraclp groiun. . . .

* * *

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.

New York Botanical Garden Librar

3 5185 00259 4396