

1MIKFACK. 



It is in emulation of such continental eflbrts that the present Work has been prepared, with the 

 view of showing by unmistakeable evidence what differences really exist among the Penis which grow 

 wilil in Great Britain and Ireland, These beautiful plants liavo of late years attracted so much atten- 

 tion, and are now so universally cultivated, that it has become most desirable to establish upon solid 

 grounds the true value of their characteristic marks — a result which it is hojioless to expect from mere 

 description or imperfect engravings. It is true that Nature-Printing has its defects as well as Eta 

 advantages : it can only represent what lies upon the surface, and not the whole oven of that But, on 

 the other hand, its accuracy is perfect as far as it goes ; and in the case of British Ferns it goes far 

 enough for all practical purposes. If it fails to represent the forms of sori, thcca\ or indusia, we must never 

 forget that such organs are not practically employed in the first-sight recognition of a Fern, although they 

 are subjects of inquiry in the cabinet The practised eye knows at a glance that a Pcni is Adiantuni 

 Gapitlns Veneris not by looking to the underside ofits leaves, and ascertaining the form of its indusium 

 or annulus, and the place occupied by the sori, but by its general manner of growth, the ramification of 

 its stipes, and the fonn of its leaflets, all which Nature-Printing does show with unerring truth. 

 The minute structures to which Botanists trust for the distinction of genera, and to which Nature- 

 Printing cannot be applied, are sufficiently pointed out by description alone, and. among the subjects of 

 the present Work at least, are in no need of delineation. It is not, indeed, too much to say that in 

 many other plants besides Perns a knowledge of the inconspicuous parts of fructification might W 

 dis|>eiised with if it were possible accurately to represent by figures, or to describe by words, the real 

 forms and condition of the larger organs. But, when compared with the result of Jvature-Priutiug, 

 Botanical drawings arc often little more than indifferent diagrams. It is related of the late John Cough 

 of Kendal, that, having become totally blind from small-pox when two years old, ho so cultivated his 

 other senses as to recognise by touch, smell, or taste, almost every plant within twenty miles of his 

 native place* It is believed that good Nature-Printing will convey to the eye the same class of positive 

 impressions as those which Were conveyed to the mind of Gough by other organs. 



The text of the present Work is supplied by Mr. Thomas Moore, whose little Handbook of British 

 Fvrm is generally admitted to be our best book on the subject To a |>erfect acquaintance with this 

 i>art of our native Flora, Mr, Moore has shown that he adds correct views of nomenclature, and knows 

 how to avoid those errors of judgment which have induced inexperienced authors to convert the 

 terminology of Ferns into a systematic chaos* This is not the place to discuss the soundness of the 

 principles upon which the modem genera of Ferns have been proposed. It may be, however, conceded 

 that the distribution of veins, and the position of sori with res|>cct to them, arc characters of equal 

 importance with the form, or absence or presence of an indusium, or the direction in which it separates 

 from the epidermis, or the other peculiarities on which the founders of Pteridology once exclusively relied. 

 But in the application of any such characters to the distinction of genera, something more is required 

 than a mere perception of facts ; it is no less necessary that the Botanist should possess a power of 

 combining and generalising, as well as of observing, and that he should consult his judgment as well as 

 his eyesight When this is neglected the value of characters is misunderstood, every species becomes a 

 genus, and natural history is resolved into its elements ; isolated unconnected facts take the place of 

 skilful combinations, and what should be the perfection of arrangement becomes a farrago of desultory 

 opinions. It is believed that the present Work will be free from faults of this kind, and that the Author, 

 while he avails himself of all circumstances which can assist in the distinction of what requires to bo 

 distin^niished, will continue to preserve the nomenclature of our Ferns upon a rational ami solid basis. 



The duty of the writer of these remarks extends little beyond a general supervision of the Work as 

 it passes through the press. The labour and honour of this the first English attempt at applying 

 Nature-Printing to Botanical Science rest with Mr, Henry Bradbury, under whose direction the plates 

 arc prepared, and Mr. Thomas Moore, who selects the specimens to bo figured, and is responsible for the 

 letter-press. 



Acros (hunt Mawrh W t 1W15. 



JOHN LIXDLKY. 



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