238 Rhodora [SEPTEMBER 
collections secured on Mt. Katahdin by himself and others of the 
party of New England botanists who visited that mountain in July, 
1900. In July, r9or, Mr. Fernald again found this one-spiked vari- 
ety at Alstead, New Hampshire. 
During a recent excursion to northern Maine, Mr. E. F. Williams 
Mr. Fernald, and the writer had many opportunities to observe the 
frequency, abundance, and marked character of the variety in north- 
ern Aroostook County from Ashland to Fort Kent and also at Grand 
Falls, New Brunswick. In most places where it was observed it was 
growing near the typical form, but at Fort Kent it had become the 
prevailing variety, the typical form being relatively infrequent. 
It was noted that two-spiked peduncles occasionally occur upon 
var. monostachyon, but always as the last formed ones of the season’s 
growth. It is a well-known fact that in the feebler growth of a shoot 
near the end of its growing season reversionary traits are likely to 
appear. Thus the occasional occurrence of two-spiked peduncles at 
this late stage in the annual development of var. monostachyon does 
much to confirm the theory that the one-spiked variety has, as in its 
classification we assume, developed from a recent two-spiked ances 
tor.— B. L. RonBiNsoN, Gray Herbarium. 
* 
THE * AMERICAN FERN Book," or “ Our FERNS IN THEIR 
Haunts,” by WiLLARD NkLsoN CLuTE, with illustrations by 
WiLLIAM WALWORTH SriLSON.!— The impetus which has been 
given to fern study in this country by the Linnaean Fern Chapter 
and the Fern Bulletin has opened a wide field for fern literature. 
Hitherto this field has been occupied only by John Williamson's 
pioneer Ferns of Kentucky, and Fern Etchings, John Robinson's 
Ferns in their Homes and Ours, Prof. Daniel C. Eaton's classical 
Ferns of North America, in two large volumes, Dr. Underwood's val- 
uable * Manual," and Raynal Dodge's praiseworthy volume on the 
New England Ferns and their Allies. 
However, in all these works, unless it be Prof. Robinson's and 
Fern Etchings, the treatment has been more or less technical, while 
several minor publications — not readily available for general use — 
have partaken more of the character of descriptive catalogues or out- 
1 Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York. 
