69 



not appear to be at all constant), so that it does not seem to be worth 

 while to recognize the present fern even as a variety. 



Fteris aquilina^ L. — A year or two ago, Mrs. S. M. Piper sent 

 me a curiously curled and twisted form of this species which she 

 found growing in Sandisfield, Mass., in 1877 ; and later on I received 

 indirectly from Jackson Dawson, of the Bussey Institute, specimens 

 of the same form from cultivated plants, which were originally found 

 by him growing in open meadow-land in Georgetown, Mass. The 

 plants had been observed by Mr. Dawson for several successive sea- 

 sons in considerable abundance, and those taken up by him had since 

 retained their peculiar character. 



A similar form has been found many times in England, where it is 

 known as the var. crispa of Wollaston, and its occurrence in this 

 country is interesting as a matter of record. Moore describes two 

 forms of it, one with '' tmdulate and reflexed margins,'" and the other 

 with '' crenate and wavy margins,'" Deakin figured a portion of it in 

 Florigraphia Brittanica, but— very judiciously as it seems to me 

 did not recognize it as a variety. The plants of this form which I 

 have seen are dwarfed in habit, and their whole appearance indicates 

 an unhealthy, diseased vitality, which, however, might possibly be 

 restored to its normally healthy condition by a special course of 



treatment adapted to its needs. . 



A rich Fern-Field,— T\\^ presence of Pellaea aspera, P.pulchella, 

 P.flexuosa, Cheilanthcs leiicopoda, C, 7nicrophylla, typical Notholdena 

 Candida, N. sinuata and Aneimia Mexicana in a package containing 

 some imperfect specimens from Uvalde Canon, Texas, indicates a 

 region that would well repay exploration by some keen-eyed collec- 

 tor, and it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when the 

 treasures which this list reveals will be made available for distribu- 

 tion* 



Florida Ferns,— Mr. A. H. Curtiss has sent me some very mter- 

 esting notes on the Florida Ferns which he has collected during his 

 explorations in that State, and later on I may give some extracts from 

 them. The " good things " which this very careful and thoroughly 

 systematic collector has in store for those who receive his fascicles 

 for 1882 will shortly appear, and give others no less pleasure than a 

 knowledge of them has given me * 

 Medford, Mass., March, 1882, 



t 



Notes on New England Algae.— The following species, observed 

 by the writer are either new to this region or are from other locali- 

 ties than those given in Prof. Farlow's Manual of the Marine Algae of 

 New England. To the author of that model work the writer is 

 much indebted for assistance in identification, etc., as well as for 

 many similar kindnesses on former occasions. 



Rivularia Warreniae, Thuret.— I found this species m August 

 and September 1881, at Marblehead, Mass., where it grew on a rock, 

 above high-water marVbut jvhei-e the spray formed little pools m 



*Mt Washington, given as the station for Aspidium Filix-mas in my account. 

 in the February Bulletin, of Mr. Pringle's discovery of that fern m Anzona, 

 should have been Mt. Wriglitson. 



