NOTICES OF BOOKS. 285 



published an arrangement of Ferns, founded mainly upon the venation, 

 to an extent which never had been before employed, and which may be 

 said to be the groundwork of almost every subsequent treatise on this 

 branch of Fern-study. Article III., though simply a "Fern Catalogue 

 of Kew Garden Species" is arranged on this principle, has been eagerly 

 sought after by cultivators, and has given rise to the more important 

 one, Article IV., also by Mr. J. Smith, published by Pamplin, and en- 

 titled ' Cultivated Ferns, or a Catalogue of Exotic and Indigenous Ferns 

 cultivated in British Gardens? This is prefaced by introductory re- 

 marks, a few pages of definitions, and, what has been much wanted, 

 there are characters given of the Orders, Tribes, Divisions, and Genera. 

 A more useful manual for all who cultivate Ferns, or take an interest 

 in them, cannot well be, unless it w r ere by its being accompanied with 

 brief specific characters also. It is indeed a cheap shilling's-worth, 

 and we trust that Mr. Pamplin, who, as a publisher, has done much 

 to promote the study of Ferns, will meet with the success in the 

 sale of this little book of eighty-one pages, with Index, which he de^ 

 serves. 



Article V. is Mr. Moore's 'Index Filicum/ Nos. 1, 2, and 3. 



We announced the appearance of the first Number, or Part, as it is 

 called, of this publication, so useful to the many students and cultiva- 

 tors of Ferns, at p. 124 of this volume. The second and third Parts 

 are now before us s in the last one the enumeration and characters of 

 the genera are concluded, the number of such genera counting 182, 

 The Index of Species follows upon this, and is intended to include, in 

 alphabetical order, the names of all the Genera and Species; those 

 which are synonyms in a different type, referring them to the respec- 

 tive genera and species, which, in the views of the author, should be 

 adopted, under which are given the localities and full synonyms and 

 references to figures. Of the execution of this portion of the work, we 

 shall be able to form a better judgment as it proceeds; for, as we have 

 already stated, the difficulties to be encountered are great, if for no 

 other reason, because a multiplicity of species are only known to those 

 who have, too often imperfectly, described them. As far as is present 

 published, the Index goes no further than " Adiantum" and in species 

 only to the commencement of the letter d (Adiantum <7enticulatum). 

 Twelve out of the twenty-four pages of the Index are devoted to 

 Acrostichum, and more than six to Adiantum, —genera which have been 



