Bibliographical Notices. 37 



neric characters for ferns, and it cannot be denied, that the form, 

 situation, &c. of the veins assist greatly in distinguishing allied ge- 

 nera; but yet we must express our dissent from the author's opinion, 

 when he says that he " is inclined to believe, that henceforth in the 

 veins* of a new fern will be sought the characters which shall decide 

 its genus," and on this subject we cannot do better than quote an 

 observation of the younger Agardh, contained in his recently pub- 

 lished Recensio specierum generis Pteridis. He says, " Ex una enim 

 facile altera oritur venarum configuratio, ita ut per seriem specierum 

 maxime affinium, a simplicissima ad compositam structuram saepe 

 progrediunt venae, unde species saepe maxime affines in diversa 

 genera divellerentur ;" and afterwards he adds, " Ubi itaque appa- 

 renter ex una altera oritur venarum configuratio, hoc charactere tan- 

 tum innisa genera, summa injuria me judice conduntur. Ad divi- 

 siones vero generum exstruendas, venarum decursus et distributio, 

 meojudicio optime adhibentur." 



Numerous changes have been made in the nomenclature of the 

 plants, but in all cases the oldest name has been adopted and no 

 new ones are introduced ; the localities of each species are given in 

 sufficient detail, and the illustrations are remarkably numerous. 

 In the genus Woodsia the species are combined, nor do we know of 

 any certain character by which to distinguish them. In Cystopteris 

 also we quite agree in reducing the native plants to one species, a 

 careful study of them in a wild state having convinced us that they 

 can only rank as varieties. C. regia, Smith, we consider as distinct, 

 but as not having a valid claim to be included in the British lists. 

 We now come to Polysticum (Aspidium, Sm.) lobatum, aculeatum, 

 and angulare, and here again we agree in most points, but differ 

 from Mr. Newman in believing that the Linnaean P. Lonchitis is 

 really the same as the Irish and Scotch plant known by that name, 

 and probably distinct from the protean P. aculeatum. Aspidium di- 

 latatum, spinulosum, and dumetorum of Smith are, we think, rightly 

 combined, although several of our most eminent botanists consider 

 them as truly distinct, depending chiefly upon the form and direc- 

 tion of the frond, the position of the upper surface of the pinnae 

 (either in the same plane with the rachis or in different ones,) and 

 upon the much more deeply impressed veins upon the upper surface 

 of the plant usually denominated A. spinulosum. See Hooker's 

 Brit. Fl. ed. 4. p. 386, note. Mr. Newman combines Polypodium 



* This subject has been recently investigated by Mr. Smith of Kew, in a 

 paper read before the Linnaean Society, of which we hope to give an aba- 

 tract in our next Number. 



