October i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



225 



them, they seem to be as fair and reasonable as 

 any regulations can be, if it is granted, as we sup- 

 pose it must, that regulations are necessary at all, 

 and free and unrestricted immigration would not be 

 preferable. The Note closes with the important an- 

 uonncement, the result of Mr. Buck's visit, that " all 

 objection to the engagement of Indian coolies for 

 labour on estates in native states on the Malay 

 Peninsula in which there is a Resident subordinate 

 to the Governor of the Straits Settlements will be 

 withdrawn by the Government of India. Indian 

 labour may be introduced in these States in future as 

 freely as into the Colony, on the understanding that 

 all regulations introduced into the Ordinance to be 

 in force in the Colony affecting tlie statute-labourer 

 shall be carried out under the direction of the Rfsid- 

 ent and his Officers, and that the Straits Govern- 

 ment will guarantee that this is done." 



It is proposed that the general superintendence of 

 Indian immigration will be under the charge of an 

 officer with the title of " Indian Immigration Agency," 

 instead of "Protector of Immigrants." and this 

 OiEcer's poweis will extend to the Native States. 

 A draft Ordinance has been drawn up by Mr. Buck 

 and Major Fischer, in communication with Mr. W. E. 

 Maxwell, embodying the prmciples of the Note, which 

 will submitted to the Legislative Council. In Ibis 

 Ordinance it is proposed to prohibit as far as possible 

 the emigration of Indian coolies to the Colonies of 

 other European Powers with whom the Government of 

 India has no convention or to the neighhouring 

 Asiatic States not under British protection. This will 

 not apply to traders, shopkeepers, &c., but it is pro- 

 posed to make it penal in the Colony for any Native 

 of British India to leave the Colony for any place 

 other than British India, unless he is provided with a 

 certificate stating that he is not a labourer or of the 

 laboui-ing class. These certificates will be issued by 

 the Indian Emigration Department at Madras, or by 

 the Indian Immigration Agent's Department here. 

 It is also to be made penal for the master of a vessel 

 or other persons lo convey uncertificated immigrants 

 from the Colony. It is left to the Legislative Council 

 to fix whether "contracts for labour shall be for two 

 or three year.", but a work-day is fixed to consist of 

 nine hours' actual work. [The effect of the conceseiou 

 made to the Straits Settlements and Malay native 

 State, will be an appreciable competition with Ceylon 

 for Tamil labour. — Ed.] 



HANDBOOK TO THE FERNS OF BEITISH 



INDIA, CEYLON AND THE MALAY 



PENINSULA. 



By Col. R. H. Beddome. • 



With 300 IVustratiom. Calciilta: Thaclcer, Spink cf- Co., 



1883. [Printed in London.] Impl. 16mo. pp. xiv., 



500. [Price in London 18s.] 



It is scarcely necessary to say that Ceylon is a 

 country eminently rich in ferns : it is so, not only in 

 mass of individuals, but in number of different kinds. 

 The latter fact is best realized by a comparison with 

 the flowering plants of the colony ; if we reckon our 

 species of ferns at 230 — a fair average of conflicting 

 views — this is a larger number than is possessed by 

 any natural order of Phanerogams repi-esented iu 

 Ceylon, and ijideed is not far off l-12th as many as 

 the whole of our flowering plants. This implies a 

 wet well-woodcdcountry with considerable elevations, 

 conditions which are met with principally in the S. W. 

 quarter of the island : in the N. half and on the 

 E. and W. coasts, ferns are but few and far between. 



In the excellent manual before us the area treated 

 of embraces besides Ceylon the whole of British India 

 including Buinmh and the Malaj Peninsula— in 



fact it is precisely that of the ' ' Flora of British 

 India " now in progress — and the total number of 

 species described is 570, so that Ceylon possesses over 

 2-5th3 of all the fenis found iu this extensive region. 

 It is also an obvious fact, that, from some not very 

 evident cause, ferns have become of late years iu 

 Ceylon as elsewhere, much more than any other group 

 of plants, objects of interest to amateurs and col- 

 lectors. ' Many persons who never think of closely 

 obse'i'ving the trees, shrubs an d herbs they see around 

 them are yet keen and devoted fern-hunters ; and the 

 botanist is often amused by being asked by these if 

 he has collected any new ferns, as though no other 

 plants could possibly be the object of his researches. 

 This remarkable popularity has led to much careful 

 examination at many hands, and here in Ceylon it 

 is not probable that much more remains to be done 

 in the way of discovering new kinds. Yet how care- 

 ful search is rewarded, even iu a well-worked field, 

 is evidenced by the discovery, some years back of 

 two new Filmy -ferns (Trichomanes parvuhim in K-clc- 

 bokka and T. " ly'alUi" — not yet dcsL-ribed — at Labu- 

 gama) and more recently of a Maidenhair {Adianitim 

 atli iopicum) in Dimbula and a tiny adder's tongue 

 ( Ophioglofsnm lucitaukum) on DambuUn i ock. Of these we 

 notice that only the Adiantum is given by Col. Beddome 

 for Ceylon, and he has also omitted to credit us with 

 Ophioglosyum nudicaule, Gymnof/ramma lejHophg/la, and 

 (a more singular oversight) tlie common Cheilanthes 

 tentufolia. 



Collectors in Ceylon have long wanted a trustworthy 

 guide to enable them to ascertain tho names of theii' 

 Ferns, by bringing into a convenient fonn the material 

 contained in a voliuninons and costly literatm'e. Dr. 

 Thwaites' catalogue contained in the last part of his 

 " Ennmeratio" {186i), and admirably worked out at 

 first hand, has of com-se been the basis of our knowledges 

 and the subsequent work of Baker, Beddome and Clarke 

 in Indian Pteridology has been recorded and made 

 avaUable here by the catalogues of Mr. G. WaU and 

 Mr. W. Ferguson. Bitt in none if these are any descrip- 

 tions given, and they have not therefore met the want 

 alluded to. 



This is, however now fuUy supplied in the present Hand- 

 book, and no one coidd be better qualified for tho task 

 than Col. Beddome. His 24 years' ofticisili connexion 

 with the Forests of S. India gave him every opportunity 

 for extended and repeated obseiTation and collection ; 

 of these he fully availed himself, and long since earned 

 the gi'atitnde of botanists by the extensive scries of 

 660 quarto plates, with descriptions, of the ferns of India, 

 the publication of which extended over many years and 

 wlU always form a standiU'd work of reference. In hJB 

 present small book he gives us a duly classified conden- 

 sation of his lai'ger works revised and brought to date ; 

 his rethement and residence near London having enabled 

 him to fully avail himself of the gi'eat herbaria, and test 

 by reference to type-specimens all his previous detei-mi- 

 uatious. We have now brief but sufficient descriptions 

 of every species, references, localities, distribution over 

 the globe and often critical observations. The illustra- 

 tions add very greatly to the practical usefulues of tho 

 book, fiUly 3-5th of the species being figured. They are 

 reductions by some photograj)hic process of the large 

 plates ah-eady alluded to, and ai-e used iu tho most handy 

 manner by being intercalated with the text. As each 

 figure is lettered . with the name of the plant, the 

 I'unning series of numbers seems unnecessary, especially 

 as there are no references to them in the text, though 

 the exigencies of the printer have sometimes divorced 

 the figure some distance from its descriptive letterpress. 

 A scale should also have been given, as the figmes have 

 not been all equally reduced, "The get-up of the volume 

 is all that could be desired, beautifidly piinted and 

 siugjdarly free from misprints ; almost the only error 

 noticed is the ciuious one which 'dates the preface 60 



