58 



have been found. There are, however, a few of the" curio " 

 tribe which are simply ugly, appearing to be affected with 

 a genius for going wrong in their structure. A form of 

 Lastvea found by Mr. Phillips in Ireland, L.f. m. monstvosa, 

 seems unable to perfect any of its parts ; and it is recorded 

 of another find of this description, of which, nevertheless, 

 the discoverer was very proud (this was in the old days, 

 before the reformation), which being shewn, we believe, to 

 Col. Jones without his being adequately impressed, the 

 finder said : " Ah ! but you should have seen it last season, 

 when there was not a single bit of it right.'' Near Aber- 

 feldy, a few years ago, we found a large bushof ^lale Fern 

 of this type, but it is doubtless there still. 



Among the "curios" representing peculiarly eccentric 

 departures from the normal plan of growth, that wonderful 

 Lady Fern, A.f.f. VictovicB ranks as facile pvinceps. The 

 phenomenon of cruciation, or the formation of crosses, by the 

 juxtaposition of opposite twin pinnae or pinnules set on at 

 a wide angle to each other, is not common. It has been 

 found in P. annulare (P. ang. Wakeleyanum), in which it, 

 however, only partially affects the fronds, and in our own 

 find of A, f. f. cvuciatum in Devonshire, in which the 

 character is fairly evidenced both in the pinnae and the 

 pinnules, but in Victories it is so thoroughly brought out 

 that the fronds are like slender pieces of lattice work, and 

 the pinnae are composed of tiny crosses on like lines 

 throughout. To add to this marvel, long, slender, pendulous 

 tassels ornament the tips of frond and twin pinnae, consti- 

 tuting it an absolutely unique form in all the world. Here 

 we have a "curio" of such a thoroughbred nature as to 

 entitle it to the foremost place of honour in every 

 collection. The opinion has been expressed that the twin 

 pinnae are due to abortion of all but the two basal pinnules 

 of the pinnae proper, and that these are consequently 

 enlarged by concentration of energy and thus assume the 

 character of pinnae, which naturally grow at the same 

 angle as pinnules would have done and so produce the 



