126 



long, the pinncX of which msasure over eight inches. 

 Moreover, the habit is shuttle-cock-like with gracefully 

 pendant foliose fronds. 



{To he continued.) 



BRITISH FERNS OF THE FUTURE.- 



When we compare the wonderful and beautiful varieties 



of British Ferns with those which were in existence half a 



century ago, the question naturally arises whether such 



advance can be continued on the same scale, or whether 



sooner or later the possibilities will be exhausted. At the 



time referred to, judging by the published catalogues of 



the period, really fine symmetrical and constant varieties 



were very few, and consisted mainly of wild finds, that is, 



finds which had only been propagated by offsets and not 



by spores, so that practically all the specimens extant of 



the particular type were identical. The rest of the 



varieties on the market consisted largely of irregular and 



defective types, which had resulted from injudicious 



sowing of erratic forms, a number of w^hich, experience 



has shown, are far more apt to propagate themselves 



spontaneously than are the better types. This fact led to 



their introduction as easily-raised market plants, whose 



value was then apparently determined by their curious 



character : the greater their eccentricity the higher the 



price. The number of these eventually so far exceeded 



that of the " thoroughbreds " that a revulsion of taste was 



inevitable, and, for decades, the popular idea of British 



Fern varieties, if any idea was formed at all during the 



period of depression, was that they were more ugly than 



beautiful, and hence unworthy of attention. Meanwhile, 



however, the handful of enthusiasts who, by their own 



discoveries and selective culture, had become acquainted 



with the finer varieties, were more and more encouraged 



by the results they had attained, and by degrees worked up 



collections of most beautiful, thoroughbred types, which in 



'■'■'• By permission of the Gatdcncrs' Chronicle. 



