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I recently made a pilgrimage to Oxford for the purpose 

 of seeing this specimen and of gleaning any facts which 

 could be found to throw light upon the history of kalothrix. 

 Through the kindness of my friend, Mr. G. C. Druce, M.A., 

 keeper of the herbarium, I was enabled to see the ferns in 

 the herbarium and to examine the INIourne Mountains frond 

 which is said to be " almost identical with kalothrix." 

 The first point to be cleared up was whether this old frond 

 was really kalothrix or only something more or less 

 resembling it. At first sight it appears different from a 

 cultivated plant of kalothrix, being proportionately narrower 

 in outline and a little less dissected. The texture and 

 marginal cutting are, however, exactly those of kalothrix 

 and, upon reflection, it is just what one would expect a 

 wild collected specimen of that form to be, and, indeed, 

 it strongly resembles what I remember the first plants of 

 kalothrix, sent out by Mr. Sim about 1875, ^^ have been : 

 i.e. it is smaller and less developed than modern cultivated 

 specimens. The frond is gummed down on paper so that 

 I was unable to determine whether any traces of fructifi- 

 cation remained upon it. It must be remembered, however, 

 that when fruit is found upon kalothrix it is generally in 

 the form of irregularly scattered, often isolated and naked, 

 sporangia, which upon ripening rapidly disappear, leaving 

 little or no trace behind. Upon the sheet appears a note 

 by John Ray : — " A most beautiful and distinct form which 

 ought to have a separate name." (This is not signed by 

 Ray but a sub-note states that it is Ray's handwriting). 

 Now since Ray died in 1704 or 1705 it is clear that this 

 frond must be more than 200 years old. Before leaving 

 the herbarium it was noted that it contains many other 

 abnormal forms besides kalothrix. Polypodium v. Cam- 

 bricum and Asplenium trichomanes incisum were noticed, 

 as also numerous forms of Scolopendrium vulgare including 

 crispum, multifidum, cristatum, ramo-cristatum, digitatum, 

 polyschides of Moore (named angustatum, by the w^ay, a 

 much better name than polyschides for this plant), margin- 



