HI 



of Oxford for the foundation of a botanical professorship, 

 and that he also bequeathed his herbarium to the same 

 seat of learning. What more natural than that his plants 

 should also find their way, at or before his death, to the 

 University Garden ? Once there kalothrix may have 

 scattered spores which gave rise to a plumosum and this 

 would be much more likely to survive than would kalothrix 

 itself. Or kalothrix may even have reverted wholly to 

 the plumose form since it frequently does so partially even 

 in modern times. This would agree with and explain the 

 vague tradition of an Irish plumosum.. 



There are, of course, many missing links in the chain of 

 evidence I have adduced and absolute proof of the descent 

 of kalothrix from Sherard's plant is wanting, but the 

 pedigree is probably as good as many in the Herald's 

 College, and in any case this hypothetical descent must be 

 considered to be more probable than the alternative theory 

 that a fairly large batch of kalothrix sprang suddenly from 

 a particular plant of the Horsfall or some other plumosum, 

 no other individual of which has ever been known to 

 produce it at all. 



It is an interesting consideration that "perhaps the 

 most delicately beautiful of all ferns," is also one of the 

 oldest varieties whose origin can be traced, and it is an 

 honour to the Emerald Isle to have given it birth as is to 

 the Oxford Botanic Garden to have preserved it even in a 

 disguised form during a century and a half of obscurity. 

 Last, but not least, let us give honour to Sherard who 

 discovered it. He ought to be the patron saint of fern- 

 hunters. 



NEW FERNS. 



With the exception of the possibilities referred to in the 

 preceding article, " A Successful Sowing," there is little to 

 record since last issue. We have, however, received from 

 Mr. J. Francis, one of our members, several fronds of a 



