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fern hunters were to be found in every part of the country 

 where ferns prevailed, so that by their joint labours 

 England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and even the Channel 

 Islands, one and all, contributed their quotas to the ever- 

 increasing list. 



We are, therefore, inclined to attribute to this peculiar 

 hobby, rather than to anything else, the existence in this 

 country of such magnificent collections as we find in Kew 

 Gardens, and here and there in private hands. The search 

 for abnormal forms of this kind involves a peculiar con- 

 centration of attention which, in our opinion, stands in the 

 way of success of the all-round botanist. Nothing less 

 than the examination of every individual fern within sight 

 will suffice. The " sport " may only betray itself by the 

 tip of a frond amid a jungle of common ones, and as a rule 

 it is a solitary example, since they rarely multiply to any 

 extent in situ ; or it may be but a small seedling, or a dwarf 

 sport, in all or any of which cases it is very liable to be 

 overlooked and the opportunity missed. The botanist 

 proper cannot refrain from noting other plants as he pro- 

 ceeds, and that is fatal to fern-hunting success. It is due 

 to this reason we imagine that comparatively so few wild 

 exotic sports are recorded ; furthermore, the conditions of 

 fern hunting in tropical and sub-tropical countries are 

 different, the very abundance of the species and the luxuri- 

 ance of growth handicaps the varietal fern hunter, who 

 otherwise we feel convinced, could endow our Exotic Fern 

 collections with beautifully tasselled or plumose Tree Ferns, 

 etc., on the lines of some of our British gems of that ilk. 



Charles T. Dkuery. 

 [To he continued.) 



