. 27 



DWARF FERNS. 



By permission of the Gardencvs' Magazine we reproduce 

 the following correspondence in this connection which will 

 interest our readers : — 



Mr. C. Pattison, Linwood, near Paisley, writes: "As a 

 regular reader of the Gavdencvs' Magazine for not less than 

 thirty years, I read with great interest your report of the 

 Glasgow and West of Scotland Exhibition. The report 

 was excellent in every respect save one, and I take 

 exception to the paragraph concerning dwarf British ferns, 

 wherein your reporter says that my set ' could scarcely, 

 however, be considered truly dwarf.' I am afraid your 

 reporter must have seen the ferns after dinner, and so 

 possibly everything then appeared larger than it really 

 was. Anyway, I submit to you the following names, and 

 would ask your expert writer on ferns, Mr. C. T. Druery> 

 to say, through your columns, whether the varieties are 

 dwarf or not. I exhibited : Lastrea pseudo-iiias cvispa 

 cvistata angustata, Polystichum angidave congestiim gvandiceps, 

 Polypodiuvi vulgare ivichomanoides cristatuni, Blechimm spicant 

 servato-raino-cvistatiim, Asplenmm tvichomanes incistim, and 

 Scolopendvmm spivale covymbifenim. One of the competing 

 sets was not, I considered, of dwarf ferns, but, of course, 

 there is some difficulty in securing judges sufficiently 

 acquainted with British ferns to tell which are dwarf 

 varieties and which only small plants of tall sorts. I may 

 say that the show was a grand one, but the weather about 

 the worst possible for such a function." — We understand 

 that our representative was well nigh washed out of the 

 exhibition at Glasgow, and that the authorities closed a 

 part of the exhibition for some time because they feared 

 the canvas roofing would not stand the bad weather 

 experienced. Under the circumstances, and knowing that 

 every minute was precious, as we go to press Wednesday 

 evening, we feel sure Mr. F^attison will acquit our repre- 

 sentative of any intentional error. It is just possible, also, 

 that the class cards were misplaced. However, we now 



