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guide nomenclature and actually determine the distinctions 

 upon which It is based, but which they icjnore. We 

 further submit that in such cases as those of the Canadian 

 or American Polypodies, where the general character of a 

 well-known and widely-extended species are all maintained, 

 except the frond form, the varietal experts should be 

 consulted before a new species is made of what in all 

 probability is merely a variety. C. T. D. 



LASTREA MONTANA CRISTATA (Moore). 



This variety, found in i860 by Mr. Clarke of Glasgow, 

 is one of the oldest known varieties of the species and also 

 one of the most graceful, but in spite of this it does not 

 seem to have become very common. It is not bunch- 

 crested like Barnes's coronans and Garnett's corymbiferum 

 but is elegantly and regularly fingered, the fingers them- 

 selves being tipped by small crests. For this reason 

 Mr. Barnes and Mr. Lowe considered it to be a polydactyla 

 rather than a cvistata, but, when freely grown, it will be 

 found to be neatly crested both terminally and laterally ; 

 and when highly developed it is almost percristate, i.e. 

 most of the pinnules, as well as the fronds and pinnae, 

 are minutely crested. The minute glandules on the 

 rachis, which give to montana its peculiar and pleasant 

 odour, are especially conspicuous in this variety, and I 

 have been recently struck by the rich "old gold" 

 colour, almost suggestive of a Gymnogramma, given by 

 them to the stalks when the fronds are unfurling. Mr. 

 Druery's cristata-gracilis, found in 1888, comes very near 

 to this variety, but is perhaps more definitely percristate. 



F. W. Stansfield. 



P.S. — ScoL. V. Plumosum, H. Stansfield. I greatly 

 regret having sent an entirely inadequate representation 

 of the character of this fern for the frontispiece of the last 

 number of the Gazette. The development there shown 

 has since been altogether eclipsed by that of a plant in 

 Mr. Henwood's collection. In this latter plant the 



