242 



moon-lit green, has long been regarded as deservedly so 

 self-satisfied that it has disdained to assume any varietal 

 form, and therefore no " sports " of any appreciable value 

 turned up to reward the hunter. This record has, however, 

 now been broken by the discovery of a very charming 

 variant in which, while the general habit of the plant is 

 unaltered, the fronds are so much more foliose or plumose 

 that the sub-sections deeply overlap each other, enhancing 

 the beauty materially, and adding another gem to our 

 Native Fern collections. 



As its wider recognition and apparently even its survival 

 are due to our member, Mr. T. E. Eley, we think we 

 cannot do better than give verbatim his account of the 

 actual finder and the circumstances attending the dis- 

 covery. Under the heading, "How I Discovered Poly- 

 podium dryopteris plumosum," he writes : 



Several times during my Fern-hunting expeditions in 

 the English Lake District I heard of a quiet plodding hunter, 

 Tom Christopherson by name, living in the district 

 between Windermere Lake and Kendal, and I resolved 

 that I would find him and have a good " Crack " about our 

 mutual hobby. One day in June, 191 1, when about five 

 miles from Lakeside I came upon an old chap progging 

 about under a hedge near Row, Westmoreland. With half 

 an eye we recognised each other as Fern enthusiasts. 

 Mutual confidences were exchanged, and in reply to my 

 query if he could tell me where I could find " Owd Tom " 

 Christopherson— as they say in those parts — he put out his 

 hand and said : " You can shake hands with him now." 

 Then I told him of the mighty things that had been 

 attributed to him, and when I mentioned that his niece was 

 one of my informants, nothing would satisfy the old fellow 

 but to imm.ediately make tracks for his domicile, two miles 

 away, where he introduced me to his "collection." His 

 Fernery was far from extensive, in fact it measured about 

 2 feet wide and 15 feet long, at the warm end of a 



