959 



live length of the pinnae is also altered : it appears to be a fundamental character of a 

 deltoid frond, that the lowest pair of pinnae shall be longer than the second pair, the 

 second longer than the third, and so on ; and, as far as I am aware, this character is 

 constant in cultivation ; at least I can safely assert that it is so in Asplenium Adian- 

 tum-nigrum, Lastraea recurva, &c. The apex of the frond is often lengthened very 

 remarkably, but the lower pinnae almost invariably partake of a similar elongation. 

 In lanceolate fronds, the lowest pair of pinnae are usually shorter than the second pair, 

 the second shorter than the third; and this character in Asplenium lanceolatum, Las- 

 traea multiflora &c., remains unaltered under any condition. Now the two Trichoma- 

 nes, although less decidedly deltoid or lanceolate than the ferns I have cited, follow 

 the same law, each preserving respectively its deltoid or lanceolate tendency under 

 cultivation. 



Again, there is a decided differ- 

 ence, as far as I can learn from my 

 limited materials, in the involucres 

 of the two plants. In the Killarney 

 plant the involucre stands out dis- 

 tinctly from the membranous frond, 

 and appears almost stalked, while in 

 all my specimens of the Glouin Ca- 

 ragh plant it is more or less united 

 with the frond by a continuous mar- 

 gin or wing ; this will perhaps be- 

 come more evident from an inspec- 

 tion of the figures in the margin, 

 which fairly express the differences 

 observable in my specimens from a h c d , 



each station. Supposing that the a. luvolucre of the Killamey plant in its usual state. 



deltoid and lanceolate fronds are 6— f, Different states of involucre of GlouinCaragh plant. 



constant in each plant, and that the exserted and partially embedded involucres are 

 also constant, I think there can be little doubt that Mr. Andrews's plant claims the 

 rank of a species ; the extraordinary length of the receptacle, the less divided state of 

 frond, and the less tomentose rhizoma, so ably pointed out by the Irish botanists, will 

 furnish additional support of such a decision, although I scarcely like to take either of 

 these as a specific character. Still I hesitate to add a species to our British Ferns un- 

 less possessed of more ample means for forming an opinion ; and I give to the plant 

 the name of Andrewsii as a variety only, respectfully begging of subsequent describers, 

 that should their views coincide with mine, they will still allow the plant to bear the 

 name of a naturalists to whose ardour and intelligence the science of Botany is under 

 so many and such important obligations." — p. 315. 



We are desirous of recording our opinion that Trichomanes An- 

 drewsii will hereafter rank as a distinct species ; its descrepancies with 

 speciosum are fully as great as those of Hymenophyllum tunbridgense 

 and H. unilaterale ; and there seems a general disposition to consider 

 these permanently distinct. 



Concerning the remaining tribes we have little to add. The de- 



