48 



A Word with Sir William J. Hooker and George A. Walker- Arnott. 

 LL.D., &c. By Lastrea recurva. 



Most potent, g^ave and reverend signiors ! I hold that you have 

 wronged me. You not only rob me of a name, but of my standing in 

 society, treating me as one of that ephemeral race universally known 

 amongst us foresters by the soubriquet of phantasmata,* and generally 

 supposed to be mere creations of the human brain. My elegant 

 sister, Filix-foemina, the only near relation I have in this country, 

 calls them ghosts, because, like ghosts, they never appear to more 

 than one person, and are invisible to everybody else. Now this is a 

 great mistake of yours, as you would yourselves find if you would 

 condescend to visit me, either here or in Cornwall. But between 

 ourselves, reverend signiors ! you really cannot judge of the matter 

 fairly when you merely peep through your glasses at my cast-ofF 

 clothes. Come into the woods of Killarney, where you will find me 

 perfuming the air with my sweet, sweet breath, and where I chatter 

 all day long with my pretty cousin, Trichomanes speciosum, whom 

 you have nicknamed Trichomanes radicans, a point on which you 

 ought to have consulted my friends Robert Brown and Mr. Bennett, 

 both of whom would have told you better. But may be you don't 

 care so much about being right as you do about spreading your own 

 doctrines. Ah ! if you were but as wise as you are learned, you'd 

 just teach the truth, and trust to old time to take care of your 

 teachings. 



Now let me ask you one question. Is it right of you so to state a 

 fact as to give a wrong impression ? You say at page 570, " One 

 state (meaning me) of the plant (meaning family), however, we 

 are desirous of noticing (and many thanks to you for your notice, 

 which sure I scarce deserve), from the great discussion it has 

 occasioned in some of the periodicals (meaning the ' Phytologist,' 

 which you wouldn't, I know, mention if you could avoid it, and 

 which, by the way, is one, not some), namely, Aspidium dilatatum, 

 var. recurvum, of Bree in Mag. of Nat. Hist. vol. iv. p. 163, cum ic. 

 (all which you learn from Newman's ' British Ferns,' as now follows). 

 Lastrea recurva of Mr. Newman in ' British Ferns,' 1844, p. 226. 

 We find no specific character in the latter work ; but this deficiency 

 is compensated by Mr. Babington, who thus distinguishes it" (meaning 



* "Phanlasma quod Cicero visum vocavil." — Pliny. 



