QK 



LIBRARY 



UNIVERSITY OF CATJFC 

 SANTA 



PREFACE. 



FOE the general scientific part of this book I am indebted to 

 the Editor of Nature-printed Ferns Mr. Thomas Moore 

 whose various works upon British Perns have exhausted nearly 

 all that can be said upon the subject. On this ground my 

 book could hardly be more than a mere abridgement and 

 paraphrase of his writing. For new and original matter I have 

 to thank Mr. F. Clowes, of Windermere, who very kindly fur- 

 nished me with the lists of local varieties, at the same time 

 according me so much help and supervision as may, I trust, 

 be sufficient guarantee for correctness. My obligations ought 

 also to be expressed to Mr. Barnes and other collectors, from 

 whom, through Mr. Clowes, I obtained information for these 

 lists. The General Description and the Chapter on Meanings 

 of Names and Terms have been added not only to give a more 

 universal interest to the book, but as almost necessary for the 

 collector or student, since nearly all the genera of British Ferns 

 (sixteen out of nineteen) are found in the Lake Country. The 

 engravings are from nature, and as many have been given as 

 are wanted to show the characters of genera and species, some 



