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are of all sizes, from the tiny hymenophyllum, scarcely 

 one fourth of an inch, to the gigantic alsophila, tree- 

 fern, having a trunk 50 feet or more in height, 

 surmounted by a crown of beautiful feathery-looking 

 fronds. The number of distinct species and varieties 

 of ferns and allied lycopodiums and selaginellas in- 

 digenous to Fiji amounts, as yet found, to 246. I 

 have no doubt the number will be raised to about 

 300 species when every part of the islands has been 

 explored. Some of these ferns are magnificent. The 

 dicksonia moluccana has fronds of a triangular shape, 

 measuring 12 feet in length and 10 feet in breadth 

 at the base. One of them would cover an area of 

 60 superficial feet. This gigantic leaf is supported 

 by a stipe or stalk 6 feet in length and 3 inches in 

 circumference. As a contrast to this may be mentioned 

 the tiny fronds of the flimy ferns, hymenophyllums, 

 and some species of trichomanes, scarcely an eighth of 

 an inch in size. The delicate fronds of a few species 

 of the last named genus attain a height of 2| feet. 

 Most beautiful they look when seen with the rain drops 

 hanging like beads of crystal from the points of their 

 finely-divided fronds. Not less pretty in this respect 

 are hymenophyllums javanicum, and dilatum, gene- 

 rally found on the sides of streams, shaded from the 

 sun by the overhanging banks and lofty trees. 



The davallias found in Eiji are worthy of notice. 

 However, the most beautiful of them are hymen- 

 ophylloides, and blumeana. The latter is, without 

 doubt, the prettiest fern in Eiji. Both are found on 

 the loamy banks of streamlets in densly shaded woods. 

 Their fronds seldom exceed 1 foot in height, are of 

 a pale green colour, finely divided, and their mem- 



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