FERNS AS A HOBBY 



of finding a new station for a rare fern, and thus 

 adding an item of value to the natural history of the 

 State, he should be stimulated to fresh zeal. 



Other interesting possibilities are those of discover- 

 ing a new variety and of chancing upon those forked 

 or crested fronds which appear occasionally in many 

 species. These unusual forms not only possess the 

 charm of rarity and sometimes of intrinsic beauty, 

 but they are interesting because of the light it is be- 

 lieved they may throw on problems of fern ancestry. 

 To this department of fern study, the discovery and 

 development of abnormal forms, much attention is 

 paid in England. In Lowe's " British Ferns " I 

 find described between thirty and forty varieties of 

 Polypodium vulgare, while the varieties of Scolopen- 

 drium vulgare, our rare Hart's Tongue, extend into 

 the hundreds. 



The majority of ferns mature late in the summer, 

 giving the student the advantage of several weeks 

 or months in which to observe their growth. Many 

 of our most interesting flowers bloom and perish be- 

 fore we realize that the spring is really over. There 

 are few flower lovers who have not had the sense of 

 being outwitted by the rush of the season. Every 

 year I make appointments with the different plants 

 to visit them at their flowering time, and nearly 

 every year I miss some such appointments through 

 failure to appreciate the short lives of these fragile 

 blossoms. 



A few of the ferns share the early habits common 

 to so many flowers. But usually we can hope to 



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