PBEFACE. 



IT has long been considered a desideratum to have 

 a concise Manual of Garden Ferns. Of the British 

 species there are many valuable handbooks ; but, except 

 in works of large extent and great cost, the English 

 reader did not possess a book to which reference could 

 be made for information on the Ferns grown in Stoves, 

 Greenhouses, and Garden Ferneries. It is with the 

 view of supplying this want that the present work is 

 published. 



Any merit that attaches to the excellent information 

 found in the following pages is due to Mr. Thomas 

 Appleby, long a skilful cultivator of this family of 

 plants, and whose papers on the subject in the Cottage 

 Gardener have been made available. To Mr. C. W. 

 Croker also, a successful cultivator and a respectable 

 pteridological botanist, a great portion of this work is 

 due. Much of the cultural information has also been 



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