THE LITERATURE OF FERNS. 45 



TIFICATION OF THE CONIFERS, by Dr. William Hof- 

 meister ; translated by Frederic Currey ; published 

 by the Ray Society, London, 1862; pp. 506; 65 

 plates. The original price was i. $s. 6d. t and it 

 is now difficult to obtain a copy. The plates are 

 all made from microscopic studies, and are finely 

 executed. It is valuable for careful study and 

 comparison ; but it is found in few libraries. 



Among other authors worth consulting, but 

 whose works have not yet been translated into 

 English, are Mettenius, Milde, Fee, and Presl. 



Besides the books above mentioned, there are 

 many devoted either to the general cultivation of 

 ferns, or to the aesthetic side of fern hunting and 

 cultivation. A few of them allude to the structure 

 and mode of growth of ferns, and, without affecting 

 to go very deeply into the subject, give a correct 

 idea of it as far as they discuss it. Others, not 

 aiming at any scientific character, are charming 

 examples of literary finish. But it is to be regret- 

 ted that many books of this class, and some of 

 even as late a date as 1867, convey the most 

 erroneous ideas both in regard to the analogies 

 between ferns and other plants, and the methods 

 of reproduction in ferns. Some even leave the 

 reader with the impression that there is no sexual 

 system at all in these plants, or any thing to 

 establish in this a parallel between them and the 

 Phanerogams. 



