PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 



circumstance that it is free from the uninteresting 

 technicalities which have succeeded in most 

 works on Ferns in making the study of these 

 beautiful plants a hard task, instead of a pleasing 

 and delightful occupation. 



To the kind Reviewers who have accorded 

 such unstinted nay, overwhelming praise for 

 a humble attempt to popularize the study of 

 Ferns, to inculcate a love for the beauties of 

 Nature, and to prove what a wealth of pleasure 

 derivable from a simple pursuit is within the 

 reach of the humblest, the Author tenders his 

 most sincere and heartfelt thanks. 



September, 1876. 





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