192 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



aucl grace among the ferns, which in those characteristics are 

 preeminent. Here we have at least one incentive for the study 

 and cultivation of ferns, which must inevitably develop artistic 

 taste and refinement. 



I hold it to be quite as mucli our duty to cultivate the aesthetic 

 side of our nature as it is the practical, and I care not what the 

 strict utilitarian may say ; any pursuit which leads us into closer 

 communion with Nature and teaches us to appreciate and love 

 God's works, whether it be a quest for wild flowers, ferns, or any 

 other branch of natural histor}^ deserves encouragement and 

 approbation. The spirit which inspired the great Linujvus when 

 he fell on Iiis knees and thanked God for bestowing so much 

 beauty on a tiny, wild flower, dear to us all, is one that is worthy 

 of our constant emulation. 



I recall with feelings of pleasurable emotion the enthusiasm 

 shown by our revered Master in Botany, Dr. Gra}^ over the 

 tiniest blossoms gathered during an ever to be remembered field 

 day on Bear Hill, in Stoneham — an occasion memorable also from 

 the presence of one whose memory' is dear to all lovers of ferns — 

 that pure soul, John AVilliamson, of Kentucky. The unbounded 

 love and enthusiasm which filled the soul of that great and good 

 man, Asa Gray, kept him alwaj^s young and overflowing with the 

 exuberant spirits of a boy, and I can never efface from my 

 memory the cheery voice, the buoyant step, and the kindly greet- 

 ing which always met me when studying ferns at the Cambridge 

 Herbarium. 



The study and cultivation of ferns is one of the most delightful 

 of recreations, whether pursued in the spirit of scientific inquiry, 

 or from an aesthetic point of view, and is to be encouraged in both 

 directions ; in the first, as contributing to our knowledge of plants 

 and the relations which the}^ bear to other forms of life, and in the 

 second, as increasing the enjoyment and happiness, not only of 

 those who engage in their study, but of others as well, through 

 the refining influence of their beauty. 



Ferns are to be distinguished in a general way, from other 

 plants by the following aggregation of characters : their erect 

 leafy habit and generally finely cut foliage ; the presence of woody 

 bundles of fibres in their stalks ; the production of fruit, either on 

 the under surface of the leafy portion, or in spike-like racemes 

 on separate stalks, and the arrangement of the young fronds in 

 the bud. 



