PREFACE. 



IT has been presumed that we have been labouring for 

 beginners in the study of Ferns, and especially for the 

 young. Hence our aim has been to familiarize the sub- 

 ject as far as possible, without sacrificing that integrity 

 of detail which may render these pages acceptable even to 

 those who have made some progress in the study ; and with 

 this end in view, we have avoided all unnecessary techni- 

 calities, and confined ourselves rather to plain, and, as we 

 hope, easily understood descriptions of the plants. Those 

 dubious and debateable matters, which, perhaps, have the 

 most interest to the advanced student, have been for the 



