PREFACE 



THE Fern Allies, by reason of their curious forms and 

 often great abundance, seldom fail to attract the atten 

 tion of the student of plants, but their identification has 

 always proved more or less of a puzzle to beginners. 

 Like the ferns, they bear neither flowers nor seeds, and 

 at first glance seem to offer few points by which they 

 may be distinguished. The species are usually included 

 in botanical Manuals, but the necessarily brief and tech- 

 nical descriptions have tended to discourage rather than 

 to aid the novice. In reality, however, most of the 

 species are easily identified, and it is one of the purposes 

 of this book to point out how this may be done. 



No book has ever before been published in which one 

 may find untechnical descriptions of our fern allies, nor 

 one in which all the species have been figured ; in fact a 

 large number are figured for the first time in this book. 

 Such illustrations as have hitherto appeared are scattered 

 in various American and foreign books, often inaccessi- 

 ble, many of which, published long ago, are more or less 

 inaccurate. It has been our aim, not only to illustrate 

 every species, but to represent them correctly. The 

 drawings have been made from typical specimens of the 

 plants, and it is believed that many of the species will 

 now be easily identified by merely comparing them with 

 the illustrations. 



In the text each species has been carefully described 

 anew from authentic specimens, and all the known facts 



