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almost impenetrable scrub and being very remote from 

 centres of population, have never been thoroughly explored 

 by botanists. Mining enterprise, however, is now ramifying 

 these hitherto inaccessible regions with roads and forest 

 tracks to such extent that the facilities now available to 

 naturalists for the investigation of the flora of such parts are 

 wonderfully improved and may probably lead to important 

 botanical discoveries. As an encouragement to further local 

 observation, I may mention that it is only a year or two ago 

 since Mr. Justice Dobson reported the discovery by Mr. Geo. 

 Lefroy of a new fern to Tasmania {Aspidium hispidum — 

 Swartz) in the neighbourhood of Mount Heeniskirk. This 

 fern, prior to Mr. Lefroy's discovery, was supposed to be 

 confined to the Cape Otway Eanges, Victoria, and to New 

 Zealand, and its existence in Tasmania was of great botanical 

 interest. And recently, through the instrumentality of Mr. 

 T. B. Moore, who is at present surveying tracks in the 

 neighbourhood of the Queen's Eiver and Huxley Eanges on 

 the West Coast, I have obtained several interesting geological 

 and botanical novelties. Mr. Moore's praiseworthy observa- 

 tions and example might be followed with advantage to 

 science by all surveyors and other persons who have similar 

 opportunities in new districts; for among the specimens 

 submitted to me by Mr. Moore were two remarkable species 

 of ferns which I at once recognised were new to Tasmania. 

 One of them upon diagnosis I determined to be the rare 

 Hymenophyllum marginatum (Hook and Grev.), one of the 

 smallest of the filmy ferns, hitherto only known from 

 localities in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson, New South 

 Wales. The other was so novel and so densely covered on all 

 sides with a coating of tomentum that 1 could not readily 

 assign its position, no sori being visible on any of the fronds 

 examined by me. I immediately submitted the two species 

 to our illustrious honorary member— Baron Von Mueller — 

 who was extremely interested in the discovery. He at once 

 wrote to me confirming the correctness of my determination 

 as regards H. marginatum, and on subsequent reference to 

 his type specimens as regards the other he afterwards wrote 

 me to the following efi'ect : — " I have carefully examined the 

 tomentose little fern which Mr. T. B. Moore discovered near 

 the Huxley Eange. It is precisely identical with Hymeno- 

 phyllum TnalingiifOi Mettenius (Trichomanes ma?m^u, Hooker), 

 which species was hitherto only known from New Zealand. 

 The associating of it with H. marginatum, one so rare in New 

 South Wales, and there only found as yet, leads to the 

 anticipation that both will yet be found in many other 

 places. ... I trust that this gathering of two ferns new 

 for the flora of Tasmania will convince your fellow colonists 



