120 American Fern Journal 





the genus is practically ubiquitous, and I only recognize 

 familiar friends when I see them figured in association. 

 Looking further into the matter (p. 18) I find Dryopteris 

 = Polystichum in parenthesis, an altogether different 

 genus, which we call shield ferns, from the circular 

 form of the indusium, but which is further distinctly 

 characterized by a peculiar form of the pinnule or sec- 

 ondary (or tertiary) division. See for instance the illus- 

 trations of plates 9 and 10 and compare with plates 12 

 and 13, which clearly show the difference which is en- 

 hanced by the very different texture of the fronds and 

 their lucent or non-lucent surface. No grower of the 

 two genera could class them as one, yet as a heading to 

 p. 7, Dryopteris = A spidium (shield fern) emphasizing 

 the reference already made (p. 18). On p. 19 we have 

 repeated the old absurdity of classing Athyrivm filix- 

 foemina with the asplenia, to my mind one of the most 

 absurd allocations imaginable, since the asplenium fructi- 

 fication is linear, they are evergreen, of tough texture, 

 grow mostly on rocks and in short differ in every re- 

 spect from the soft-frondod, deciduous, moisture-loving 

 Athyrium, with its indefinite horse-shoe sori and ragged 

 indusium, etc., etc. In my humble opinion a vast pro- 

 portion of this exhuming botanical work with a view 

 to reformation of the existing nomenclature is simply a 

 waste of time and energy and only contributes to increase 

 the confusion they aim at clearing up. There should be 

 a statute of limitations imposed and more consideration 

 given to the ideas of the cultivation of living plants 

 than to the literally dry-as-dust data afforded by her- 

 baria only. Why accept the ancient authorities as de- 

 termining ones when the knowledge and material at 

 their disposal was necessarily scanty and incomplete? 

 In our old British fern literature, for instance, great as 

 is the debt we owe to the pioneers of that day, we find 



