90 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 
Variable as to the size of the plants; the smaller ones 
approaching B. gracile Pursh. This fern, John Robinson 
tells us, “never spreads except by spores, hence is not 
found abundant in one locality.” 
Hupson Fats, N. Y. 
(To be continued) 
Notes and News 
Notes ON FERN LITERATU RE 
Maxon, Wm. R. Contrib. U. S. Nat. Herb. 17: I- 
VIII & 541-608. pl. 32-43. 23 May 1916. 
In the sixth installment of his Studies of tropical 
American Ferns cited above, Maxon deals mainly with 
three groups of Polypodium, respectively the groups of 
. trichomanoides, P. furfuraceum, and P. squamatum, 
comprising sixty-four species accepted as valid and 
more than twenty-five additional forms. In addition 
the identity of several species of Notholaena is also dealt 
with. Most of the species of Polypodium are small 
forms of the West Indies, Central and South America. 
The paper includes sixteen new species of Polypodium, 
and two new species in Notholaena. 
Of particular interest are the characters used in sep- 
arating the different species, and the conclusions eX- 
pressed or understood, which may be drawn from the 
results. 
Characters of the scales of the rootstocks and leaves 
are given more weight than characters of venation, i. €., 
the actual structure of the individual scale as seen 
through a microscope. The presence of a large number 
of scales, as compared with the almost complete absence 
of seales, is not counted as significant, provided the 
scales in both cases show similar cell structure. It is 
found, however, that two forms which in general ap- | 
