Ferns and flosses of the United States. 287 



Art. VII. — A Synoptical Table of the Ferns and Mosses of 

 the United States ; by Lewis C. Beck, M. D. 



TO PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. 



Although much attention has been paid to the phenoga- 

 mous plants of the United States, our Cryptogamise have 

 been in a measure neglected. This cannot be ascribed to a 

 want of interest in their investigation, but to the difficulty 

 which attends it. This difficulty arises chiefly from the fact 

 that there have been no separate publications upon these 

 plants; — the brief notices and descriptions of some of them 

 which are found in general works upon American Botany, 

 being altogether insufficient for the purposes of accuracy. 



Some years since I began to devote particular attention to 

 our native Ferns and Mosses ; but I soon found that I could 

 not proceed far without having recourse to more detailed 

 descriptions than are usually met with in the works just men- 

 tioned. Having the good fortune to be within reach of ma- 

 ny standard foreign works upon these orders, I conceived the 

 plan of preparing, for my own convenience, a Manual of the 

 Ferns and Mosses of the United States. Having completed 

 the task, I have now determined to publish this Manual, in 

 the hope that it may offer some facihties for the study of 

 these families. 



This work, which is now ready for the press, will contain 

 — a general view of the Anatomy and Physiology of the 

 Ferns and Mosses ; — detailed descriptions of the genera and 

 species hitherto known as natives of the United States ; — a 

 copious glossary of the terms employed ; — with accurate en- 

 gravings of all the genera. The following is a Synoptical 

 Table of the genera and species, which I am induced to of- 

 fer for publication in your valuable journal, with a view of 

 directing the attention of our botanists to the undertaking, 

 and of soliciting from them such additional information as 

 they may possess. 



Yours respectfully, 



Lewis C. Beck. 



Albany, November, 1828, 



