81 • 



meeting, resignations were read and accepted from Mr. W. H, 

 Liebelsperger, Mr. J. Charles Roper, Mr, James Walker, Mr. 

 George VVirsing, and Dr. H. E. Hasse. These resignations were 

 accepted by the Club. 



The scientific program consisted of two papers, of which the 

 authors have submitted the following abstracts : 



Remarks on the Genus Boletus. By Dr. William A. Murrill. 

 This paper will be published in the March (1908) number of 



TORREYA. 



Some Fern Hybrids. By Mr. Ralph C. Benedict. 



The object of this paper was to present general facts regarding 

 fern hybrids, to indicate the apparent significance of the facts, and 

 to show examples of some native hybrids. 



The literature on the subject seems to be very scanty, and 

 consists principally of scattered descriptions of natural and horti- 

 cultural hybrids. Lowe (Fern Growing) has given a general dis- 

 cussif)n of the subject but his work is of a horticultural, rather 

 than of a scientific, value. The most conclusive experiments are 

 those carried on by Miss Margaret Slosson, in which she repro- 

 duced culturally Aspleniiim ebenoides (^A. platynenron x Canipto- 

 sorus rliizopJiylUis^, and Dryopteris cristata x marginalis Daven- 

 port, two suspected hybrids, which occur in nature. Recently 

 at least one more cross has been artificially produced by Mr. 

 Amedee Hans, of Stamford, Ct., between Dryopte^ds Filix-vias 

 and D. marginalis. This, however, has not yet been found wild. 



Study of these three authenticated hybrids shows that they 

 agree in general with the hybrids of some flowering plants. They 

 are sterile, usually larger than the parents, sometimes abnormal, 

 and in many characters intermediate to a greater or less degree 

 between the parent species. In view of these facts, it seems 

 reasonable to interpret as hybrids other forms (principally in 

 Dryopteris^ which are sterile and similarly intermediate between 

 two species. 



Some of these are veiy characteristic and might be considered 

 separate species. At least two have been so described. This 

 view, however, is untenable because of their sterility, and their 

 distribution, rare or occasional with the parent species, or at least 



