1889-90.] 229 



rocks by the sea, the wooded glen, the wild moor, and the stream 

 provide for us the kingdom of ferns, whose peculiar habits form 

 a pleasant study for our hours of recreation. The fern lover 

 who has any leisure at command is almost sure, sooner or 

 later, to become a fern hunter, and to be successful a familiar 

 knowledge of all the normal ferns is necessary, so that at a 

 glance he can recognise them, and then an education of the eye 

 by constant, careful examination of the plants which come in 

 his way, that should there be any abnormality in the fronds 

 over which his eye travels, it may at once be detected. It may 

 not be out of place here to add a word in justice to the true 

 hunter of varieties, who is too often confounded in the minds of 

 the thoughtless with those ruthless destroyers of species who, 

 year by year, throw back the fern line farther from our cities. 

 How sad to see the quantities of ferns in our markets each 

 week with all the roots cut off to make them look smart. I 

 never see these without the thought that death in a few days 

 must be the result. How often in glens do we find ferns rooted 

 up by thoughtless persons and lying thrown away. When a 

 fern has been dug out, and not required, it should be planted 

 again. The true hunter of varieties is, on the contrary, the 

 preserver of rare forms, and but for him many a beautiful thing 

 which is now a delight to many hundreds would have perished 

 entirely. As a rule the finer organisms, if left to themselves, 

 have scarce a chance of permanent survival in the hard struggle 

 that is ever going on. The fecundity of ferns is enormous. 

 Mr. Druery has calculated that a fully developed frond of 

 Polypodium vulgare bears no fewer than 200,000,000 spores. 



The lecturer then called attention to some of the more 

 marked groups into which the varieties are divided, explaining 

 the characters by reference to a magnificent display of dried 

 specimens, mounted, and hung on the walls, numbering several 

 hundreds, and made up principally of local finds ; and attention 

 was drawn to several forms lately found. A most beautiful 

 collection of ferns sent by Mr. O'Kelly, nurseryman, of Bally- 

 vaughan, County Clare, was exhibited. These were all his own 



