{Proceedings Belfast Naturalists 9 Field Club. — Appendix 1885-86.) 



^e Sterns of l^fsfer. 



Br William H. Phillips and Robert Lloyd Praeger, 

 B.E., B.A. 



[N submitting the following list of the species and varieties of our 

 local Ferns to the members of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, 

 we cannot but regret the absence in our district of other observers 

 in this branch of natural science. The study of the varieties of British Ferns 

 is most interesting and fascinating — being half botany, half horticulture, since 

 the finds must be grown in order to be understood and correctly named — and 

 is one which can be carried on with very little trouble or expense. Yet, 

 beyond our own finds, we have been able only to come across a very few 

 stray records. Thus, the counties of Armagh, Donegal, and Cavan are 

 hardly represented at all in our localities for varieties, while the names of 

 Antrim and Down occur in almost every line — those being the counties to 

 which we most easily had access. This, however, only proves the richness 

 of our district in varieties. Ferns there are, if only some one will find them. 

 There is still a great field of discovery among our North of Ireland Filices. 

 Already Ulster has yielded some splendid new varieties— among which we 

 may mention Athyrium Filix-fcemina crispum and Folystichum angulare 

 divisilobum Crawfordice ; and many other treasures lie hidden away in our 

 glens and copses only waiting to be found. At some future time we hope to 

 bring out a supplement to this list, and we trust that then we shall have 

 other names to record as finders of some of these beautiful varieties. The 

 labour is small and the reward great. Nothing is more pleasant than to 

 watch some wild find developing, under one's care, into an elegant decom- 

 posite or crested form. Again, a great advantage of Fern-hunting, as com- 

 pared with most out-door scientific persuits, is that it can be carried on 

 equally at every season of the year. For botany or entomology, for instance, 

 there is but a short summer season ; but not so among the Ferns ; for while 



