34 POLYPODIUM CALIFORNICUM.—CALIFORNIAN POLYPODY. 
from its rocky brow.” We are very glad to be able to give a 
representation of this very beautiful fern, because in pursuance of 
our plan to take representatives of the Flora from every part of 
the United States we want to have Oregon represented; and also 
because this species offers the opportunity to say a little on the 
importance of examining the veins in determining the various 
kinds of ferns. The earlier botanists paid attention chiefly to 
the form of the fruit dots, their position on the fronds, or their 
situation on the veins; but characters derived from the veins 
themselves do not appear to have attracted much attention till 
a comparatively modern date. In 1836 Professor C. B. Presl, 
one of two brothers both celebrated botanists of Prague, pub- 
lished a work on ferns in which characters drawn from the 
veins occupied a very prominent position. Those who make 
ferns a special study do not seem to agree in all cases with 
Professor Presl as to the precise value of such characters, but 
still they are found generally to be of as much value as most 
other characters in ferns, and hence all students in these times 
examine the veins as closely as any other parts of a fern. Some 
veins are simple, others branched, others run completely to the 
margin, while others stop short. Again there are others which 
continually diverge, and no matter what may be their length 
never touch another after having once started from the parent 
vein; while there are others which seem to run backwards and 
forwards, connecting one with another, and forming a complete 
net-work all over the surface. In some cases these characters 
are constant, that is to say, are generally found the same in all 
the specimens of the, species we may find, and then they form 
what botanists call a valuable character; but in other cases they 
are found to vary, sometimes having perhaps free veins, that is 
never being connected at their points, and at others they forma 
net-work, or as it is technically said, they anastomose. 
Our present species is just one of these uncertain cases. It 
will be noted that the description translated from Kaulfuss says 
“veinlets anastomosing,” but these will not be found in that 
