INTRODUCTORY. 



Logan, of Wellington ; the Rev. W. Colenso, of Napier; T. S. Cheeseman, Esq., of 

 Auckland ; Messrs. J. B. Armstrong, Abbott, Brown, Monro, and Adams, of Christ- 

 church ; G. Roberts, Esq., of Hokitika ; Major Brown and Mr. Henry, of Taranaki ; 

 Messrs. G. M. Thomson, J. Buchanan, A. C. and A. Purdie, and G. Matthews, of 

 Dunedin ; and Messrs. A. Allison, Jos. Annabell, A. Warner, and A. Murray, of 

 Wanganui ; as well as from several ladies in various parts of the colony who might 

 not care to see their names in print. 



As my book is intended chiefly for unlearned readers, to the names of the ferns 

 at the heads of the descriptions and elsewhere I have appended a guide to the pro- 

 nunciation, to prevent such common mistakes as pronouncing Hymenophyllum (Hy- 

 men-o-phyl-lum), which means "filmy leaf;" Hymenophilum (Hymen-oph-il-um), 

 which would mean " film-loving," and be nonsense : or calling Gleichenia, in which the 

 ei has the hard sound of i in " file," the ch is a guttural, and the second e scarcely 

 sounded, as if it were written Glikeenia or Gleekeenia. 



I shall also give directions for pressing and preserving ferns ; as well as hints 

 respecting their cultivation, which may be found useful, as they are the result of many 

 years experience in this way, and may save my horticultural readers from disappoint- 

 ment. I shall also mention the situations in which the several ferns are likely 

 to be found, and localities in which they have been so already ; but it must not be 

 supposed that these are the only ones. I may say that scarcely any part of the colony 

 has been thoroughly botanically examined, because its area is so large, and those who 

 have both taste and leisure for the work are so few in number. N. Z. ferns, too, like 

 our other plants, have a trick of cropping up in unexpected places. Gleichenia 

 Cunninghamii, for instance, which is usually found in high ridges looo feet or more 

 above sea-level, occurs beside a small stream only just above high-water mark, near 

 Auckland ; and I found the Alpine Lomaria at Wanganui within 30 feet of the sea- 

 level, and the Otago fern Asplenium Lyallii by Wellington Harbour. Only last year I 

 came across a patch of Gleichenia circinata, where it must have been growing for 

 probably a century, within a mile of my own house, though I had never before seen it 

 nearer than Rotorua, 150 miles away, and must have passed within a few yards of it 

 scores of times in the last 37 years. Thus collectors should always keep their eyes 

 open as they never know what they may find. 



H. C. FIELD. 



