dedication 



Dear Mr. Moly, 



It is with a sense of gratification, heightened by the 

 consciousness of fitness and duty, that I have dedicated to you this 

 record of observations and experiments in a department of inquiry to 

 which you have so largely contributed, and in the prosecution of which 

 you have so often assisted. 



A number of experiments at first confined to the investigation 

 of the crossing of Ferns, has gradually resulted in the establishment 

 of an ordered ■ series of facts materially affecting our conceptions of 

 Pteridology. 



At a time when the first disclosure of these facts was received 

 with general incredulity, I was encouraged to persevere in my 

 inquiries by the diligent co-operation of our able friends Colonel 

 Jones, Abraham Clapham, Major Cowburn, and Edwin Fox. These, 

 alas ! have all passed away ; but to you, as to one whose assistance 

 has been as continuous as your discoveries have been invaluable, it 

 is still permitted me to render this tribute of esteem. 



To one who has devoted his life to the enrichment of our know- 

 ledge of English Ferns, the dedication of this record of the results 

 of fifty years' labour in the investigation of the mysteries of Crypto- 

 gamic parentage seems to me to be most due. 



Believe me, 



Yours very sincerely, 



E. J. LOWE. 



