56 



FERN GROWING 



that have been added to the different species as worthy of certificates since 1859. 

 These are all First-Class Certificates except the following : — 



Silver Banksian Medal. 

 To Osborn, for an Osmunda regalis var. 



The number of First-Class Certificates were thus awarded : — 



and one First-Class Certificate was won by each of the following : — 



Messrs. Lee, Gray, Luccombe, Patey, Clapham, Moore, Girdlestone, Howlett, 

 Richardson, Holland, Osborn, Cross, Morgan, and Malyon. Altogether 324 

 First-Class Certificates have been awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society — 

 i.e., 171 to the author, and 153 to all the other exhibitors. 



The author gives this enumeration of Certificates in order to show how much 

 can be done by carefully crossing the varieties of the different species of Ferns 

 in a scientific manner, for in the First-Class Certificates that the author has thus 

 won, twenty-one only were from wild-finds, whilst one hundred and fifty-one were 

 the author's own seedlings. Then, again, the author's plants have only been at 

 the Royal Horticultural Society's Shows eleven times — viz., at their five County 

 Shows, 1868 to 1872, and between 1869 and 1872 three times at the London 

 Shows ; after this the author's plants were not again at the Royal Horticultural 

 Society until 1890, when a Cup was offered for the best collection of Ferns, and 

 on which occasion it was awarded to the author. At this Show there were 

 Special Awards of Merit given by the Fern Conference, but as these were 

 omitted in the list of Certificates of the Royal Horticultural Society, 1859 to 

 1893, they have not been included, although at that Show forty of the author's 

 plants received this mark of distinction (the whole awards at that Exhibition 

 being about fifty). In 189 1 the above-mentioned Cup had again to be competed 

 for (as it had to be won twice before it could be retained), and the author's 

 Ferns were again successful. It was at this show that the lovers and cultivators 

 of Ferns entertained the idea, and in fact decided upon it, that another Show 

 be held at whch the varieties should be shown in sections. 



