JOHN E. MAPPLEBECK 



John E. Mapplebeck was bom at Birmingham, June 23, 

 1842. When twelve years of age he began pressing fronds, 

 and spent much of his playtime in arranging dried specimens ; 

 but it was in 1859 that he was struck with the mania for 

 collecting Ferns, partly excited through seeing a splendid lot 

 of rare species brought by his sister from Kendal. After a 

 time he thought there was great pleasure to be derived from 

 the varieties which were not then very numerous. In 1862 

 Mr. Mapplebeck started propagating from spores, sowing two 

 or three varieties together, but scarcely anticipating the results 

 which took place. In 1863 he went to New Zealand for three 

 years, and on his return found that some new varieties had 

 sprung from his 1862 spore-sowing ; and after that he continued 

 the experiments, and making friends with several prominent 

 Fern authorities, he got together a fine collection of new 

 varieties, with which to experiment ; while he was particularly 

 indebted to his best of friends, the late Colonel Jones, whose 

 death was a severe loss to him, for spores of many of the new 

 varieties. 



From 1868 to 1884 most of Mr. Mapplebeck's spare time 

 was devoted to hybridising Ferns, by mixing two or three 

 varieties, and the result gave him the greatest possible surprise 

 and satisfaction ; he mixed difterent species also together scores 

 of times, but never raised a hybrid. 



In 1873 Mr. Mapplebeck was elected a Fellow of the 

 Linnean Society. 



About h888, owing to the illness of his wife, his atten- 



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