PREFACE 
Ir is strange that the ferns, though distin- 
guished by an infinite variety in the form and 
division of their leaves and the elegant beauty 
of their whole appearance, received so little 
attention in the Bombay Presidency on the 
part of botanists as well as of amateurs. 
An explanation of the fact may be found in 
the circumstance that just near the centres of 
human commerce in the Presidency, the fern 
vegetation is very scanty or almost m/. Other 
parts with a rich growth of ferns are inacces- 
sible to most of us during the tour rainy 
months of the year, when plant-life is at its 
best. A second reason might be the dithculty 
that is generally experienced in the identifica- 
tion of the members ot this class of plants. 
To obviate the latter difficulty we offer this 
volume to the public. 
We have to thank Professor J. P. Mullan 
for taking a number of photographs, Miss 
Mercia Stanton, Mr. Jos. Fonseca and Mr. 
Sutaria tor the drawings and Miss Eileen 
Rosario for the coloured plates. 
E. Biatter, 
J. F. p’AvMeipa. 
St. XAVIER’S COLLEGE, 
Febniary 2, 1922. 
