WILD "SPORTS" AND HOW FOUND 49 



is discovered, it is usually obvious that they are of common origin, 

 that is, due to local propagation. Their discovery is also handi- 

 capped by the fact that they are often found intimately mingled 

 with, and either partially or entirely hidden by, the common forms 

 of the same species, or it may be by robust specimens of other 

 species, and hence a merely superficial glance may easily miss a 

 prize. The Fern-hunter's motto, however, is that "wherever there 

 are Ferns there is a chance " ; but it by no means follows that 

 abundance of normals means increased possibilities. In our 

 own experience the ferny jungles through which we wade waist- 

 deep in vigorous plants, are less likely to yield a prize than rough 

 broken ground bearing scattered specimens. This we impute to the 

 fact that as a rule varieties are less in size, that is, lose in height 

 what they gain by extra development by plumes or crests, and 

 that hence in the young stage, under jungle conditions, they 

 stand a less chance of survival than under more open ones, and 

 even if present are less likely to be seen. Thus in Cornwall and 

 Devon, where the Hartstongue may monopolize the soil and carry 

 yard-long fronds, in such places we have always failed to find 

 a " sport," while on old walls and hedge-banks, where the plants 

 were smaller and more individualized, we have found a fair number 

 of distinct varieties. In short, old walls, stone dykes, and rough 

 and rocky ground generally on hill-sides and elsewhere form, in 

 our opinion, the best hunting-grounds. It would be idle to specify 

 likely localities, the records show that wherever an expert has re- 

 sided in a ferny region, he has gradually accumulated a collection 

 within the range of his travels, and the late Mr. J. Moly, one of 

 our most noted pioneers, a resident near Lyme Regis in Dorset, 

 has some six hundred distinct finds to his credit, as the result of 

 many years' search, while the late Dr. Wills, his neighbour at 

 Chard, found in the same district a considerable number also dis- 

 tinct. The writer, whose research is confined to annual holidays, 

 has nevertheless found over seventy varieties, so that it is clearly 

 worth the while of any Fern-loving amateur to devote attention to 

 the Ferns of the wayside, woodland, and glen with a view to acquisi- 

 tions of this class, and so derive the double enjoyment of charming 

 country rambles plus a definite natural object of study. The 

 absolutely essential point is concentrated attention upon and 

 examination of every Fern met with. It is, we are certain, the 

 diverted attention to other plants, with which the hunter is ac- 

 quainted, which accounts for the fact that the general botanist is 

 rarely a successful Fern-hunter. For the beginner the first essential 

 is, of course, a familiarity with the normal forms of the various 

 species, and of these our coloured plates will give a clear idea, 

 while if he is successful in finding a variety, he will in all probability 

 discover its prototype among the other illustrations, and if it be a 

 good symmetrical one and is neither figured nor described, there 



