HISTORY OF INTRODUCTION OS 1 EXOTIC FERNS. 21 



into notice was that of Liverpool, under the Curator- 

 ship of the late Mr. John Shepherd, more than thirty- 

 years ago; and the collection there has lately been 

 considerably augmented by Mr. Tyerman. At Bir- 

 mingham, too, Mr. David Cameron in early times 

 formed a good collection, which, however, has now 

 given place to gaudy florist flowers. A good deal of 

 attention is at the present time paid to Ferns at the 

 Glasgow Botanic Garden by Mr. Peter Clarke ; and 

 also by Dr. David Moore, Director of the Botanic 

 Garden of the Royal Society of Dublin, at Glasnevin, 

 who has likewise introduced several new species from 

 Trinidad and New South Wales. The Eoyal Horti- 

 cultural Society of London must be mentioned as 

 having introduced Cibotium Schicdei, and one or two 

 other Mexican species, received from their collector, 

 Mr. Theodore Hartweg. 



Want of space precludes my particularizing the 

 numerous private growers of the present day; but 

 I cannot altogether pass over one or two of the 

 earlier ones who formed large collections of species, 

 and did much to stimulate the taste for these plants. 

 I more particularly allude to Mr. James Henderson 

 and John Riley, Esq. Under the patronage of the 

 Earls of Fitzwilliam, to whom he had long been 

 gardener, Mr. Henderson has for upwards of thirty 

 years been a zealous cultivator of Eerns, and has 

 been very successful in raising them from spores, 

 adding by that means a good number of species to 

 our collections. One of the earliest amateurs dis- 

 tinguished for his love of Ferns, was John Riley, 

 Esq., of Papplewick, near Nottingham, who was also ' 

 a successful raiser, and brought together a collection 



