iv Preface. 



try my hand on a small volume adapted for the 

 induction of the unlearned and unskilled in 

 this pursuit, and here it is. Whether it will 

 supersede any of the bad books or take lowest 

 rank amongst them is for me a solemn problem. 

 But I send it forth in hope that after a quarter 

 of a century of hard work in the practical part 

 of the subject, I may be better qualified to make 

 a little book than some of those who, previous 

 to writing, had acquired only a week or so of 

 experience, and a very dim knowledge of about 

 half a dozen species. As almost every fern in 

 cultivation has names enough to fill a small 

 volume, I have in every case adopted the names 

 by which those recommended are best known 

 in nurseries and gardens. The fearful question 

 of nomenclature is thus avoided, and every 

 fern may be found by the name it bears in this 

 epitome. 



S. H. 



