THE 



FERNS OP GREAT BRITAIN. 



One may often observe that persons who are fond of 

 nature, and who have yet never studied Botany syste- 

 matically, are desirous of commencing that study with 

 Ferns. Their extreme elegance of form, the small num- 

 ber of the British species, the apparent simplicity of 

 their structure, and the comparative ease with which 

 they may be preserved and formed into a good collection, 

 all tempt the learner to " begin at the beginning," and 

 to proceed afterwards to what he would consider as the 

 more complicated part of Botany. Yet the study of the 

 Ferns really requires more attention, and even oflPers 

 more difficulties, than that of most orders of the Flowering 

 Plants. The scientific descriptions, founded often on 

 more minute distinctions, are less obvious ; and in some 

 few cases, even among our British Ferns, it is hardly 

 possible to decide whether a plant should be regarded 

 as a species or a variety, while their classification cannot 

 be considered as even yet fully settled. There are, how- 

 ever, few things which are worth knowing that can be 

 known without patient attention, and we rejoice in 



^Z B 



