worthy of note that when looking through Mr. Amos 

 Perry's stock about eighteen months ago I was struck by 

 the vigorous appearance of a large number of plants which 

 were planted out in very nearly pure peat moss litter. I 

 determined to try it as a mulch, and the results have been 

 so satisfactory that I have lifted all my ferns this autumn, 

 incorporated a liberal dressing of the material with the 

 soil, and top dressed with the same material. The peat 

 moss is very retentive of moisture, and seems to afford 

 just the coolness and humidity round the crowns and an 

 atmosphere in which the ferns delight. In those favoured 

 districts in which some of our members reside such pre- 

 cautions may not be necessary, but here on the borders of 

 Middlesex and Herts drought during the growing season 

 is one of the greatest difficulties with which we have to 

 contend. There are others ; the millenium is not yet. In 

 a fairly extensive collection something of interest is usually 

 cropping up. Amongst a batch of Scot, cvispum Nobilc 

 one out of some 250 plants is a marginatum with hardly a 

 trace of crispum character, an undoubted bud sport. 

 Again, in a sowing of Polyst. acul, Pulcherrimum (Bcvis), 

 which yielded various types of gracillimums, parental 

 forms, reversions to practically normal angulare, and inter- 

 mediate forms between the parental type and gracillimum, 

 some of great beauty (of which more anon), there was 

 a Polydactylous Pulcherrimum. When I first spotted it I 

 had visions of a crested Pulcherrimum, but time brought 

 disillusion to a certain extent, though I have still a faint 

 hope. Members will recall the discovery of the Benbow 

 collection by Mr. Green when making researches at the 

 Natural History Museum and our Editor's interesting 

 articles thereon. I collected some spores of which I made 

 a number of sowings, using every precaution against strays. 

 No signs of vegetation occurred for a long time, the spores 

 all being forty or more years old, but at last a few 



