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It is, we may here remark, by profiting by such 

 opportunities that many of our finest Ferns have been 

 acquired. This remark applies with peculiar appro- 

 priateness to the "superbum" section of Athyrium filix 

 fcemina, which has resulted from a fortunate sowing from 

 an immediate descendant of the Axminster plumosum i and 

 which now, widely disseminated by divisions and 

 seedlings, constitute the crime de la crime of the plumose 

 and tasselled hardy Ferns of every collection worthy 

 the name. Of these, of course, specimens of the best 

 forms occupy considerable space. A. f.f. superbum 

 plumosum Drueryii, half of which went to Queen Victoria 

 as soon as it was full sized and divisible, and A. f.f. 

 superbum percristatum, whose very pinnulets are tasselled, 

 which accompanied it, are both well represented, together 

 with " dissectum," " plumosissimum," uncrested, and 

 Kalon, cristatum, grandiceps, rotundifrons, and others on 

 similar lines but only termed " superbums," all crested in 

 varying degrees. Turning now to the meritorious " wild " 

 finds which have fallen to our lot, first and foremost ranks 

 A. f.f. cristatum Kilrushense, an Irish find and admittedly 

 the finest wild cristatum yet discovered, the long, slender 

 terminal tassels ramifying so repeatedly as finally to defy 

 counting of the segments. A full-sized single crown- 

 specimen of this has retained its solitary character for 

 many years to the great enhancement of its beauty, 

 though in early days, a number of offsets were produced 

 and removed. By the side of this is a large specimen of 

 A. f.f. revolvens, a Scotch find, with its fronds rolled up 

 into lax tubes and its pinnae with spiral twists ringlet 

 fashion. In addition to these there is a considerable 

 number of our own finds of distinct varieties, each of which 

 brings back pleasant memories of the circumstances 

 attending their discovery, but of which space precludes 

 the detail. We think, however, that we have said enough 



