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it is due far more to the continued existence of a coterie 

 of persistent variety hunters than to any predisposing 

 elements in the environment. The travelling botanist is 

 rarely a variety hunter, but a species hunter, hence he 

 does not in a habitat full of known species examine them 

 plant by plant, or scan them with a peculiarly trained 

 eye, as would the hunter for sports. If he have such an 

 eye and a taste for varieties, we have the evidence that 

 " finds " will crop up abroad as well as at home. Witness 

 Mr. George Brown, who found Woodwardia r ad leans cristata,. 

 two finely crested forms of Lastvea dllatata, and two tasselled 

 forms of Asplenium hemionltis in the Azores; while the 

 writer, hunting in all for about two hours recently at 

 Fayal (Azores), found a clump of Asplenium hemionltis 

 beautifully tasselled throughout, and a fine pendulous 

 polydactylous variety of Ptevls aqulhna which lined the 

 high road for fifty yards. This being so I would advocate 

 variety hunting in the United States as a pursuit likely to 

 reward its votaries not merely with very beautiful types 

 for their collections, but also with material well worthy 

 scientific attention. Thanks to some short notes sent to 

 the Fern Bulletin, I have received already fronds of a 

 crested Athyrium found by a lady, and plants of Denstaedtla 

 punctilobula cristata and Phegoptevls hexagonoptera tvuncata, the 

 latter found by Mr. W. R. Maxon on the Potomac, which 

 have originated in the United States as wild sports, a. 

 proof that such sports exist. At the same time, however, 

 I note that much stress is laid upon doubtful subvarieties,. 

 which a wider knowledge of marked ones would probably 

 minimize considerably. In my own fern hunting expedi- 

 tions 1 invariably come across subvarieties in which the 

 cutting is more or less modified ; but with the abundance 

 of really marked types in mind, these are simply noted 

 and left. 



As exemplifying this abundance the figures from 





