2 



THE BOOK OF CHOICE FERNS. 



national Botanic Gardens at Kew is, happily, a striking exception to the 

 rule. It is, however, notorious, and it must therefore be frankly acknow- 

 ledged, though with regret, that in all that is of human contrivance change 

 is not invariably an improvement, and many beautiful Ferns which formerly 

 were grown for their intrinsic value are greatly in danger of passing into 

 oblivion. This would be nothing short of a calamity, as, in the majority 

 of cases, these are plants whose introduction into this country represents 

 years of labour and a vast amount of anxiety, dependent as it has been 

 on the exertions of collectors sent out by private firms and great public 

 institutions for the purpose of discovering plants whose real value may be 

 said to reside in their relations to one another. This change of fashion 

 has resulted in a new departure in cultivation — one which consists in 

 producing almost exclusively plants intended to yield a supply of flowers 

 and foliage for the decoration of the dinner table, and which has entirely 

 revolutionised the art of gardening. It is well known that in many private 

 places, where what may be termed " collection -plants " were largely grown, 

 and special pleasure was derived from such a culture, quantities of plants 

 exclusively devoted to indoor decoration may now be seen in their stead. 

 As regards Ferns, it may reasonably be assumed that, although thousands 

 of them are now grown where dozens only were to be found a few years 

 ago, many really good, and often most beautiful, sorts are becoming scarcer 

 every successive season. The reason assigned for this state of things is 

 that kinds adapted to the purpose of decorating are comparatively few in 

 number, and the demand for such being yearly on the increase, it is only 

 natural that nurserymen should devote more space to these kinds, to the 

 exclusion of many others which, however beautiful in themselves, are 

 unsuitable for indoor decoration. 



Although the character of this work is not intended to be purely 

 botanical, the utmost attention will be paid to the rules laid down by the 

 best acknowledged authorities, as has already been the case in Nicholson's 

 "Dictionary of Gardening." * It has, therefore, been found advisable to 

 follow the classification adopted by Hooker and Baker in their " Synopsis 

 Filicum," this being undoubtedly the safest guide. The adoption of their 



# "The Dictionary of Gardening." Edited by Geo. Nicholson, A.L.S., Curator of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew. London: L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, W.C. 



