— 15— 



The true locality, however, in which it was found by Frederic 

 Pursh is at Geddes, a small town further west. Until recently 

 the fern was thought to be extinct in this station, but was redis- 

 covered last summer, I believe. 



Perry ville Falls, at which place the most recent discovery was 

 made, is only a few miles from Chittenango and is very much 

 like it in appearance ; a deep ravine shut in by limestone cliffs, a 

 waterfall, making the air moist with its spray, dense shade and 

 rich soil. In sunny nooks appear Pellcea atropurpurea and 

 Asplenium rut a-mur aria, while in the shade may be found 

 Dryopteris Goldieana and the Walking-fern. 



The question has often been raised as to the origin of Scolo- 

 pendrium in America. Is it the remnant of a once greater dis- 

 tribution ? Is it increasing, or has it existed in about the same 

 numbers for an indefinite length of time ? Its wide distribution 

 in other lands is well known, especially in England, where it is 

 one of the most abundant of ferns growing on old walls, along 

 roadsides and in the mouth of old wells. But in America, where- 

 ever found, it is tucked away in some dark ravine — one of our 

 rarest ferns. If it is a remnant, the question may well be asked : 

 Why has it decreased here, since it thrives so well in other coun- 

 tries in about the same climate ? And if it is of comparatively 

 recent introduction, why has it not increased in the time we have 

 known it ? It is found in several widely different parts of the 

 country. If its means of dispersion were as limited as those of 

 the Trailing Arbutus, for instance, the distances of the localities 

 apart might seem to indicate that it is a remnant, but its spores 

 are so light and so numerous that there seems to be no reason 

 why it should not be as common everywhere here as in England. 



In regard to its ability to conquer new country, it ought at 

 least to be on a par with the Dandelion. This is what Mr. 

 Charles T. Druery says of the spore production of another 

 species: "Recently I took a large species of Athyrium, the 

 backs of whose fronds were literally brown with sori, and after 

 somewhat elaborate calculation of the number of fronds, number 

 of pinnae, number of pinnules, number of sori per pinnule, num- 

 ber of capsules per sorus, and finally number of spores per cap- 

 sule, I came out with a very mighty string of figures which read 

 as eleven hundred millions." Those who have examined fruit- 

 ing fronds of Scolopendrium, with their long parallel lines of 

 sporangia, know well that this species would not be far behind 



