—49— 



and regular and about twice as tall as the average open 

 field specimen. 



I suppose the fact that Mr. Eaton has abandoned his 

 species B. tenebrosum and concedes it to be a form of B. 

 simplex does not make it necessary that everyone else 

 should adopt the same opinion. But it would interest me 

 to know just your reason for making it a variety of 

 matrieariccfolium. I have collected it about six times, 

 usually in cedar swamps. Botrychium simplex is not 

 " rare " in northern Xew England. In June of this year 

 I hunted for it about six times in different places about 

 Auburn. Me., and never failed to rind it. In ten or a 

 dozen different localities I collected about two hundred 

 specimens, and must have seen several thousand. A little 

 later I was in Vermont and collected it in three different 

 townships. I never collected it in the woods unless my 

 tenebrosum is simplex. I always find it. if at all. in hill- 

 side pastures or sterile fields. In Vermont several ferns 

 grow in open pastures which are generally found in the 

 shade or in the swamps. Such are Bo try chum Virgin- 

 ionum, and Osmunda regolis. Of course it is impossible 

 to give a habitat that will cover every case, but it seems 

 to me that some of the statements in the Check Eist 

 should be amplified in order to be approximately correct. 

 — E. J. Winslow, Elmira. N. )'. 



[One of the objects in issuing the Check List was to 

 bring out comments like the above. As to the raritv of 

 this species in question, opinions may differ. The editor 

 has collected more or less for twenty years in six States 

 within the plant's range without seeing it more than twice. 

 Where it was found it grew in great abundance and 

 looking at the single spot one might jump to the con- 

 clusion that it is common. Again, this plant is one of 

 those most frequently asked for by exchangers, another 

 indication that it is not always easily found, and probablv 

 not common. It would be interesting to hear from others 

 on this subject. Mr. Gilbert writes that he thinks it 



