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A second glance at the illustration of <Vsplenium montanuin 

 in this number will show a great difference in the shape of the 

 fronds. The three fronds did not grow on one plant, but they do 

 belong to one species. They are here figured side by side in or- 

 der to give some idea of the variation of which this fern is capable. 



The notes on Botrychium biternatum in this number afford 

 a text from which a pertinent sermon might be preached to bota- 

 nists upon the value of keeping one's eyes open and thinking 

 about what he sees. As Botrychium ternatum lunarioides, this 

 fern has long been known, but no one looked at it close enough 

 to see that it was a distinct species. Even now its exact range is 

 not known, and those who have specimens of this so-called vari- 

 ety would do well to examine them with a view of throwing 

 light upon the subject. When come to a closer study of our 

 ferns we shall doubtless find that we have overlooked many in- 

 teresting facts in the history of our common species 



* # 



A great deal of confusion exists among botanists because of 

 the ambiguous use of the term frond. To one the word may 

 mean simply the expanded leafy portion of a fern, while to an- 

 other it may also include the stalk or stipe. It is certainly de- 

 sirable that some uniformity be attempted in the use of the term. 

 Mr. Geo. E. Davenport has recently suggestedVin the Botanical 

 Gazette that the word frond be used to designate the combined 

 blade and stalk, the blade itself being called the lamina, and the 

 stalk the stipe This use of the term has been adopted in Dodge's 

 "Ferns and Fern Allies of New England," and will be followed 

 as much as possible in the pages of this journal. The tendency 

 at present among botanists is to drop the word frond entirely, 

 using in its stead the word, leaf. Fern lovers, however, will be 

 loath to make this change The idea conveyed by the word, 

 frond, is so appropriate, and its use in literature has been so 

 wide-spread, that it is unlikely that any except the most matter- 

 of-fact botanists will long favor the change 



Although the text books are silent regarding the anastomosing 

 of the veins of A^plenium eb-noides, several observations of this 

 character ha ve been put on record. This is true of the specimens 

 collected in the State of New York in most of which the areolate 

 structure of the veins is well shown. 



