THE FERN BULLETIN 



89 



to produce Asplenium ebenoidcs by crossing A. eben- 

 eum and Camptosorus rhizopJiyllus. More than 150 

 experiments in crossing were made and while abundant 

 entrances of the sperms into the archegonia were se- 

 cured in practically all cases, not a single fusi-on of egg 

 and sperm was secured between ferns of different spe- 

 cies, though when eggs and sperms of the same species 

 were brought together, many fusions were obtained. 

 As an indication of the thoroughness of this work it 

 may be noted that sixty-seven attempts to secure a fus- 

 ion of the sperms of NepJirodium thclyptcris with the 

 eggs of N. noveboracense were without results while 

 ten attempts to fuse sperms of N. neveboracence with 

 its own eggs, gave seven fusions. Judging from the 

 evidence brought forth in this paper, we are scarcely 

 justified in assuming that the various hybrids 

 recently described in the genus Nephrodium are 

 really hybrids. Until we have more definite mforma- 

 tion regarding them we shall have to return to the 

 early conception of these plants and consider the re- 

 puted hybrids as so many forms of a somewhat varia- 

 ble group of plants. A significant feature of the re- 

 port is found in the fact that some of the very species 

 said to hybridize were tried without results, notably 

 the supposed parents of Asplenium ebenoides. 



* * * 



As has been surmised the question as to 

 what name should be applied to that group of ferns 

 called the wood ferns was not settled by the adoption 

 *of Dryoteris by those who favor the "new" nomencla- 

 ture and those instrumental in developing an "Ameri- 

 can code." A new name or rather an older name than 

 any heretofore applied, has been discovered by J. A. 



