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THE FERN BULLETIN 



voted to this phase of the subject have appeared, two 

 of them by the author of the present work, but in the 

 judgment of the reviewer this latest effort puts all the 

 others quite in the shade, both as to comprehensive- 

 ness of treatment and the wealth and beauty of the il- 

 lustrations. Certainly if one is asked to select the one 

 best work on growing and multiplying abnormal ferns, 

 this is undoubtedly the volume to be designated. Those 

 who have the slightest interest in the subject will find 

 the book invaluable. The work begins with several 

 chapters that discuss all the details of fern culture. — 

 rockeries, wardian cases, propagation, culture, selec- 

 tion, wild sports, crossing and hybrids and the like — in 

 which the whole subject is thoroughly treated. Then 

 follows a description of all the British ferns, some sixty 

 in number, with the principal varieties and abnormali- 

 ties named and described. In all the text there is a 

 manifest intention to adhere strictly to the subject of 

 British ferns, and in the discussion of hybrids and hy- 

 bridizing we fail to find even a mention of the work 

 of American students. There is also a curious per- 

 sistence in considering the sexual spores of ferns as 

 analogous to, or even homologous with, seeds. These, 

 however, are but minor faults, and soon forgotten in 

 the admiration for the many exquisite illustrations. 

 There are more than three hundred figures in black 

 and white, forty excellent colored plates, and ninety- 

 six nature prints of the various forms themselves. On 

 the whole the book is one that is not likely to be sur- 

 passed for some time. It is published by George Rout- 

 ledge and Sons, of London, at about $2.00 net. Ameri- 

 can book dealers can probably supply it at about $2.25 

 postpaid. 



