-38- 



the first legitimate combination of generic and specific names 

 entitled to serious consideration. 



At the time of the publication of Wood's Botrychium neg- 

 lect um the genus was very little understood in this country, and 

 Wood was apparently unacquainted with the European 7iiatrica- 

 ricefolium. If he had been he would never have published his 

 B. neglecttim, as he was too good a botanist not to have seen that 

 his plant was identical with Braun's species. (This may be a 

 gratuitous assumption on my part, but I cannot reconcile his pub- 

 lication of B. ne glee turn with any other theory.) • 



The disposition manifested in some quarters to recognize 

 mere geographical differences, instead of fundamental organic 

 characters in the plants themselves, as a basis for specific distinc- 

 tions, is something that I cannot appreciate, as it seems to me 

 utterly subversive of the true principles of scientific investigation. 

 The mere fact of two plants being found growing in widely sep- 

 arated sections of country, even though the ocean does roll be- 

 tween them, is not of itself a good reason for considering them 

 distinct species. 



Medford, March i, igoi. 



HELPS FOR THE BEGINNER." 



IV. — The Flowering Ferns. 



THE flowering ferns — the species of the Osmunda family — are 

 among the most common and conspicuous of the species in 

 Eastern America, and so well known that any directions for 

 identifying them seem almost superfluous. The tall and graceful 

 fronds in circular clumps are characteristic sights in nearly all 

 swampy grounds, and few are more beautiful. 



Sterile pinnule of O. cinnamomcd. 

 'Begun in July. iqoo. This series will include all the American ferns. 



