—77— 



500 miles of us, I had, carelessly, I confess, taken it for a small 

 form of P. Calif ornicum. 



This summer, at last, I had an opportunity of gathering it 

 again. A few fronds were sent to Mr. Gilbert, and his request for 

 the reason why it was labeled P. Californicum caused a more 

 careful examination, when he proved to be right in considering it 

 good P. vulgar e. The fronds are 2-4 inches tall, and rather thick 

 in texture, so that the venation is not always readily apparent ; 

 they are rather intermediate between the species and the variety 

 occidentale of Northern California. Perhaps some might include 

 them in Mr. Maxon's P. hesperium. The real growth-habit, then, 

 of these two Polypodies is, that P. Californicum, a species of 

 lower altitudes, probably not extending more than 3.500-4,000 feet 

 above sea level, vegetates during the rainy season, drying off and 

 resting during summer. P. vulgare, on the contrary, growing 

 at 6,000-8,000 feet altitude, vegetates in summer, and hibernates 

 under the snow-banks of winter. The first is very abundant with 

 us ; the latter, seemingly, very rare. 



'HE "Ferns and Fern Allies of North America, North of 



Mexico," by William R. Maxon, calls for something more 



than an ordinary notice, as, emanating as it does from the 

 Smithsonian Institution, with the apparent endorsement of the 

 National Museum, it may be said to have the prestige of a semi- 

 national character, and this from a national point ot view is much 

 to be regretted, as it represents the extremest views of the so-called 

 modern reform movement, which is not likely to become perma- 

 nently established either in this country or abroad. It is therefore 

 to be seriously challenged, as I believe that nothing is more cer- 

 tain than that the nomenclatorial principles which it exploits will 

 not be accepted by the great majority of fern students. This 

 cannot very well be otherwise, as the whole superstructure rests 

 upon the insecure foundation of a false assumption which claims 

 for the specific appellatiofi alone, instead of the first correct 

 generic and specific combination, the authority of a name. 



In Mr. Maxon's list the whole treatment has been carried out 

 along the lines laid down by Dr. Underwood in the sixth edition 

 of his " Manual" (1900), and, as the list may be said to reflect the 



TWO NEW FERN LISTS.— I. 



By George E. Davenport. 



