﻿THE FERN BULLETIN 



31 



centered in their curious forms and medicinal proper- 

 ties. It was not until long afterward that the early 

 botanists busied themselves with naming and studying 

 the ferns scientifically and still later that the ferns be- 

 gan to be cultivated or collected for their beauty and 

 decorative qualities. From this it was but a step to 

 the recognition of the minute differences that charac- 

 terize forms and the study of the haunts, habits, and 

 curious traits of these magnificent plants. This se- 

 quence of interest, the first phase alone excepted, has 

 been repeated again, and again as new countries have 

 been discovered. To the first phase belong the books 

 on simpling, charms and divination, to the second 

 belong the manuals and text-books, and to the third 

 belong the popular hand-books. In the United States 

 and Canada we have reached the third stage, but 

 Mexico is still in the second and many of the islands 

 of the sea are in the first. With us, the wave of popu- 

 lar hand-books has pased but it is an error to think 

 that in consequence everything interesting about ferns 

 has been found out and published. There is still 

 enough to be discovered to keep any who read these 

 lines busy until all fern study for them has ceased in 

 this world. Let no one, therefore, think he has ex- 

 hausted the subject; rather let him study through his 

 books and collections anew and prepare for the new 

 season while yet he may. 



BOOK NEWS. 



The Plant World, formerly of Binghamton, and 

 more recently of Washington, New York and Den- 

 ver, has moved to Tucson, Arizona. 



According to a prospectus received, Dr. Edward F. 

 Bigelow, well known to readers of out-door literature 



