508 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



referring students of varietal ones to special books in that line, and we 

 cordially sympathize with him in the hope that his contribution to 

 normal fern lore will not tend in any way to stimulate that vandalism — 

 pseudo-scientific and other — which has done so much to denude our fern 

 districts of their charming occupants. On the other hand we are bound 

 to take exception to such remarks as those on p. 47 : " The varieties of 

 the lady fern that have arisen under cultivation are legion, and many 

 of them have been so crossed and modelled by fern-growers that they 

 no longer present any likeness to the natural types. They are more 

 admired by certain persons on that account, but we are of opinion that 

 the native grace of the wild fern is superior to all the cultivated mongrels 

 and monstrosities." 



The italics are ours, and indicate a lamentable ignorance of the facts 

 that the great majority of these varieties have not arisen under cultiva- 

 tion at all, but are purely natural wild sports, in many cases of greatly 

 enhanced beauty by virtue of their greater development of the natural 

 normal charm ; that crossing has had next to nothing to do with the 

 matter, so that mongrels do not exist (in this species at any rate) ; that 

 the term "monstrosity," as applied to the beautiful plumose forms of 

 this species, is simply a relic of long-exploded ideas on the varietal 

 connection ; and, finally, that man can do absolutely nothing in the way 

 of " modelling " a new type, but can only prize it when it spontaneously 

 appears. Despite our admiration for Mr. Step's book as a whole, we 

 cannot refrain from this protest, as such remarks are characteristic of 

 all books of this class produced by non-students of the varietal side of 

 the subject. We also note with regret that Blechnum spicans, the 

 hard fern, is named Lomaria, although two clear illustrations on 

 Plates IV. and XXVI. show the accepted distinguishing fructification 

 of Blechnum by the spores not forming a fringe (Greek, loma) to the 

 pinnae as in Lomaria proper, since the sori are well within the margin 

 and separated from it by an indusium which in Lomaria is formed by 

 the margin itself. This is another example of errors handed on from 

 one book to another, and in this case Blechnum is not even mentioned 

 as a synonym anywhere in the book. With regard to the shield ferns, 

 Polystichum angularc has been found in Perthshire — i.e. north of the 

 Clyde — and it is incorrect to state that P. aculeatum gradually merges 

 into P. angular e as we come farther south, for both may be found in 

 their distinctive forms side by side in Devon and other southern counties. 



" Sylva; or, a Discourse of Forest Trees." By John Evelyn, F.R.S. 

 With an Essay on the Life and Works of the Author, by John Nisbet, 

 D.(Ec. A reprint of the 4th edition, in 2 vols. 8vo., 335 pp. + 287 pp. 

 (Doubleday, London, 1908.) 21s. net. 



Concise, yet full of detail, will be found the interesting introduction 

 by Dr. Nisbet to the new reprint of the fourth edition of " Evelyn's 

 Sylva." The masterly Life of John Evelyn, which extends to seventy- 

 two pages, is divided into eight chapters, every one of which bristles 

 with interesting information regarding the doings of one whose writings 

 have had a vast influence on British arboriculture. Of the original 

 work it is unnecessary to make a comment, its value being well known 



