644 
POPULAE SCIENCE EEVIEW. 
BRITISH FERNS * 
HERE is none of our native plants more worthy of study and cultivation 
than the fern, whose graceful outline and lovely colour render it a favourite 
even among those who have little taste for botany of any sort. Besides, the 
fern, from the peculiarity of its mode of propagation and the absence of 
even traces of a flower, has a special interest for the student of vegetable phy- 
siology. There is, too, another reason why ferns deserve attention ; they are 
a better defined section of the plant-world than perhaps any other, and 
to those who are desirous of comprehending one particular branch fully, they 
offer many advantages for study. And, indeed, it may fairly be said that 
ferns are more beloved by plant-seekers — at least among amateurs — than any 
other divisions of the vegetable kingdom. Else why do our scientific publishers 
supply us with such a library of handbooks ? We believe there are nearly 
as many treatises on ferns as there are genera of these jjlants in the British 
isles. The volume which is under notice appears in the garb of a fourth or 
school edition, and is a useful and accurate account of our British species. 
We cannot understand, though, why the author has not adopted some scheme 
through which the ferns may be identified. His descriptions are very good ; 
but how is a beginner to make use of them ? Is he to travel through the 
volume till he hits upon the plant he is in search of ? If so, we can only say 
we do not envy the beginner, for his task is somewhat like that of searching 
for a needle in a bundle of straw. Again, we must take exception to the 
plates ; they are far too few innumber, and the sketches which they contain 
are remarkable neither for clearness nor elegance. Why did not Mr. Newman 
adopt some system such as that employed by Mrs. Lankester in her excellent 
little treatise ? As his book stands, it is almost useless to the beginner, though 
unquestionably its matter is excellent. We beg, in conclusion, to call Mr. 
Newman’s attention to the fact that the Bristle fern is not to be found either 
in Tore waterfall, or on the neighbouring mountains of Killarny, as he alleges. 
HIS is a work which we can hardly criticise. Its object is to show that 
Scripture, in so far as it regards scientific facts, is not to be ac- 
cepted in a strictly literal sense. An Essex Rector, the author of the work, 
has certainly taken a very liberal view of scriptural matters ; for example, he 
admits that man’s age is greater than that usually supposed, and that there 
* “A History of British Ferns.” By Edward Newman. London: Van 
Voorst. 1865. 
+ “ Man’s Age in the World, according to Holy Scripture and Science,” 
By an Essex Rector. London : Lovell Reeve. 1865. 
MAN’S AGE IN THE WORLD.f 
