2 BRITISH FERNS. 
neither the one nor the other are absolutely barren can 
command a supply of Ferns. 
Notwithstanding their accessibility, and notwith- 
standing their popularity, it is as extraordinary as true 
that no popular work upon even the Hardy Ferns, com- 
bining a description of each species and its culture, has 
yet been published. We have excellent scientific works 
upon the Ferns, and we have general directions for their 
cultivation, but nothing which an amateur can read 
with pleasure, or consult for specific directions. It is 
hoped that this volume will supply this deficiency; for 
our notes will not be a mass of dry technical terras, 
which only the palate of a mere botanical collector can 
relish, but will be a mingling of what we think will be 
interesting to all, whether derived from our own observa 
tions, or from the observations of others. Moreover, 
we shall endeavour to use terms which all can under- 
stand ; for our object, especially, is to benefit and gratify 
those who love plain truths in plain words. 
Ferns are flowerless plants with stems, yet in this 
country the leaves are far more strikingly developed 
than are the stems 
" In our Ferns," says Mr. Henfry, " the stem is 
indeed occasionally erect, rising a few inches from the 
ground, and expanding its wide leaves (or fronds, as 
they are usually called) in a circle; but in a greater 
number it creeps along beneath the ground, being, in 
fact, a rhizome similar in the nature of its growth to 
that of the Sedges, and other flowering plants. This 
rhizome bears small separate (adventitious) roots on the 
