PREFACE. 
THE first edition of this little Manual of the British 
Ferns was submitted to the patronage of fern ad- 
mirers and the public, with the desire that it might 
aid though in a humble degree in promoting 
the growing taste for these charming plants ; and it 
is no small gratification to the author to know that 
this expectation has been realised. The present 
edition, which is much enlarged, and is illustrated 
with many additional wood-cuts by Mr. P. F. 
Keir, will, it is hoped, meet with equal approba- 
tion, and prove of equal utility. 
The object of the author in this Handbook, has 
been to provide a suitable pocket companion for 
the students and cultivators of these now favourite 
plants ; and it is anticipated that the use of the 
analytical tables of the genera and species, together 
with the more detailed descriptions and wood-cuts, 
will in most cases, render the recognition of our 
wild Ferns an easy task even to the novice. 
The classification and nomenclature adopted in 
the former edition are substantially retained in the 
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