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PREFACE. 
The following account of the ferns of the West has been prepared 
to enable any one, who is not familiar with Botany, to determine the 
names of all the ferns known to exist in the United States west of Kansas, 
from Mexico to British America. 
Technical terms have been avoided as far as possible, but, for those 
which are used, a glossary is provided fully explaining them. 
An account of the distribution of ferns in general and ours in 
particular, their habits and morphology will be found, giving such 
information as will enable anyone to study our ferns intelligently with- 
out the use of other works. 
That such a work as this is needed, is apparent from the fact that to 
determine all our ferns, would require Eaton' s Ferjts of North Afnerica^ 
or Bot. Cal. Vol. II, Wheeler' s Rep., Gray' s Manual, and various copies 
of Torrey Bulletin, costing not less than ^15, or $20. These works are 
practically out of the reach of the majority. 
Great care has been taken to note in the keys any exceptions that 
occur, so that the book may be relied upon as scientifically accurate. It 
is too much to hope that it will never fail to lead to the correct 
species; for the variations of many species are not accurately known: 
but it is hoped that it will describe our species, as far as they are known. 
The writer will esteem it a favor to be apprized^ of any inaccuracies in 
the work. 
The plan upon which our plants are here described, is to place the 
most important characteristics of each species first, and to contrast those 
of the plants which are most nearly related. The properties which are 
common to mai^y, but cannot be worked into the keys, and those which 
sometimes do, and sometimes do not, exist in the same plant, though 
interesting to a fern-specialist, have no place in a scheme like this, and 
so are omitted. 
If this attempt at arranging in a cheap and careful way the scattered 
materials on this subject, shall remove the useless difficulties that surround 
our ferns; shall add to the pleasure of all by providing a satisfactory 
means of studying them; and shall lead to a more extensive and thorough 
knowledge of plants in general, the labor of preparing this work will be 
repaid, and the writer’s purpose will be accomplished. 
Marcus E. Jones. 
Salt Lake City, Oct. 17, 1881. 
