INTRODUCTION. 
3 
will grow. Be it our task to dispel tliis illusion, and reinstate 
tliem in their proper place, i.e., in the foremost rank of the 
delicate and charming class of foliage plants. 
This we purpose attempting by describing and illustrating 
as simply and clearly as possible a number of the most beautiful 
and striking forms at present existing, omitting all those 
which, curious as they may be, can only be classed as imperfect 
plants. In our selection, we have been guided throughout 
by our own personal acquaintance with the plants described, 
nearly all of which we have ourselves either cultivated, raised, 
or, it may be, found. Our remarks on culture are also based 
on practical personal study and experience, and may therefore 
be relied upon. 
To the inevitable objection which experienced Fern-lovers 
will raise, that there are many important omissions in the 
list of Ferns selected, we may point out, firstly, that in a 
designedly popular work of this class, a limited choice, cover- 
ing as nearly as may be the most marked types, will give a 
clearer mental picture than if many intermediate forms linked 
them together; and, secondly, that since in one collection 
alone, near London, between three and four thousand distinct 
varieties exist, it is manifest that a popular price would 
preclude anything like an exhaustive list. 
Scientific terms have been avoided as much as possible, as 
well as the strictly botanical classification of the genera. The 
normal or common forms are described and figured so as to 
permit their easy recognition ; but, beautiful as they are, 
most of them have been so far outshone by the exceptional 
forms to which they have from time to time given birth, that 
the majority only find a place in these pages by way of con- 
trast, and because acquaintance with them is necessarily the 
first step in the education of the eye in the search for and true 
appreciation of their more charming offspring. In this con- 
uection, we would direct attention to the fact that the 
representative varieties of our British Ferns at Kew have of 
late been materially enriched and extended by contributions 
and bequests from some of the best and choicest collections 
in the country. To such an extent, indeed, has this been done 
B 2 
