Vlll 
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION 
county of Devon, but from numerous parts of the country — 
North, East, South, and "West- — have privately conveyed to 
me expressions of their approval of a work which, from cover 
to cover, has been to me truly a labour of love. The know- 
ledge that this labour has been the means of giving pleasure 
to so many readers would have amply repaid me even had my 
work been — what it has not proved to be — an arduous 
undertaking. 
To one and all of my Fern-loving friends — now a very 
numerous host — I tender my sincere thanks. 
Francis George Heath. 
London, 
January , 1878. 
