IN TROD UCTION. 
specimens figured with others of the same kind will be certain and immediate. Every frond 
here represented has been carefully collected by the Author, and the delicate and tender 
handling of the specimens, and the labour incurred in the mere work of laying them down 
in perfect form, has involved an amount of time in the process scarcely possible to under- 
stand except by those who have undertaken a similar task. Then, the work of drawing the 
detailed outlines of the frond, of putting in the elaborate venation, and of applying the 
colour with the minute exactness rendered necessary to ensure strict faithfulness of execution, 
has consumed many months of hard and patient toil. 
Whether or not his object has been successfully attained the Author must leave it to 
the public to determine. He thinks, at least, that he is justified in saying that, be this 
judgment what it may, no attempt has ever been made to give to the public such minutely 
exact pictures of the fronds of Ferns. 
In every case, for the same end— facility of identification— the letterpress descriptions 
of the Ferns figured has been put exactly facing the figures. It is most important, although 
it is too seldom done in botanical works, that the illustrations should face the text which 
they illustrate. By this means tedious reference from one part of the work to another is 
avoided. 
Though specific directions for culture have not been given, the habitats of Ferns have 
been carefully described, and these will naturally suggest their treatment under cultivation. 
The more nearly the natural conditions under which Ferns grow can be approached, the 
more certain will be the success of the cultivator. It need only be added here that Ferns, 
with few exceptions, like, more or less, moist, but well-drained, sheltered and shady 
positions, and soil that, light and porous, is rendered rich by the presence in it, in large 
proportion, of vegetable mould, or the humus produced by the decay of leaves. 
One important pursuit it is hoped this work will encourage, namely, the study — a 
most interesting and fascinating one— of the natural conditions under which Ferns grow. 
Notwithstanding that every species of British Fern will be found figured and 
described in this volume, the Ferns included are, it will be seen, quite of a cosmopolitan 
character, for they are to be met with on the continent of Europe, in the United States, 
and in other parts of America, in Africa, in Asia, and in the islands of the seas. The 
list of countries included under the heading of “Distribution” is merely given to show, in 
a general way, how the Ferns represented are spread over the surface of the world. Whilst, 
therefore, the work will have, it is hoped, especial interest for readers at home, the Author 
trusts it will also be welcomed in all English-speaking countries where the beautiful plants 
it figures are to be found. 
FRANCIS GEORGE HEATH. 
