2 
THE BOOK OF 
to the Ferns we are championing (with the single exception of a 
chance exotic in the background, Woodwardia radicans), should 
suffice to convince anyone that they are worthy to rank amongst 
the very elite of decorative foliage plants. Then, too, they are 
essentially fitted to be the pets of all classes, their perfectly 
hardy nature precludes the necessity of any heating in the 
winter, they do not rank as expensive plants to procure, and, 
finally, with a little attention to their needs they are practically 
everlasting. Their diveisity of size as well as form fits 
them, too, for all grades of accommodation. Given ample 
space, examples of the grandest may be grown, eclipsing 
the finest exotics in delicacy of cutting or eccentricity of 
design, while on the other hand, if space be limited, ioo 
dwarfs can be accommodated within a few square yards. 
In the Midlands, where the British varieties are mainly appre- 
ciated, in many a window we may see lovely specimens of 
frilled or tasselled Hart’s-tongues and crested forms of other 
species to which none of the elsewhere popular window plants 
can possibly be advantageously compared. We ourselves, in the 
early days of our enthusiasm, devoted a north basement window 
to. a small collection, which evidently constituted a source of 
wonderment to the passers-by, and eventually quite converted a 
local nurseryman to the cult. Since that time, by the efforts of 
the late Colonel A. M. Jones, E. J. Lowe, and Mr. Carbonell, 
Kew has been enriched with a grand representative collection of 
varieties more than a decade since, and yet we may walk all 
London through, and for the matter of that, all Britain through 
as well, and, save in the Midlands, hardly find a sign of 
their existence. We yield to no one in admiration of the lovely 
exotic Ferns which have been introduced, but we submit that 
it is a ridiculous state of things that a charming thing found 
abroad is eagerly snatched up by the trade, while an equally 
fine thing found in our native Fern haunts is absolutely ignored, 
except by the coterie of enthusiasts. Half a century ago, in 
the fifties, the merit of our British Ferns found popular 
acknowledgment, and for a time there was a “ craze ; ” 
unfortunately, however, the trade, as is evidenced clearly by 
contemporary catalogues, put a great lot of rubbish on the 
market, i.e., irregular and unsymmetrical curiosities, their very 
defects enhancing their prices in many cases. The result 
inevitably was a revulsion of taste, from which, from that day 
to this, the Ferns have suffered. Since then, however, the 
types have been more and more refined. The abundance of 
good things found led to stricter and stricter selection, until 
at last we are able to put forward a list compiled on proper 
lines, in full confidence that no one who starts a collection 
