22 
FERNS •• BRITISH AND FOREIGN. 
containing nearly 300 species, wliicli, upon his death 
in 1846, was purchased by Dr. Forbes Young, of 
Lambeth, who considerably augmented it ; but unfor- 
tunately the death of its second owner, in 1859, 
caused its dispersion. Few amateurs at the present 
day study Ferns scientifically, or form collections 
numerically large in species, the principal of those 
in the neighbourhood of London devoting their atten- 
tion to a select number of the most beautiful ones, 
such as are well known to the frequenters of our 
metropolitan flower-shows. I must, however, except 
E. J. Lowe, Esq., of Beeston, near Nottingham, who 
formed a considerable collection, and published an 
illustrated work upon them in nine octavo volumes. 
In the public and private gardens on the Conti- 
nent Ferns claimed a large share of attention, and 
many of these possess fine collections of them, con- 
taining numerous species not yet known in British 
gardens, though our nurserymen are constantly on the 
look-out for novelties, and import a great number 
from these sources. I have mentioned above that the 
directors of the Botanic Garden of Berlin, at an early 
period, possessed an extensive collection, and many 
species are reputed to have been raised in this esta- 
blishment. The publication of the “Ferns of the 
Leipzig Garden,” an illustrated work, in folio, by Dr. 
Mettenius, shows that the garden under his direction 
is exceedingly rich in Ferns, and the University fortu- 
nate in having a Professor so well able to do justice 
to the collection. At Vienna, also, a collection of Ferns 
has long existed under the direction of the late Dr. 
Schott. Several other German gardens, as those at 
Goettingen and Ilerrenliausen, also possess a consider- 
