14 
FERNS : BRITISH AND FOREIGN. 
for many other rare and interesting living Ferns, and 
fine sets of dried specimens. 
Besides contributions from special collectors, the 
Fern collection at Kew has been largely increased 
through the instrumentality of the officers of our 
numerous Colonial Botanic Gardens, and likewise by 
many private individuals residing in foreign countries ; 
and as the exertions of these gentlemen are worthy of 
being recorded, I give a few particulars respecting 
them, adopting a geographical arrangement for the 
sake of brevity. 
The first Colonial garden from which, so far as I 
am aware. Ferns were received at Kew, was that of 
Ceylon, Mr. Alexander Moon, the Director, having, 
in 1824, sent home a collection of plants, amongst 
which was Niphobolus costatus. But the first person 
who forwarded any considerable number from that 
island was the lamented Mr. George Gardner, well 
known to botanists as a botanical traveller in Brazil, 
who was Director of the Ceylon garden between 1844 
and his death in 1848. This gentleman was succeeded 
by Mr. (now Dr.) G. H. K. Thwaites, the present able 
Director, and to him also the Kew collection is greatly 
indebted for a large number of rare and beautiful 
species ; such as fichizoccena sinuata, Asplenium 
radiatum , Actinostachys radiata , Helminthostachys 
Zci/lanica, and many others. 
Though Continental India is extremely rich in Ferns, 
it has, singularly enough, contributed very few to our 
gardens, no persons in that country having devoted 
themselves specially to the subject ; indeed most of 
those received thence have been accidentally imported 
along with Orchids, including the half-dozen species 
