1885.] 
Analyses of Books. 
491 
Where to Find Ferns : with a Special Chapter on the Ferns round 
London. By F. G. Heath. London: Society for Pro- 
moting Christian Knowledge. 
Tms little volume is intended as a companion to the author’s 
beautiful “ Fern Portfolio ” which we had the pleasure of noticing 
some time ago. Its object is to give in the briefest possible 
compass indications of the habitats and the distribution of our 
yritish ferns. The author recommends “ fern hunting ” as a 
delightful pastime which gives zest to any country walk. He 
complains, with perfect reason, that life in the present age is far 
too sedentary. He might here have noticed the educational 
value of any pursuit which compels men and women to be ob- 
servers, to gain as much as possible of their knowledge direCt 
from Nature, and not through the medium of words. 
Under the head “ Definitions of Terms ” we find an illustrated 
explanation of the technical language of botany, as far as it is 
needful for the lovers of ferns. 
^ Then follows a pleasant chapter on “ Fern Habitats,” which 
calls up to our mind delightful memories of rambles taken long, 
long ago. The author seems scarcely to believe in the extirpa- 
tion of lovely species in many of their former haunts. We must 
remind him, however, that the collectors sent out by London 
dealers aie enterprising and persistent, and do not by any means 
confine themselves to known localities. Not a few, moreover, of 
private collectors, whether for the herbarium or the fernery, are 
shamefully greedy, and if desirous to secure plenty of specimens 
for themselves, seem scarcely less eager that none shall be left 
for others. 
chapter on the cultivation of ferns is short, but — indeed 
like the whole of the book — shows the author’s thorough practical 
acquaintance with his subject. 
Under the head “ Ferns round London ” we find an alphabetical 
list of the localities where certain species may be found in the 
home-counties. We are glad that the haunts of each species are 
not laid down too minutely. Thus no encouragement is given to 
the lazy plunderer who would like to walk to the exaCt spot and 
strip it of its rarities. 
Lovers of ferns, and naturalists generally, will, we are sure, 
feel grateful both to the author of this little book and to the 
Society by which i is published. 
2 L 2 
