289 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Garden Plants — Their Geo^raphy^ — CXIII. 
Filicales Continued. 
As a boy I believed I knew ferns as well as any- 
one of my age. I had about everything in cultivation in 
paper, and through the kindness of my late excellent 
SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARE, VAR. UNDUEATUM. 
friend, W. H. Gower, a great many that were not. At 
that time there was but one known plant of Brainea in- 
signis in Europe, and I distinctly remember how much 
{ coveted one of its unsparable three fronds. I carried 
my specimens half round the world, and finally think- 
ing I would need them no more, gave them to Colonel 
Beddome, a great authority on the Ferns of India. 
About the time I made my collection, a sort of good- 
natured warfare was on among the species-mongers. 
The collections of living ferns at Kew were named ac- 
cording to “‘Johnnie’’ Smith’s catalogue, and he fol- 
lowing Presl and others, founded his genera largely 
upon the habit and venation, and good natural looking 
genera they zvere. 
The Hookers at the same time were working along 
at their unrivalled herbarium, issuing lots of expensive 
publications, supplying lots of synonomy, and never 
failing to take a dig at “IMr. John Smith,” founded their 
genera largely upon the fructification. By this simple 
means they reduced them immensely. Their marvel- 
ous series of specimens from all parts of the world 
enabled them similarly to reduce the multitudinous va- 
rieties called species, and refer them to types ; so it may 
be immagined what a lot of stuff found a lodgment 
in the brain cells of the poor boys around the gardens 
about that time, largely perhaps to the exclusion of bet- 
ter things. I felt discouraged to find that I had crammed 
with Anapeltis, Arthropteris, Campyloneuron, Cvrto- 
phlebium, Dictyopteris, Drynaria, Goniophlebium, Go- 
niopteris, Lopholepis, Niphobolus, Phegopteris, Phlebo- 
dium, Phvmatpdes and Pleopeltis among the rest, only 
to learn they were all Polypodiums or descendent sec- 
lions of polypods. And still there are amiable geniuses 
fresh from the woods, or presiding over Greek and 
Latin mills, with a weakness for seeing their initials 
behind the names they invent, who e.xpect people to 
cram their brains — in the same old way — “ain’d it?" 
The best that can be done is to follow "Hooker and 
Baker’s Synopsis Filicum," which, unless Mr. Baker 
with his wonderful knowledge can undertake to incor- 
porate his supplementary lists (see vols. 5 & 8, etc., An- 
nals of Botany) — to date — will probably remain the 
standard authority for a long time to come. 
But it is one. thing to have names in a book, and 
c|uile another to apply them to living plants. 
Kew v.dth great liberality, has always I believe, 
named living or dry specimens for nothing, but I think 
many people would rather pay. If the Herbarium 
would get up an official style of perforated label sheet, 
and charge say one penny per label, or a dollar for not 
less than fifty, I wouldn’t wonder but many people 
throughout the world would be glad to send specimens 
for identification. The numbered sheets could be mailed 
by parcels-post, the senders keeping duplicates, and 
Kew could simply mail back numbered names to corre- 
spond. In this way many collections might become 
Am. Florist. 
PLATYCERIUM GRANDE. 
centres of uniform naming, and help to do away with 
a lot of idiotic printing and intolerable confusion. 
The cultivation of ferns in the United States has not 
