a ia-z7 
This little volume, which is virtually an abridgment ol 
the Papular History of British Perns, having been 
provided for the use of beginners in the study of these 
, charming wild plants, it has been made an especial 
object to avoid technicalities as far as was possible, 
and to afford plain, and, it is to be hoped, easily under¬ 
stood, descriptions of the plants. 
The varieties which are now known to occur among our 
wild Perns, are so numerous, that only a few of the more 
striking have been noticed. A full enumeration of them 
would have taken up much space, and would only have v 
distracted the attention of the learner from the species 
which it is important he should first become acquainted, 
Being intended as a first book, many details of structure, 
of distribution, &c., have also been omitted with the view 
of simplifying the main features of the subject. When 
these have been well mastered, the inquirer will meet with 
