Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1895-05-23
A Few Fern Notes.

Your South Royalton correspondent OF
last week tells us that the late Miss Emily
| Robinson "while in Vermont two years
ago. discovered a new species OF fern
which had not before been discovered"
Now ours is an evolutionary age, rather
than an age OF discoveries, in science as in
other things, though perhaps not as much
In botany as elsewhere.
NV old Woods botany OF forty-two
years ago gave US OF Vermont ~ species OF
ferns only, excluding what are now
called fern allies. Gray's Manual of Is
years ago gave us So species and 4 varie.
six years ago gave us 800 species and
varieties, and with 1t agreed Perkins In
his "Flora OF Vermont" published the
same year. Our latest list, published in
| 1895 by The Linnaean Fern Chapter OF
the Agassiz Association, with the aid OF
the best experts OF the country, gives us
only SO species and varieties for Yer
mont. According to these authorities
only q species have been discovered in
rs years, and during the last six years
only one variety (no species) has been
added to our list.
1t may be that Miss Robinson found
that variety ,asplentium trichomancs var
Iincisum- Moore) in Vermont for the
first time. hope so, and please ask your
correspondent to tell us about it, but the
variety was known in California more
/ than two years ago. And, by the way,
these "varieties" are sometimes called
"hybrids" or "sports," not species. ES-
perts among botanists are not any more
above temptation in preparing new
school looks than any other authors.
(Our learned directors would not change
books II the new ones were just like the
old ones, would they p
Yet it is possible that your correspond.
ent is right. These little ferns are not
only beautiful, but they are cunning little
fellows. The rarest species love TO hide
away in the most inaccessible places they
can find, and oftentimes in the places
where no one would ever think OF looking
for them. was told to climb up the ia
nous Willoughby Cliff as far as possible
for one OF them years ago. i found it in
abundance within two rods OF my horse
the first year, but three times since / have
searched the whole region for it in vain.
have read OF party of fern hunters in
Hawaii, who searched for days in vain for
a rare one of the hundreds of beauties in
that country. They were skilled hunters
too, and they knew where on the VOL
cano sides IL ought to be. But one night
on their return to camp, they found that
one OF the ladies left there had 1t among
some common ones she had gathered close
by.
And there is yet chance for us here in
Randolph and Royalton.
Two Massachusetts teachers visiting at
the "Maplewoodn last summer, found in
Bethel and Braintree two OF our uncom.
mon species, though they knew but very
little about ferns.
Ours is good fern locality. We have
at least q species and varieties within
eight miles of our Normal school. Prot.
Jessups gives only 81 species and varie-
ties within 80 miles OF Dartmouth college
Are not any OF your young wheelmen
and wheelwomen down there in the val
ley botanists? II so they ought not to
let any more Massachusetts or New Hamp.
shire visitors be the discoveries OF our
ferns.
Suppose give them challenge for the
season--the Victor, Humber, Hartford,
Columbia, etc., etc., vs.. OLD Eau (l6 years
old)
III show them what to search for II they
wish it. Yours truly,
JAMES A. BATES.
Randolph Center, May 18th.