With two books like "Our Ferns in Their Haunts" and "How to Know the
Ferns" in the field, some might think that the ground is too thoroughly
covered to leave room for another, but Dr. Waters has proven otherwise
in his new volume with the simple title of "Ferns."[1] If the older
books are taken as books designed for beginners, the new one may be
described as one step more technical--a connecting link between popular
handbook and scientific manual. In the matter of information it contains
practically nothing that has not been published before, being primarily
a rearrangement of what is known of our ferns and bearing internal
evidence that the pages of the popular works above mentioned have
supplied much help in its making. This is especially noticeable in the
appropriation of original stanzas from "Our Ferns in Their Haunts,"
without giving credit for them. Even when giving credit the author is
not always fortunate, as when he ascribes to Miss Pratt certain lines
that are Campbell's. The book is written from the standpoint of the
author's experiences in the vicinity of Baltimore, and as such cannot
always be taken as representative of ferns and fern habitats in other
parts of our country. The book is also remarkable for the entire absence
of author citations for the generic and specific names--in this being
unique among American fern books. This will make it difficult for
beginners who use this book to look up the species elsewhere. The entire
subject of the authority for the names is left untouched in the part
that explains why scientific names are used. There is also evident a
disinclination to give credit for recent work, the usual statement being
that such and such varieties "have been described," without noting where
and by whom. Since these descriptions were heretofore to be found mostly
in periodicals, the desirability of mentioning their place of
description is apparent. This much being said in criticism of the book,
there is yet much to praise. The illustrations are well executed and
include a fair proportion of views in the habitats of the ferns, while
the photographs of the sori enlarged are exceptionally valuable.
Anything like them have never before been published. The analytical key
based on the stipes has been well and carefully worked out. It forms a
very instructive chapter, though such a key will rarely be consulted by
the beginner, because the usual keys are easier. The book is also of
interest for the number of varieties or forms included, many of which
are not mentioned in the manuals, and for numerous photographs
illustrating these forms. There is also a chapter on fern photography.
The nomenclature is conservative; old and well known names having been
retained in spite of recently proposed substitutes. For his stand in
this matter the author is to be greatly commended. The book can in no
sense be considered a rival of others in the field. It fills a place of
its own and as such will be hailed by the fern loving public as another
aid to the proper understanding of this most beautiful and attractive
section of the vegetable kingdom. Type, paper and presswork all combine
to make this a handsome as well as useful book.
In the making of his "Flora of the Southeastern United States"[2] Dr.
Small has practically worked over anew all the species of that region
and the results of this stupendous undertaking are now presented in a
bulky octavo volume of nearly fourteen hundred pages. Dr. Chapman's
flora of the same region is fairly conservative, while this one goes to
the opposite extreme, being noticeable for the greatly increased number
of species and an equal lack of what the older book is inclined to
consider varieties or forms. This gives students a choice of books, but
it is probable that a beginner will have much difficulty in identifying
his plants by the aid of the new one, because of the many closely
related forms described as separate species. The book will appeal more
to advanced students specializing in a few orders or genera. The
nomenclature is, of course, the most radical, even extending beyond the
genera and species to the orders, so that new names are proposed for the
Leguminosæ, Labiatæ, Scrophulariaceæ and many others. Along with the
segregation of species there has been a similar splitting of genera. To
the individual familiar with the usual manuals the book will appear
almost like the flora of a foreign land. The author, however, has been
painstaking and conscientious throughout the work, adhering closely to
the ideals prevalent at New York and a few other centers of botanical
activity, and if he has produced a volume that will become the object of
much criticism he has also produced an excellent illustration of what
the recently proposed rules of nomenclature, and new conceptions of
species are capable of when allowed full swing. Although not agreeing
with his conclusions, even conservative botanists will appreciate the
author's consistency and he is to be congratulated upon the completion
of his work. To those who prefer the less elaborate manual, Dr. Small's
book will always be indispensable for reference.
Mr. Charles T. Druery, well known on this side of the Atlantic as an
enthusiastic cultivator of ferns, has issued a book devoted principally
to British fern varieties, which he has named "The Book of British
Ferns."[3] In this work he has been assisted by various members of the
British Pteridological Society, an association similar to our Fern
Chapter, and of which Mr. Druery is president. As is well known the
British fern hunter and fern cultivator is most interested in the
abnormal forms of ferns, and as a result so many of these have been
described that a complete list numbers more than a thousand, though
there were less than seventy-five native species to begin with. Mr.
Druery's task has been to select from this list the really meritorious
varieties from the cultural standpoint. To this revised list he has
added papers on the culture and propagation of ferns, fern hunting, fern
crossing, apospory and kindred subjects, making a volume which should be
of interest to American readers for the light thrown upon fern life. The
book is well printed and well illustrated, the forms shown being mostly
the more striking varieties.