



Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)









                                  The
                             Fern Bulletin.


                           Vol. XI.    No. 4.

                     A Quarterly Devoted to Ferns.

                                OCTOBER

                           Binghamton, N. Y.
                         THE FERN BULLETIN CO.
                                  1903




                           THE FERN BULLETIN


                      A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS

                        WILLARD N. CLUTE, Editor
          THE FERN BULLETIN CO., PUBLISHERS, BINGHAMTON, N. Y.
                   20 Cents a Copy; 75 Cents a Year.
              Awarded Grand Prize at the Paris Exposition.


To insure subscribers against loss of one or more numbers between the
expiration and renewal of their subscriptions the journal will be sent
until ordered stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Personal Checks Must
Contain Ten Cents Extra for Collection. Otherwise credit will be given
for the amount less collection fees.

   Entered at the postoffice, Binghamton, N. Y., as second-class mail
                                matter.


                       THE LINNAEAN FERN CHAPTER

President, B. D. Gilbert, Clayville, N. Y. Secretary, Homer D. House, N.
Y. Bot. Garden, Bronx, New York City.

Fern students are cordially invited to join the Chapter. Address either
the President or Secretary for further information. The annual dues are
$1.00 and should be sent direct to Jas. A. Graves, Treasurer,
Susquehanna, Pa.


                             FERNS FOR SALE

A Fern Student of many years standing who has made a specialty of
cultivating New England Ferns is prepared to supply plants for Ferneries
and House. For prices and variety address,

                                    C. C. BROWNE, South Groveland, Mass.


                       “MOSSES WITH A HAND LENS”

                           BY DR A. J. GROUT

It is the only book of its kind in the English language. It makes the
mosses as easy to study as the flowering plants. Eight full page plates
and ninety figures in the text. Price $1.10 postpaid. Send for sample
pages to O. T. Louis, 59 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. City.


                          WANTS AND EXCHANGES

  _Special announcements inserted here for One Cent a word. No notice
          received for less than 25c. No charge for address._


EXCHANGE—I will exchange three flowering plants of California for any
one desired fern of the United States. Send me your list of duplicates.
GEORGE B. GRANT, 637 Summit Ave., Pasadena, California.


                        EATON’S FERNS FOR $35.00

Eaton’s “Ferns of North America” has been out of print for some time and
is constantly advancing in price. We can offer a second-hand copy, the
two volumes bound in cloth, clean and in good condition, for $35.00,
express paid. There are 81 colored plates, and all the North American
ferns are described. Address,
                                    THE FERN BULLETIN, Binghamton, N. Y.

    [Illustration: WILLIAM RALPH MAXON.]




                                CONTENTS


  THE FERN FLORA OF NEW YORK.                                          97
      Ophioglossaceae.                                                 98
      Osmundaceae.                                                     99
      Schizaeaceae.                                                   100
      Polypodiaceae.                                                  100
      Equisetaceae.                                                   103
      Isoetaceae.                                                     103
      Lycopodiaceae.                                                  103
      Salviniaceae.                                                   104
      Selaginellaceae.                                                104
  FERNWORT NOTES—IV.                                                  105
  SCOLOPENDRIUM FROM CANADA.                                          107
  THE GENUS EQUISETUM IN NORTH AMERICA.                               108
  THE SPECIES-CONCEPTION AMONG THE TERNATE BOTRYCHIUMS.               115
  NEW FORMS OF FERNS.                                                 118
  FERNS IN BOTTLES.                                                   120
  WILLIAM RALPH MAXON.                                                121
  ANOTHER STATION FOR ASPLENIUM EBENEUM HORTONAE.                     122
  INDEX TO CURRENT LITERATURE RELATING TO FERNS.                      122
  EDITORIAL.                                                          123
  BOOK NEWS.                                                          125
  A WORD FROM THE EDITOR                                              129

                               THE FERN BULLETIN
    _VOL. XI._                _OCTOBER, 1903._                    _No. 4_




                      THE FERN FLORA OF NEW YORK.


                           By B. D. Gilbert.

The State of New York has the largest area of any northern State east of
Michigan. It also possesses a great diversity of surface, with its two
mountain ranges, its numerous lakes, its interior salt basin, and its
seashore confined entirely to the southern extremity. On its eastern
side it stretches through more than four degrees of north latitude, and
as these are the degrees just south of the 45th parallel, it is easy to
understand that there is liable to be a greater intermixture of northern
and southern forms of ferns than there would be in a State lying farther
south. And the fact is that certain species from the north and others
from the south do meet within its borders. This also accounts for the
large number of species found in the State: California and Texas, the
one State having four times the area of New York, and the other five
times that area, being the only ones which contain as large or a larger
number of species.

For the purpose of fern classification, the State may be divided into
four distinct zones, as follows:

I. The Littoral.—This comprises Long Island and Staten Island. Only one
fern is peculiar to this zone, viz. _Woodwardia angustifolia_; but there
are two Lycopods, viz. _L. alopecuroides_ and its variety _adpressum_.

II. The Catskill Mountain Region, extending down to Manhattan
Island.—This being the southern mountain range of the State, it is here
that three southern species find their northern limit, viz. _Asplenium
Bradleyi_, _A. montanum_ and _Cheilanthes vestita_. It may be a question
whether the Connecticut stations for _Asplenium montanum_ lie farther
north than the New York stations, but it is certain that there can be
but little difference between them in this respect.

III. The Adirondack Region, extending as far south as Little Falls.—Here
there are a few of the northern species that descend to their southern
limit in this country. Among them may be mentioned _Nephrodium
fragrans_, _Polystichum Braunii_, _Woodsia glabella_, and _W.
hyperborea_. There are also two Lycopods to be included in this list,
_L. annotinum pungens_ and _L. Sitchense_.

IV. The Western Region, extending from the mountain regions to the
State’s western boundary, the southern part drained by the Susquehanna
and its tributaries, and the northern part containing (a) _The Salt
Basin_ of Syracuse and its vicinity, the home of _Scolopendrium_ and
_Botrychium Onondagense_, and (b) _The Central Basin_, extending from
Little Falls to Oneida Lake, and drained by the Mohawk River, being
famous for its large number of _Botrychia_, some of which seem to be
almost, if not quite, peculiar to this region.

In the preparation of this list I have consulted various local floras
and other reports of the State, especially Paine’s “Catalogue of Plants
Found in Oneida County and Vicinity;” the Annual Reports of the State
Botanist, “The Flora of the Upper Susquehanna,” and the files of the
Fern Bulletin. I have also been favored with many notes from the State
Herbarium sheets by Professor Peck himself; while my own herbarium and
that of Dr. J. V. Haberer, of Utica, have been exceedingly useful in
fixing definite localities.

The plan I have followed is to include along with the species only such
varieties as seem to be most important and distinct.

Mr. Bush in _The Torrey Bulletin_ for June, 1903, enumerates 59 species
and varieties of ferns found in Texas. This compares well with our list
of 64 species and varieties in New York State, of which only 18 of these
are common to both States. Mr. Reverchon’s list for Texas, published in
the Fern Bulletin, April, 1903, gives 51 ferns and 15 allies, or 66 in
all. The present list includes 53 species and 12 varieties of ferns, and
23 species and 7 varieties of fern allies. If we take Bush’s ferns and
Rever