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dom is it, that its use in such a connection is that referred to must be misleading to any reader not thoroughly acquainted with the subject. The "caterpillar stage" in an insect's life is that in which the entire body is almost filled with a capacious stomach; and the creature—endowed with a voracious appetite—eats, and eats with a greedy persistence, until its skin becomes too tight for the rapidly growing body, and at length splits, and is cast aside—like a schoolboy’s "old clo"—to be replaced by a more roomy investment! The caterpillar stage, moreover, is one in which no reproductive organs appear; so that, altogether, the simile is a most unfortunate one as descriptive of the silent and gentle changes which are everywhere observable in the vegetable world. Once more, the term "Animalcules," as quoted by Mr. Lowe from Count Suminski's paper, and applied to these "spiral thread-like bodies" is equally inappropriate. I regret very much having to make the foregoing criticisms, and beg to assure the Editors, and the justly well-known author of the paper referred to, that my only object in doing so is to further the best interests of our new publication by requesting at the outset, from future contributors, a more careful selection of terms used in all scientific papers—Samuel H. Parkes, King’s Norton.

A Hybrid Fern.—Mr. Lowe, in his paper upon "Abnormal Ferns," says that "very rarely a hybrid species may be produced" by the crossing of two species; but the examples he gives relate in each case to species of the same genus. In Phanerogamous plants hybrids between closely allied genera are known to exist, and we might expect that this would also be the case with Ferns. I have lately met with an instance in which the hybridisation seems to have taken place. About two years ago, my brother, Mr. T. B. Grove, of Eastbourne, sowed a mixture of spores of Blechnum corcovadense, and Lomaria gibba. Both of the plants from which the spores were taken were well grown, with stems about three feet high, Two fronds made their appearance from this sowing in advance of the rest, and were carefully transplanted. The other seedlings were normal, but these two, after throwing up at first fronds very similar to those of L. gibba, gradually changed their character. The pinnæ increased in breadth, the fronds became longer and more erect, and they have now produced fertile fronds intermediate between those of the two supposed parents, The differences may be thus enumerated; I am of course describing average plants. L. gibba has a spreading crown of numerous barren fronds, the pinum of which are under half an inch broad, with a few small blunt teeth. The fertile fronds, springing from the centre, are very much contracted, of a light green colour at first, covered on the under side almost completely by the sori. B. corcovadense has a much smaller number of barren fronds, which are nearly erect, and considerably longer, and have the pinnæ more than three-quarters of an inch broad, with & spinulose-serrate, or almost dentate edge. The fertile fronds are fewer and longer still, of a pinkish colour at first, quite uncontracted, the pinnæ being as broad as those of a barren frond, and the sori only occupying the central line. The supposed hybrid has a few external fronds small and spreading, with narrow pinnæ, very like those of L. gibba, but the succeeding fronds became longer and more erect, with pina over half an inch broad, and « serration which is intermediate between blunt and spinulose, The fertile fronds are more numerous than in B. corcovadense, not so long, and rather contracted, the pinnæ being scarcely over half the breadth of those of the barren fronds, and the sori occupying about half of the under surface. The colour of the young fronds also is intermediate between the pink of Blechnum and the lively green of Lomaria. I have before me three fronds of about the same age, from plants grown under similar circumstances.