British Ferns: An Introduction to the Study of the Ferns, Lycopods, and Equiseta Indigenous to the British Isles, with Chapters on the Structure, Propagation, Cultivation, Diseases, Uses, Preservation, and Distribution of Ferns.

First Edition. Original publisher's dark green cloth binding with gilt lettering on spine and gilt decoration of ferns on front cover. 5 1/4" x 7 1/2." 281 pages, complete. A few black-and-white in-text illustrations, complete. Sixteen additional pages of hand-colored plates in back, complete. The plates are hand-colored with watercolor and show different types of ferns. List of Plates in front. Index in back. Laid in between Pages 160 and 161 is a plant specimen which may be one of the specimens described in this book. The plant has left some discoloration on these two pages. Pages are clean and intact except for the discoloration on Pages 160-161, former owner's ink inscriptions on blank pages facing the back plates, two former owners' ink signatures and inscriptions and a few residual pencil marks on front pastedown and front free endpaper, and light age toning. Covers are very clean and intact except for slight darkening along spine and slight wear to extremities. A Very Good copy. Beautiful book about British ferns by Margaret Plues (c. 1840-1903), a British botanist and author. As an author, she is perhaps best-known for her popular works about British ferns and grasses. Plues also wrote under the pseudonym, Skelton Yorke. Chapters in this book are titled as follows: "Introduction," "Structure," "Propagation," "Cultivation in Ferneries," "Cultivation in Wardian Cases and Greenhouses," "Cultivation in Hothouses," "Diseases of Ferns," "Uses of Ferns," "Preservation for the Herbarium," "Distribution of the Fern Group," "Classification; British Ferns; British Lycopods; Marsileaceae; Pilulariae; British Horsetails," and "Local Distribution of British Ferns.". …