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Handbook of Nature Study 



and are in themselves often three times pinnate; the branches higher up 

 are twice pinnate ; while the main branch near the tip is once pinnate, and 

 at the tip is merely lobed. The lesson, as illustrated in the diagram of the 

 fern, should be well learned for future study, because this nomenclature is 

 used in all the fern manuals. The fact that a pinnule is merely the last 

 division of a frond, whether it be twice or thrice pinnate, should 

 also be understood. 



The bracken does not love complete shade and establishes itself in 

 waste places, living contentedly in not too shaded locations ; it is especially 

 fond of woodsides, and fence corners on high and cold land. As Professor 

 Clute says, "It is found both in woodland and in the open field ; its favor- 

 ite haunt is neither, but is that half-way ground where man leaves off and 

 nature begins, the copse or the thicket." With us it usually grows about 

 three feet high, but varies much in this respect. The great triangular 

 fronds often measure two or three feet across, and are supposed to bear a 

 likeness to an eagle with spread wings. Its rootstock is usually too 

 deeply embedded in earth for the study of any except the most energetic ; 

 it is about the size of a lead pencil and is black and smooth ; in its way it 

 is a great traveler, sending up fronds fifteen or twenty feet from its start- 

 ing place. It also sends off branching rootstocks. 



The fruiting pinnules 

 look as if they were hemmed 

 and the edges of the hems 

 embroidered with brown 

 wool; but the embroidery 

 is simply the spore-cases 

 pushing out from under 

 the folded margin which 

 protected them while de- 

 veloping. 



Much on which to base 

 necromancy has been found 

 in the figure shown in the 

 cross-section of the stem or 

 stipe. The letter C, sup- 

 posed to stand for Christ, 

 thus made is a potent pro- 

 tection from witches. But this figure has also been compared to the 

 devil's hoof, an oak tree, or the initial of one's sweetheart, and all these 

 imaginings have played their part in the lives of the people of past ages. 

 It was believed in England that burning the bracken from the fields 

 brought rain ; the roots in time of scarcity have been ground and mixed 

 with flour to make bread. The young ferns, or croziers, are sometimes 

 cooked and eaten like asparagus. The fronds have been used extensively 

 for tanning leather and for packing fish and fruit, and when burned their 

 ashes are used instead of soap. 



In Europe, bracken grows so rankly that it is used for roof-thatching 

 and for the bedding of cattle. The name "brake," which is loosely used 

 for all ferns, comes from the word "bracken;" some people think that 

 brakes are different from ferns, whereas this is simply a name which has 

 strayed from the bracken to other species. Its scientific name, Pteris 

 aquilina, signifies eagle's wing. 



I. Fruiting pinnules of the maiden-hair fern, en- 

 larged. 2. Fruiting pinnule of the bracken, enlarged. 

 In both these species the spores are borne under the 

 recurved edges of the pinnules. 



