92 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Aug. 



a now submerged corduroy road and we had to feel our way 

 along the track in water that in places reached the waist. The 

 track then led up into a wood and from it diverged on the right 

 a doubtful and tortuous trail in the direction of Twin Lake where 

 the Chain Fern grew. 



In an evil moment our guide tried a short cut to avoid an 

 awkward slash in the woods. He lost his way, and we fioundered 

 along for more than an hour; during this time we crossed three 

 slashes (apparently) far worse than the one we had avoided ; they 

 were really one slash and the same; as usually happens in the 

 bush to those who use no compass and disregard the st:n, we were 

 walking in a series of eccentric circles. We drew up at last on 

 the edge of a creek which our guide failed to recognize as the 

 one we had first waded across; to make confusion worse con- 

 founded, we seemed to have got somehow onto the wrong side 

 of 'ihis creek, but how or where we had crossed it we could not 

 make out. Follov.ing down the creek a little way we came jut 

 on a lake. Our host had then to make the humiliating confession 

 of having gone in a circle; instead of reaching Twin Lake, two 

 miles above the teaver dam, we were nearly a mile below ihe 

 dam. It was then so late in the afternoon that we had to post- 

 pone our expedition to next dav. 



This time we chose a longer but m.ore certain route and 

 reached the colony of Woodivardia virginica without mishap. 

 The first sight of this fern was quite impressive; the fronds stood 

 rigid and erect, in long lines, all facing one way; the upper sur- 

 face of the frond faced the water, the backs were away from the 

 lake and most of them heavily fruiting; I do not mean to imply 

 that the water caused their direction of growth; it was probablv 

 sunlight, as it v/as more open towards the water and shaded 

 behind by the edge of the woods. 



The fern is about as large as a medium-sized Cinnamon 

 Fern and its pinnules are verv similar in shape; the veins, how- 

 ever, are not free but areolate, forming a network; in the barren 

 fronds the pinnules are seen to be minutely serrulate, but in the 

 fruiting fronds the edge is apparently smooth and entire; this is 

 due to the serrulate edge being reflexed ; if yoti look at the under 

 side of a fruiting pinnule, you will find the edge distinctly rimmed. 

 The only other noticeable difference in shape between the frond 

 of the Chain Fern and that of the Cinnamon Fern is that in the 

 former the frond is narrowed considerably towards the base and 

 above is lanceolate up to an acute tip; this character is repeated 

 and even emphasized (as so often) in the pinna, which is strongly 

 contracted in one or two pairs of pinnules at the more or less 

 sessile base. The peculiar fruiting is, of course, unmistakable: 

 the oblong sori running in parallel lines like the links of a chain 



