1910] The Ottawa Naturalist. 103 



two plants of B. lanceolatnm within arm's length. I marked the 

 place, got back in time for breakfast and immediately after 

 guided my friend to the spot. 



The relation of B. lanceolatnm to B. ramosum is certainly 

 peculiar; the former being generally found sparingly in colonies 

 of the latter; but it only makes its appearance and ripens after 

 the other has shed its spores; in North Muskoka and the Algon- 

 quin Park it matures about the middle of August. I have more 

 than once found a plant of lanceolatnm with its stem actually 

 contiguous with a plant of ramosum and iis roots intertwined. 



Mr. Raynel Dodge, the author of "Ferns and Fern Allies 

 of New England," in a paper pubHshed in the Fern Bulletin of 

 April, 1910, suggests that ramosum- is a polymorphic plant, 

 producing all the forms known as ram.osum., tencbrosum and 

 (perhaps?) lanceolaium. It certainly looks as though, by some 

 mA'sterious hybridism or through some quality of dimorphism., 

 spores of B. ram-osum. could give rise to B. lanceolaium. 



On mv return to the Park after seeing mv friend off for 

 England I spent a week in assiduous search for B. lanceolaium; 

 my labours were rewarded by the finding of 10 plants in 3 separate 

 places, both east and west of the Park Station. It seems to like 

 even m.ore shade and richer mould than the Matricary Fern, and 

 often grows under small seedlings of hazel (for instance) in damp 

 leafy troughs where no other vegetation, or verv little, is to be 

 found. 



The Adder's Tongue is the last fern I have to speak about. 

 Probably not many readers of The Ottawa Naturalist have 

 ever seen this quaint little plant growing; they think it very 

 rare; I thought so. too, till less than a year ago, but since then 

 I have been forced to the conclusion that it is fairly abundant 

 wherever stiitable conditions obtain, but so inconspicuous at to 

 be entirely overlooked. 



On the 1st of July last I shook the dust of town celebrations 

 from my feet and spent the day in the country ten miles north of 

 Port Hope near Garden Hill. I v.'as lunching in the corner of an 

 old meadow, or rather, upland pasture of sandy soil, when I saw 

 3 or 4 plants of Liparis Loesclii in the grass just where the pasture 

 sloped off into a beaver meadow skirting a cold little trout 

 stream. I had hitherto found this orchid in marshes only, often 

 in the wet grassy padway of winter roads, and I got up on the 

 mound of a half buried eld log to survey my surroundings; 

 suddenly among the thin sparse seedstalks of grass I spied some 

 20 spikes of (surely it couldn't be?) Ophioglossum vulgaium. 

 I searched carefulh- exhaustively, as I thought , but only 

 found 3 more spikes nearer the edge of the beaver meadow 



