BRITISH FERNS. 89 



them ; and if the plant still exist in either of these localities, it 

 must be in very small quantities, or it could scarcely have 

 escaped the lynx-eyed botanists from Dublin, who have been 

 almost perpetually himting for it. I would not recommend a 

 botanist from England to waste a single hour in seeking this 

 fern in the county Wicklow. The locality at Glendine was 

 discovered by Mr. Ball, of Dublin ; and he describes the plant 

 as growing here in great luxuriance, a statement in which the 

 fronds in his possession amply bear him out. Mr. Francis, in 

 his " Analysis," states that it was " once found in Ballinhasy 

 Glen, near Cork, by Mr. J. Drummond ;" and " near Killarney, 

 in several situations, by Mr. W. Wilson." I could wish the 

 precise localities had been published. I hunted the waterfalls 

 all round Killarney with great diligence, particularly those of 

 O'Sullivan and Derrycunehy, but without any success, and 

 it was only at the often recorded habitat of Turk that I found 

 the slightest trace of Trichomanes. I here found it to the left 

 of the seat whence tourists take the first view of the fall. About 

 fifteen yards higher up the stream, the rocky bank on the left 

 projects into the river ; this projection is only to be approached 

 by leaping from stone to stone along the bed of the torrent, which, 

 in times of flood, as happened to be the case when I paid it 

 this visit, is rather an exciting and tickhsh operation : you are 

 so close to the fall as to be covered by the spray, and the roar is 

 almost deafening. Having reached the projection, the botanist 

 must ascend it by means of the roots and branches, a feat very 

 readily performed ; and there is a little platform at the top, 

 w^here he can stand very comfortably ; and while so standing, he 

 will find the rocky bank just on a level with his eyes com- 

 pletely clothed with Trichomanes, the dark green fronds hang- 

 ing heavily down, dripping with wet, and, if the sun happen to 

 shine, begemmed with sparkling drops : it is a beautiful sight, 

 and well worth the wet stockings, which, when the flood is on, 

 form a necessary accompaniment of the expedition. The 

 scenery around is well worthy of the rare fern which it 

 cherishes in its bosom. 



The roots of Trichomanes speciosum, as well as the rhizoma, 

 a good deal resemble in habit those of Polypodium vulgare ; the 

 rhizoma is black, velvety, tough, and remarkably long; some 

 which I pulled out must have been many yards in length: it 

 formed a kind of net work on the perpendicular surface of a 



