NONSUCH 



shall pick a root of maiden-hair fern — one whose 

 ancestor was carried (who knows how many years 

 this side of the last glacial epoch) high in air, the 

 atoms of spores whirling as they swept onward, bil- 

 lions of them dusting the troubled waters of mid- 

 ocean, until this one alighted in safety. And it must 

 have alighted not only on land, but on some par- 

 ticular bit of soil suitable for germination and frui- 

 tion. When next we are carried away with enthusi- 

 asm by some new feat of airplanes, let us not forget 

 the Flight of the First Fern. 



32 



