FERA'S. 2 1 7 



fallen leaves and decayed wood, so that it needs not the thick coating 

 of chaffy scales so necessary for the preservation of its neighbours, the 

 Aspidiums and others, that are circinate, (rolled up in the bud), and 

 which lie more upon the surface. 



In many of the ferns the stipe or stem is channelled, and strong 

 very elastic nerves may be found on either side, leading up to the rachis 

 and branching so as to form the main mid-rib which supports the leaflets 

 or pinna; of the frond ; all these veins and ramifications of the veins 

 are extensions of these nerves, while the indusia or membraneous 

 coverings of the fruit dots which protect the organs of reproduction, 

 the spores, may possibly answer the purpose of the calyx or corolla of 

 flowering plants. So carefully has been the view of the All-wise mind 

 to preserve from injury the minute, I might say mysterious, organs of 

 fructification in the Fern tribes, that we see in many species an addi- 

 tional covering, provided by the alteration of the margin of the leaves ; 

 the edges of the lobes being rolled backwards over the sporangia as in 

 the Maiden-hairs and Brackens, or in the Botrychiiuns and Onoclea 

 sensibi/is and Osiiuindas where the pinnules are closely rolled in like a 

 ball. The fertile fronds of these ferns present a very different appear- 

 ance to the Polypodies, Aspidiums and Aspleniums. In the Ostrich- 

 feather Fern Onoclea Strutheopteris, the leaflet may be distinctly detected 

 in old fertile fronds that have borne the battering of the wintry storms, 

 and the rains of early Spring. It is very difficult to detect the appearance 

 of seedling ferns of the first year's growth, so few persons having had 

 the curiosity to take notice of the tiny things, to search for them in their 

 native haunts, or attempt raising the plants from seed. This can easily 

 be done in a Fern case, or even in flower-pots covered with a sheet of 

 glass if supplied wi'h suitable mould as from the forest, and not exposed 

 to the sun. This mode of studying out the life histories of these in- 

 teresting plants is now extensively practiced by Pteridologists, as those 

 who make a scientific study of Ferns are called ; but the experiment 

 would prove interesting to everyone who had time and leisure for attend- 

 ing to the culture of these charming denizens of the shady grove. The 

 culture of ferns has for many years past attracted the attention of 

 Canadian ladies of taste, but it has chiefly been directed towards collect- 

 ing exotic specimens, rare and costly ; but few appear to be aware that 

 our own woods, and swamps, and rocks, afford many beautiful species not 

 less admirable than those that are sold by the nursery-man at high prices.* 



Many of our fair Fern-fanciers have little knowledge of the 

 treasures hidden away in their own neighbouring woods. 



• Last Summer, in my wild garden, I h.id twenty-two different kinds of Ferns, brought from 

 the woods and swanijiy ground about the neiglibourhood, or islands in the back lakes, witliin a few 

 miles of my home. 



