34 BROOM ALL : FAIR OR FARE. 



Ger. falurn ciii Boot, to row ; Eng. fair-leader, a block or 

 other apparatus to direct the course of a rope clear of other 

 rigging. 



These quite synonymous forms and their common nautical 

 application suggest that fare is the source of fair in the 

 English terms, just as Icel. fara, O. Flem. vareii and Ger. 

 fahren are of the foreign words. 



RARE LOCAL FERNS. 



BY T. C. PALMER. 



Many species of ferns, as for example the green Christmas 

 fern, the rock polypod, the cinnamon fern and the swamp- 

 loving sensitive fern are so plentiful and so familiar that the 

 botanist on his prowl pays them scant attention. Others there 

 are, like the adder's tongue, which may not really be rare, 

 but only difficult to find. Still others, like the walking leaf, 

 are somewhat special in their demands as to environment, 

 present notable peculiarities of growth, and become, therefore, 

 worthy of a second glance. Lastly there are the rarities, the 

 diligently sought-for prizes. Rarities are either absolute or 

 relative. The adder's tongue, for example, is known to grow 

 in all the continents of the earth except South America, 

 and in Australia as well. Yet the local collector may go 

 tramping for years without ever seeing it. The wall-rue fern 

 {Asplefiiiau ruta-tnuraria) chokes the crannies of the walls of 

 Europe, yet is recorded from but six localities within sixty 

 miles of Philadelphia. On the other hand, Aspie^iiiim ebcn- 

 oides is absolutely rare, a thing of note wherever found. 



The walking leaf {Comptosorus rhizophylhis^ is recorded 

 from about twenty-five localities in Philadelphia, Bucks, 

 Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties b}^ Keller and 

 Brown, in their recent work, " The Flora of Philadelphia and 

 Vicinity." Some of the Delaware county localities are evi- 

 dently duplicates, as "Rockdale," "Mount Misery," etc. 



