THE FANTASIES OF FERNS 



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them, oftentimes being so deeply im- 

 pressed as to make an imprint on the 

 upper side of the frond. 



Mingling with the Lady Fern, 

 toward open edges, and creeping out 

 into the fields by way of damp places, 

 is the Slender Wood, or New York 

 Fern, as Doctor Britton calls it, thus 

 properly giving the translation of its 

 Latin title, Noveboracensis. Though 

 this Fern sometimes grows two feet 

 in length, it is usually much smaller. 

 An unfailing guide to its identity is 

 the way in which the lance-shaped fronds 

 dwindle both ways from the middle, the 

 general tendency of Fern leaves being to 

 slope upward from the base. The leaf itself is 

 once divided, the divisions being deeply toothed, 

 the round, brown -edged fruit -dots following the 

 margins. 



A casual glance would lead one to say that this 

 same Fern also grows out in the marsh meadows 

 that divide the open woods at intervals ; but though 

 the two often meet, a nearer view shows the 

 meadow lover to be the Marsh Shield Fern, a 

 different species, though a first cousin. Here 



