2l8 THE FANTASIES OF FERNS 



we find tufts of it either amid the soft gray moss 

 of Evergreen woods, or in some such point of 

 vantage as the crumbling old stump. Rarely, as in 

 the Hemlock woods, it grows from the moist clefts 

 of rock ledges, somewhat after the fashion of 

 Maidenhair Spleenwort, and then the fronds are of 

 a more delicate texture and perfect growth. 



If the flower, with all the subtle expression of 

 form and color, is more beautiful in its haunt, then 

 is the silent Fern doubly so, and it is in their haunts 

 alone, whether of river -bank, wood, moor or hill- 

 side that we may ever seek to interpret the Fern's 

 fantasies. 



