FERNY RAMBLES IN SOUTH DEVON. 49 



is the moist atmosphere produced by the flowing 

 water underneath which gives encouragement to 

 the ferns. Sometimes a river arch is densely 

 covered with many varieties of ferns. You will often 

 find the Polypody, the Hartstongue, the Wall- 

 rue, the Scaly Spleenwort, the common Maidenhair 

 Spleemvort, the Black Maidenhair Spleenwort, 

 growing together on bridge sides. But the speci- 

 mens of Hartstongue are invariably diminutive 

 when growing on walls, rocks, or bridge arches. 

 The Black Maidenhair Spleenwort, unquestionably 

 one of the most beautiful of the fern family, is also 

 usually found to be stunted when growing on the 

 bare open side of a rock, wall, or bridge arch. 

 It nevertheless delights in stones ; but then the 

 stones and rocks must be in the shade, and 

 covered by overhanging bushes. A little way 

 from the stone bridge already mentioned, on the 

 road between Totnes and Ashburton, in the slate 

 rock side of a hedge-bank, we caught sight of a 

 tuft of the Black Maidenhair, growing in a con- 

 spicuous position. We felt persuaded that other 

 specimens would be near. One portion of the slate 



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