82 THE FERN PARADISE. 



lane, you find that the grass-covered pathway nar- 

 rows, whilst the hedges close in ; trees now, ivy 

 as well as moss-covered, are on each side of you, 

 and interlace their green tops. Then, between 

 moss-covered, fern-fringed hedge-banks, you pass 

 an open fir copse on the right. Then the lane, 

 still winding round to the left, narrows more 

 rapidly still ; narrows indeed so much, that the 

 bushes which crown its hedges almost meet over- 

 head, and thus arresting the moisture and in- 

 creasing the shade, cause the ferns on each side 

 to become developed into grander forms, until 

 two or three splendid specimens of the Broad 

 Buckler Fern and the Male Fern in the hedge- 

 bank on the right compel you to pause and 

 admire their exquisitely graceful aspect. A few 

 steps further on, bending still round to the left, 

 you again stop to admire the splendid growth 

 of a Brake, which, growing out of the humid 

 hedge-bank, has reached a height of eight feet. 

 Now the lane for a short distance observes a 

 straighter and narrower course, between hedge- 

 banks containing luxuriant specimens of noble- 



