DOWN A GREEN LANE! 85 



this inner paradise of the ferns. And on the 

 right, hard by the Brake which spreads its arching 

 fronds towards you, a noble specimen of the 

 purple-stemmed Lady Fern springs out of the 

 hedge-bank ; its splendid clusters of fronds, each 

 a yard in length, flinging over the scene the 

 indescribable gracefulness which is a fit emblem 

 of fern-land. 



And now for a plunge into this glorious lane 

 of lanes. As far as you can see, it appears tc 

 melt away in shadowy green, as it sinks down 

 over the declivity of the hill. For some distance 

 along the path, in both hedge-banks, the Lady 

 Ferns appear to hold sway. Here is a grand 

 specimen, fully four feet long! and there are 

 many others equally grand, and equally beautiful, 

 in every shade of purple stem. Intermingled 

 with them and forming a charming variety of 

 fronds, are some fine plants of the Male Fern, 

 the Broad Buckler Fern, with its curling leaflets, 

 and the Brakes, the latter towering up to the 

 height of eight feet. Peer between the branches 

 which filter the light on the hedge-top, and you 



