THE HARTSTONGUE. 135 



its -name and tapers in its upper portion to a 

 point; and from this point, through the centre 

 of the frond, is carried a thick midrib, on each 

 side of which at the back of the frond are 

 arranged in oblique lines the spores, protected by 

 a green cuticle covering them when the frond is 

 young, but bursting this covering in the fall of the 

 year, and revealing lines of rich, dark-brown seeds 

 in countless myriads. The stem of the Harts- 

 tongue when young is covered with beautiful white 

 downy-looking hairs or scales, which, as the plant 

 becomes older, assume a brownish tinge ; the stem 

 itself being usually of a dark purplish colour. The 

 fresh shining green of the Hartstongue is delight- 

 ful to behold. The plant altogether beautifully 

 contrasts with the compound forms of the other 

 British ferns. It is most interesting to study its 

 varying moods in its free wild state. Few of our 

 native ferns are so enterprising as the Harts- 

 tongue. It will grow even on bare walls in the 

 full sunlight, where it can at the best get little 

 moisture for its roots. In such situations, how- 

 ever, it becomes a tiny thing, rarely exceeding 



