CHAPTER IX. 



THE BRISTLE FERN. 



Trichomanes radicans. 



"TAOWN on yon dripping rock, where, from 

 the perpetual spray flung by the ever- 

 roaring waterfall above, an eternal moisture 

 reigns ; where the arid winds of winter and 

 the dry scorching heat of summer can never 

 change the prevading dampness, which continues 

 with unceasing persistence, grows the Bristle 

 Fern ! An eternal moisture is the vital principle 

 of its existence. Not its roots merely, but 

 crown, stem, and frond must be surrounded con- 

 tinuously, unceasingly, by moist vapours. Unlike 

 the hardy ferns, which will look fresh and green 

 in the sunshine or when exposed to the play of the 

 dry summer breezes, if their roots can drink in some 

 moisture from wall, rock, or hedge-bank, the Bristle 



