168 THE FERN PARADISE. 



Fern shrivels up, through its exquisite sensitive- 

 ness, before the slightest drought. Nursed in the 

 atmosphere of the waterfall, in that atmosphere 

 must it live and develop. 



Rare indeed amongst British ferns is Tricho- 

 manes radicans. Not England or Wales or 

 Scotland can produce it. But it seems to have 

 made a home for itself in the south of Ireland. 

 There, in many localities, by river- falls, on drip- 

 ping rocks on the lake borders, in ravines 

 and glens, it is to be found: but only where 

 unceasing dampness, caused by dripping water, 

 exists. On the wet surface of the rock or wall 

 which it has chosen for its habitat it spreads 

 its thread-like, matted roots like a film. Some- 

 times it grows amongst the moss and earth 

 which may have collected on the rocks. It 

 has a creeping rhizome, from which grow its 

 fibrous roots, that cling to the damp rocks 

 or expand in the moist crevices between 

 them. The rhizome is encompassed with hairs 

 or bristle-like scales. The stem of the frond 

 is usually about half the length of its leafy 



