THE BUCKLER FERNS. 249 



is something exceedingly delicate and fragile, and 

 the colour is a most exquisite light shade of green. 

 We shall not easily forget our first adventure in 

 search of the Marsh Fern. We had arranged 

 to meet Charles Hillman, already alluded to, at 

 Newton Abbott, whence he was to pilot us to the 

 Decoy Bog, in the vicinity of that town. Unfor- 

 tunately when we arrived at the Newton Abbott 

 station the rain began to pour down. But we had 

 set our minds on Thelypteris, and, nothing daunted, 

 we started for the Decoy Bog. The bog lies under 

 a wood at the foot of a furze and Bracken-covered 

 slope. Arrived at the top of the slope we had to 

 wade through the tall and dripping Bracken breast 

 high, pushing the ferns aside with one hand, and 

 holding our umbrellas in the other. We soon 

 reached the bog, but there our difficulties had only 

 commenced. Interspersed throughout the extent 

 of the bog, which lay under the shadow of the 

 wood which covered it, were some moss-covered 

 mounds, chiefly occurring at the roots or over the 

 stumps of trees. It was necessary to step with the 

 utmost caution from moss-covered mound to moss- 



