FERNS 



OF THE ENGLISH LAKE COUNTRY. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 



IN the broad primary division of the great Vegetable 

 Kingdom into FLOWERING and FLOWEELESS Plants 

 FERNS are placed at the head of the second class. 

 Possessing a distinct stem and leaves (the latter usually 

 named fronds, to distinguish them from the leaves of 

 other plants) , they are without flowers, ordinarily so 

 called, and consequently cannot produce seeds in the 

 ordinary flower-manner. They have also a special 

 structure: for while the Flowering Plants are either 

 EXOGENS plants whose stems consist of pith, wood, 

 and bark, growing in concentric circles, and whose 

 leaves have veins branching like net-work, or ENDO- 

 plants without distinction of pith or bark, 



