FERNS, FENCES, AND WHITE BIRCHES 195 



the bayberry family and first cousin to sweet gale and 

 waxberry. 



The digging of this also is a process quite as elusive 

 as mining for brakes; but when once it sets foot in 

 your orchard, and it will enjoy the drier places, you 

 will have a liberal annex to your bed of sweet odours, 

 and it may worthily join lemon balm, mignonette, 

 southernwood, and lavender in the house, though in 

 the garden it would be rather too pushing a com- 

 panion. 



Next, both decorative and useful, comes the Silvery 

 Spleen wort, that is content with shade and good soil of 

 any sort, so long as it is not rank with manure. It has 

 a slender creeping root, but when it once takes hold, it 

 flourishes mightily and after a year or so will wave 

 silver-lined fronds three feet long proudly before you, a 

 rival of Osmunda ! 



A sister spleenwort is the beautiful Lady fern, whose 

 lacelike fronds have party-coloured stems, varying 

 from straw through pink and reddish to brown, giving 

 an unusual touch of life and warmth to one of the cool 

 green fern tribe. In autumn the entire leaf of this fern, 

 in dying, oftentimes takes these same hues ; it is decora- 

 tive when growing and useful to blend with cut flowers. 

 It naturally prefers woods, but will settle down comfort- 



