Ferns of the Moors and Mountains 



its ashes. For this reason old-time glass and soap- 

 makers found it suitable for their purposes. And 

 to-day farmers and cottars still harvest it to provide 

 bedding for their cattle. Fish, fruit, and flower dealers 

 also find that it makes an excellent packing material. 

 Gamekeepers, too, encourage its dense growth, as its 

 wide-spreading foliage makes good cover for game. 

 But we who esteem it most because of its beautifying 

 effect on our hillsides and moors may rejoice to know 

 that we have in the Bracken one fern which is in no 

 danger of being exterminated. 



The scientific name of the Bracken is Pteris aquilina. 

 Pteris is Greek for "fern," and aquilina is formed 

 from the Latin word for " an eagle" viz., aquila. 



If the leafstalk be cut across, the section of the 

 woody vessels thus disclosed is said to resemble an 

 eagle with outstretched wings. This fancied resem- 

 blance much more fancied than real is responsible 

 for the application to the Bracken of the specific name, 

 aquilina. 



As we proceed higher up the mountain-side, we are 

 delighted to discover the Parsley Fern growing amid 

 the loose stones, or peeping from the crevices of a dry- 

 stone dyke. At a first glance we are quite ready to 

 admit the appropriateness of the popular name, for the 

 light green leafy fronds are not unlike tufts of the 

 cultivated parsley of our gardens. 



Its rootstock is scaly and closely beset with the bases 

 of former fronds, the fronds which are of two kinds, 

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