lOO WOODWARDIA VIRGINICA. COMMON CHAIN-FERN. 



and other moisture-loving- things. In such situations, the fronds 

 are often two or three feet in length ; and, only that it does not 

 make as dense a growth, gives the groups of vegetadon much 

 such a character as does the common brake of Europe. It 

 seems to have been one of the earliest of American ferns to 

 become cultivated in English gardens, as there are accounts of 

 it being a favorite in 1724, and it is yet quite popular. A 

 writer in Shirley Hibberd's Gardener s Magazine, so recendy as 

 the volume for 1879, speaks of it as one of the noblest-looking 

 of ferns popular in English gardens, and recommends the giving 

 of it a place in the fern garden where its magnificent proportions 

 may be shown to the best advantage. Though naturally grow- 

 ing in wet places it thrives very well in any common garden 

 ground, if the earth be not exposed to the hot sun ; and when 

 our nadve ferns are as much appreciated in their own country 

 as they are in the old world, this will be one of the most popular 

 of all. 



Explanation of the Plate. — i. A rather small frond from Mr. W. F. Bassett, of Hammonton, 

 New Jersey. 2. Enlarged portion of a pinnule showing the venation and fruit. 



I 



