ASPIDIUM CraSTATUM. CRESTED SIIIELD-FERN. I 63 



covery of this single plant in its mossy seat, in this pretty autumn 

 day, reminded one so much of the solitary Indian in Whittier's 

 legendary story of the " Fountain," that it will not be out of place 

 to quote the lines here : 



" With the oak its shadow throwing 



O'er his mossy seat, 

 And the cool, sweet waters flowing 



Softly at his feet. 

 Closely by the fountain's rim 

 That lone Indian seated him. 



"Autumn's earliest frost had given 



To the woods below 

 Hues of beauty, such as heaven 



Lendeth to its bow; 

 And the soft breeze from the west 

 Scarcely broke their dreamy rest." 



As in the case with many an Indian, however, the loneliness was 

 more apparent than real, for on another occasion, and not very far 

 away, we found others, but always in low and somewhat inacces- 

 sible swamps, partially shaded by trees ; and from the reports of 

 various authors it is in just such situations that those who would 

 seek may find. The fronds in the strongest cases under obser- 

 vation were about two feet high. The specimens illustrated 

 are about the fair average, except that the stipe is about 

 one-third the length of the foliaceous portion, which in our 

 illustration had to be shortened to suit the size of the plate. The 

 fruit dots appear on the upper portions of the strongest fronds, 

 and it is remarkable that these fertile portions die first; the 

 barren portions remain green until early winter, and the smaller 

 of the barren ones continuing green till the new ones push in 

 spring. 



The species varies much in different locations, but chiefly in 

 the lobing of the pinnules. In all the specimens from Pennsylva- 

 nia and Delaware the author has examined, the lowest and barren 

 pinnules are the only ones that are pinnatifid, the upper ones 

 being simply crenate. In these cases the fruit dots are arranged 

 so as to have one to each litde division, and about midway 



