6i 



IV. 



ANTLER AND FERN. 



The green stem of the brake fern as it rises 

 unrolls at the top, and when these coils 

 appear in the spring the stag's new horns 

 begin to grow. Fern and antler start 

 together ; the fern is easily found, for it is 

 soon taller than the thin grass, but the stag 

 conceals himself in the cover, and it is not 

 easy to know to what stage he has arrived. 

 But his new antlers grow with the fern, 

 and as that reaches a good height so his 

 horns begin to overtop his ears. Brake is 

 later on the moors than in the warm 

 southern counties ; for although Exmoor is 

 in the same latitude, it is so exposed that 

 grass and flower are behind the time usual 

 elsewhere. Brake, however, grows rapidly 



