THE cultivation of Ferns is becoming a fashionable 

 pursuit. It is no longer confined to the botanist 

 and horticulturist ; almost every one possessing good 

 taste has made, more or less successfully, an attempt 

 to rear this tribe of plants. Ferns constitute so 

 beautiful a portion of the creation, whether they 

 ornament our ruins with their light and graceful 

 foliage, wave their bright tresses from our weather- 

 beaten rocks, or clothe with evergreen verdure our 

 forests and our hedgerows, that it seems next to 

 impossible to behold them without experiencing 

 emotions of pleasure. Years before Ferns had be- 

 come to me as friends with familiar faces, I could 

 not pass them without turning to feast my eyes on 

 what I thought their excessive loveliness. It cannot 

 then excite much wonder, although I regret to say 

 it has incurred some blame, that I should turn aside 



