FERTILE AND STERILE FRONDS LEAF-LIKE AND SIMILAR ; 

 spoRANGIA IN LINEAR OR OBLONG FRUIT - DOTS 



too, the scarcity of the plant in many localities, or, 

 indeed, its entire absence from certain parts of the 

 country, gives it a reputation for rarity which is one 

 of the most certain roads to fame. 



For many years I was unable to track it to any of 

 its haunts. During a summer spent in Rensselaer 

 County, N. Y., the Walking Leaf was the object of 

 various expeditions. I recall one drive of twenty- 

 five miles devoted to hunting up a rumored station. 

 At the end of the day, which 

 turned out cold and rainy, and 

 fruitless so far as its special ob- 

 ject was concerned, I felt in- 

 clined to believe that the plant 

 had justified its title and had 

 walked out of the neighborhood. 

 Yet, after all, no such expedi- 

 tion, even with wind and weather 

 against one, as in this case, is 

 really fruitless. The sharp watch 

 along the roadside, the many 

 little expeditions into inviting 

 pastures, up promising cliffs, over moss-grown bowld- 

 ers, down to the rocky border of the brook, are sure 

 to result in discoveries of value or in moments of 

 delight. A flower yet unnamed, a butterfly beautiful 

 as a gem, an unfamiliar bird-song traced to its source, 

 a new, suggestive outlook over the well-known val- 

 ley, and, later, "a sleep pleasant with all the influences 

 ot long hours in the open air " any or all of these 

 results may be ours, and go to make the day count. 



H7 



Portion of fertile frond 



