CHAPTER IV. 



SINGLE BEITISH FERNS. 

 PLATE 1. 



THE BEACKEN. 



Pteris aquilina. 

 PLATE 1, FIG. 1. 



F all our native Ferns, the Bracken, 

 or Brake, is the most plentiful, 

 and the most widely distributed. 

 It abounds almost everywhere ; and 

 hence, perhaps, the reason why it has been con- 

 sidered by some persons to be a common or vulgar- 

 looking plant. But it is emphatically a vulgar 

 taste which can thus judge of this beautiful Fern. 

 To our mind it is extremely graceful ; and its abun- 



229 



