THE FERN PARADISE. 



aspect as in one particular fir copse in the imme- 

 diate neighbourhood of Newton Abbott. The 

 whole length of the fir plantation, as far as the 

 eye could reach in every direction, was covered 

 with golden-green Bracken. The graceful sym- 

 metry of the scene was really charming. No tall 

 grass, no plants, or shrubs of any kind were inter- 

 mingled with the sea of feathery Brakes which, 

 waving in the wind, conveyed to the mind a 

 weirdly graceful idea of fairy -land. 



The Bracken is, indeed, the free wild Fern 

 of the forest ; possessing pre-eminently a tender 

 and romantic grace. It is the Fern of the forest, 

 as distinguished from the Fern of the wood, grove, 

 or copse. Transplanted, it will retain all its de- 

 lightful characteristics in the Fern garden. "We 

 have read in some Fern books that the Bracken 

 cannot be cultivated at all in gardens and rock- 

 eries ; in others that its cultivation is extremely 

 difficult. But both statements are erroneous ; and 

 the mistake has probably arisen in this way. 

 Great care is necessary in taking up the Bracken 

 from its wild habitats, in order to secure a proper 

 quantity of rhizoma and of root ; and without this 



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