THE miN PARADISE. 



of four or five feet under favourable circum- 

 stances. In the Soft as well as the Hard 

 Prickly Shield Fern, the branches of the frond 

 are alternately placed along the rachis. The 

 leaflets, too, are cut and stalked very much in the 

 same manner in both Ferns, and, in both, are of a 

 wing-shaped form. In both, also, the branches of 

 the frond are narrow and taper to a point. 



But now for the distinctions we have noted. In 

 a finely grown specimen of Angular e, the character 

 which gives appropriateness to the designation of 

 this Fern is immediately recognized, The hard, 

 rigid appearance of Aculeatum is absent. Angu- 

 lar e is, in fact, much less stiff in. its mode of 

 growth, and looks much more graceful and droop- 

 ing. Its stipes is more densely covered with rust- 

 coloured scales than is the case with Aculeatum, 

 and these rust-coloured scales are scattered, also, 

 over the whole of the back of the frond, being 

 very prominently displayed on the rachis, and on 

 the midribs of the branches. There is conse- 

 quently, a rich reddish tinge on the backs of the 

 fronds, and, indeed, in a great measure on both 

 sides of the fronds of Angular e. The green 



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