THE FERN PARADISE. 



The leaflets arranged in alternation on each side 

 of the rachis longest in the middle of the rachis t 

 shorter at the base, and shortest at the top are 

 narrow and tapering, and are symmetrically 

 divided into oblong blunt-pointed lobes ; some of 

 them the largest ones, and those nearest the 

 rachis in the lower part of the frond being quite 

 separate from each other, that is to say, divided 

 quite down to the mid-stem of the leaflets ; the 

 others being attached to those next to them by a 

 leafy wing, and those nearest the tips of the 

 leaflets being almost merged into each other. The 

 lobes are broadest at the base, with rounded blunt 

 points. There is a smooth, shiny, rigid, leathery 

 appearance about the upper surface of the lobes, 

 the backs of which have a duller, rougher surface. 

 The spores are produced on the backs of the 

 leaflets, usually in the upper portion of the frond ; 

 and each leaflet is thickly studded with the little 

 kidney-shaped clusters of the cases which contain 

 them. In the early summer, and until each frond 

 has reached its full development, the scale cover- 

 ings of these clusters are green ; but they soon 

 turn to a rich dark reddish-brown colour, and 



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