THE FERX PABADISE. 



hill and down dale, through five miles of ferny 

 lanes, until, arrived at the brow of a hill, we began 

 to descend to the lower ground along a narrow 

 road, shut in by high Fern-covered embankments, 

 which, with the trees which crowned their tops, 

 cast dark shadows on the narrow carriage-way. 

 We were close upon the habitat of the Fern we 

 were seeking ; but although carefully searching 

 the hedge-bank as we n eared the spot we could 

 not find a stray specimen. All at once, however, 

 our guide stopped, and pointing to the hedge- 

 bank on the right invited us to search. "We had 

 arrived within the charmed circle. The bank was 

 literally clothed with splendid specimens of Lastrea 

 recurva, their fronds revelling in the twilight of 

 the hedge, and their roots plunged into the rich 

 soft leaf-mould of the hedge. 



The inexperienced Fern-hunter is very likely to 

 mistake small plants of the Broad Buckler Fern 

 for the Hay-scented Fern. But although there 

 is a general resemblance between the two, there 

 are peculiarities about the latter which render 

 it easily recognizable. The general form of the 

 frond, the form of the branches, and the peculiar 



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