THE SPLEENWORTS. 



countering anything at all like our descriptions of 

 Ceterach. Presently, however, the boundary wall 

 was cast into deeper shadow by the high and 

 overlapping branches of the trees in the wood ; 

 and continuing our search along the inner side of 

 the wall, we at length found several fine plants of 

 the Scale Fern revelling in the old mortar and leaf- 

 mould, in a deep shady cleft formed by the pointed 

 coping-stones. There could be no mistaking the 

 strongly -marked characteristics of Ceterach the 

 thick, green velvety texture of the frond on one 

 side, and the dense carpeting of rich reddish- 

 brown scales on the under surface. 



The finest specimens of the beautiful Scale Fern 

 which we have ever encountered, we found on the 

 top of a very high wall which skirted another wood 

 in the neighbourhood of Totnes. The large stones 

 at the top of the wall had become loose with time, 

 and the perpetual droppings of leaves during many 

 years from the trees which overhung it, had accu- 

 mulated a rich deposit of leaf-mould between the 

 loosened stones. Immediately underneath the 

 crowning stones we found the largest specimens 

 of Cetemch, with fronds over seven inches long, 



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