FERN HABITATS. 23 



be the district that may not result in the finding of some 

 ferns which may be none the less valued because they 

 are common. The rarity of a " find " does, however, un- 

 questionably give pleasure to the majority of fern-hunters. 

 And such brief outings as have been referred to are sure 

 to have great zest given to them by the possibility of 

 finding a " prize " as the result of a minute and careful 

 search in such places as those indicated in the im- 

 mediately succeeding pages. 



If, now, we can pictorially as well as verbally indicate 

 the places in which the fern-lover may expect to find 

 the object of his quest, we shall, we trust, impart a new 

 pleasure to a delightful pursuit. 



First, then, let us take the ever-abundant and delightful 

 Bracken (Pteris aquilina) (page 22), which with feathery 

 grace and beauty drapes wide areas of common, moor, 

 and forest, fringing paths for miles in open glade and shady 

 woodland path, as hardy and luxuriant as it is beautiful. 

 It loves the sun as no fern does, and even in sunlit forest 

 glades will sometimes rise so high on either side as to 

 hide the tallest passer-by. It is by far the most abundant 

 of all its kind, and is the most familiar to those who know 

 least how to distinguish a fern from another plant. 



On page 24 is a little peep of the Doone Glen, ren- 

 dered immortal by Mr. Blackmore's fascinating story of 

 " Lorna Doone." Upon just such upland slopes as those 

 which rise from the stream that winds through this moor- 

 land, the Bracken would be found, and down by the water's 

 margin, in little stony but rich and moist nooks, one 

 might look with confidence for the delightfully-scented 

 golden green Mountain Buckler Fern (Lastrea montana). 

 In similar nooks along the stream-bank, often growing in 

 clumps with the Mountain Buckler Fern, would be also 

 found the Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant). Under 

 shelter of the trees, shown in the foreground of the 

 picture, yet coying down as near as possible to the moor- 

 land stream the Hartstongue (Scolopendrium vulgare} 



