INTRODUCTION 



THE FROND 



It seems fitting that so many of the flowerless 

 plants should so fully compensate for the absence 

 of flowers by the beauty of their foliage. Cer- 

 tainly no class of plants is more graceful or more 

 beautiful in form than the ferns; yet, although 

 they are universally admired, they are, unfortu- 

 nately, little known. Their unobtrusive habits and 

 their obscure methods of reproduction lend an air 

 of mystery to these plants which, in the olden time, 

 gave rise to numerous absurd notions and tradi- 

 tions. But the days of superstition are passed, and 

 if one would become familiar with the ferns he 

 should first learn the meaning of certain structures, 

 and though their life histories may be somewhat 

 complicated, he can, at least, form a general idea 

 of the development of a fern. 



Fig 1.— Prothallia and Young Fronds. 

 XV 



