£be jferns of tbe TKIloob. 187 



another. Some of them are round, some kidney- 

 shaped, some oblong. In some the covering which 

 protects them is caught down in the centre, and opens 

 at the edges ; in others it is caught at one edge and 

 opens along the other ; in others it is attached under- 

 neath and opens at the top. In the dicksonia the 

 covering is a corner of the leaf turned back upon the 

 seed-dot. In the common brake the whole edge of 

 the leaf is folded over, like a hem on a piece of cloth. 

 A few ferns, like the sensitive-fern and the royal, de- 

 vote special fronds to the task of producing the spores 

 and are easily made out when the time comes for them 

 to ripen. But the point is that the fern student has, 

 first of all, to examine those little excrescences on the 

 under side of the leaf, which so many imagine are 

 some foreign and hurtful growth upon the plant ; and 

 it will not be so very long before he will be able to 

 make out the differences very handily, and name his 

 specimen with accuracy. 



Of course this is not the only means of identifica- 

 tion. The root-stock is important, and so is the frond, 

 with its divisions and subdivisions. The veins of the 

 leaves play a conspicuous part, and very soon become 

 almost the only feature required to distinguish the in- 

 dividual. When that time comes to the student every 

 wood-walk and every stroll along the highway be- 

 comes a social meeting. For everywhere one encoun- 

 ters his acquaintances and friends, and they seem to 

 nod recognition as he passes and to beckon friendly 

 greeting. 



