12 



THE UNCOILING FRONDS. 



tiful. There are many, especially in tropical countries, 

 that are coarse and ugly, but so far as our own are con- 

 cerned, the few plain species make very welcome foils for 

 the others. 



The fronds of a fern are essenti- 

 ally complete in the bud and their 

 development into those graceful 

 and delicate objects that wave in 

 the summer breeze is mainly a pro- 

 cess of unrolling and expanding. 

 In those species that produce their fronds 

 in whorls or circles there may be seen 

 within the circle of expanded fronds, sev- 

 ,. eral circles of buds, each successively 

 smaller toward the centre. These are 

 the fronds of coming years and strik- 

 ingly remind us how many morrows the 

 ,./ fern tribe is prepared for. Although 

 known as fronds, these organs are really 

 leaves and may be called leaves without 

 impropriety. They are, however, more 

 frequently called fronds, the expanded 

 leafy portion being known as the blade 

 and the stalk that supports it, the stipe. 

 The continuation of the stipe through 

 the blade, or beyond the beginning of 

 the leafy portion, is the rachis. Since 

 many species have no stipes, the use of 

 the word frond, to designate the blade 

 alone, is common. As regards the pro- 

 duction of fronds, our species may be 

 divided into two classes. In the one, 

 they are produced only in spring unless 



A CROSIER. 



