THE WOODSIAS. 



HE fern collector who lives in a 

 region abounding in shaded 

 ledges of limestone may count 

 himself fortunate, since it is in 

 such places that the families 

 of rock-loving ferns attain their 

 best development. Rocks of 

 any kind, however, unless per- 

 fectly dry and exposed to the 

 full sunshine, have strong at- 

 tractions for ferns and even the 

 sunny cliffs are not always un- 

 tenanted, so that all are worth 

 searching. Explorations of this 



kind are among the most pleasant phases of botanizing. 

 There is such an attractive element of chance jn it. It 

 is possible that we may find only common species, but it 

 is also possible that the next turn in the cliffs or a 

 climb to a higher ledge may bring to our hand some 

 rare and graceful denizen of the rocks for which we 

 have long been looking. 



The Rusty Woodsia. 



An interesting little member of one of these rock- 

 loving families is the rusty woodsia (Woodsia Ilvensis). 

 In its chosen haunts it has few companions and no com- 



