leaves, such as the adder's tongue, he is inclined to look upon as 

 something else. Still, ferns are, as a rule, better classed by most 

 people than the lower Cryptogams — mosses, algae, lichens and 

 fungi. 



Before turning to the Bracken itself we will look at a rough and 

 ready table of the classes of the Vegetable Kingdom in order to find 

 the fern's position amongst plants: — ■ 



Vegetable Kingdom. 

 A. Cryptogams. 1. Cellular, a. Thallopbytes. 



,, „ h. Bi-yophytes. 



2. Vascular, c. Pteridophytes. 



B. Phanerogams. 



d. Gymnosperms. 



e. Angiosperms. 



i. Algffi. 

 ii. Fungi, 

 iii. Lichens, 

 iv. Liverworts. 

 V. Bog-mosses, 

 vi. Mosses, 

 vii. Ferns. 

 viii. Equisetums. 

 ix. Club-mosses. 

 X. Selaginellas. 

 xi. Pines, etc. 

 xii. Dicotyledons, 

 xiii. Monocotyledons 



In the following table the Pteridophytes are displayed a little 

 more fally : — 



Pteridophytes. 



j' Ferns . . 



Spores of one ' Hoi-setails, or ) 



I Equisetums. ) 



[ Club-mosses ., 



,, J i. ( Pillworts, etc. 



Spores of two ^ i • n t 



^.•,„A„ 1 Selagmellas, and 



Quillworts. 



kind. 



kinds. 



38 Brit, species 



5 „ 

 1 ,, 



There are two points about most ferns which help to distinguish 

 them from other plants in a general kind of way; — (i.) the crozier- 

 like vernation of the young leaf, and (ii.) the bunches of spore- 

 cases, usually on the under surface of the leaves. Both are easily 

 observed in the Bracken, which is therefore a very fair type of the 38 

 species of Ferns to be found in Great Britain. As, however, these 

 species are distributed among 17 genera, we have considerable 

 variety in our native forms. This variety makes the British ferns 

 an interesting set. 



Pterifi aqiiilina — the Bracken — is undoubtedly far the commonest 

 of our ferns, being not very fastidious as regards soil, so long as it 

 is not chalk. It does well in the poor sandy or gravelly soils of 

 Surrey and Hants ; and certain towns, such as Farnbam, appear to 

 have derived their name from its abundance in the district ; for 

 there is no doubt that the Anglo-Saxon word, /earn, refers to this 

 species. The word Bracken (A.S. bracce, pi. hraccan) itself — also of 

 Anglo-Saxon origin — means "fern," the reference being to the 

 rough, " broken," ground on which it often grows. Pterh {irTepov, 



