f 



PtctkcJJUu.nv 



\ 



\ 



Present-day Pteridophijtea do not represent the highest stage 

 reached when they were a dominant race. The geologic record 

 tells us of flower and seed-bearing examples, which have since 

 disappeared. The less specialized forms, as one would perhaps 

 expect, have continued their existence to the present geologic age. 



During the winter the future leaves are white and fleshy, beneath 

 the soil, waiting to develop in the spring. In this stage they are 

 said to form a good substitute for asparagus. Towards the end of 

 April, sometimes rather earlier, the new Bracken leaves begin to 

 appear above the ground in the form of green croziers. In warm 

 May weather they develop rapidly, and at times one almost expects, 

 while watching, to see them lengthening and unfurling, for under 

 the best conditions they may increase an inch in 24 hours. (PI. 1.) 



Even then it is June before they are seen in their full grandeur. 

 They display their bright greenery during July and August, but in 

 September they begin to take on golden or ruddy hues, and so add 

 their quota to the glorious tints of the autumnal country-side. 



