100 AMERICAN FERN JOURNAL 
experience, but in my case, I have been saved from it by 
a habit of looking for unusual forms, a habit formed 
before I became chained so closely to business and now 
I feel spurred on to search for each season’s fresh prizes 
very closely. A great many members of the Fern Society _ 
would be happy to spend a half day with the hart’s 
tongues, but unless attention had been drawn to it, a 
would only see the normal forms, as I did myself fora _ 
long time. After having become familiar with its lim- _ 
ited range, there was but little to keep up one’s interest 
in it, aside from collecting specimens, piloting others, oF e 
occasionally taking a plant for potting. 
ut now, I never fail to visit every station and scrutin- 
ize every frond possible. How great the pleasure when oi 
one stumbles upon a new form, and they rarely are twice — 
alike! How excited one is to find fronds having three, 
four, and even up to eight tips! 
On a recent trip, the day was ideal. A forty-five 
minute trolley ride, then a tramp through daisies, butter 
cups, alfalfa, mouse-ear, hawkweed and strawberries. 
Giant Trilliums filled the woods, green and scarlet fungl 
fringed the woodland; wintergreens abounded and 
links, meadow larks, blue jays and catbirds with @ host 
of others were met with along the way. A spot where 
wild strawberries crowded out everything else stoppel 
me. It was fairly scarlet with ripe clusters and I hailed 
& couple of passing hunters to share the feast with mé 
Soon the Scolopendriums have been reached; the alt ®- 
damp and dank. Mosquitoes are there to weleome M& 
I fancied the first one I met hailed his fellows with “Heyy 
boys! Here he comes and it’s his last trip this year! 4° 
for him!” Perhaps my skin is tender. Perhaps they 
do not fear me on account of my size. Possibly they 
are simply hungry. Any way, they gave me every at 
tention while I remained. 
The first 20 plants inspected, yielded 6 forked oS 
Within a 50-foot circle, 23 forked fronds were fount: 
