forget the persistency of a dear old 

 farmer on that point. We had heard 

 that the beautiful Wood Fern, Aspidum 

 goldieamim had been found on a moun- 

 tain some twelve or fifteen miles dis- 

 tant, and of course we could not rest 

 until we had explored that mountain. 

 After a beautiful drive we stopped, at 

 the very foot of the mountain, at a 

 farm-house, and asked for permission to 

 put our horse in the barn, while we 

 explored the mountain. The good 

 people of the farm were very hospitable 

 and asked us what we were looking 

 for. Upon our description of the largest 

 New England fern, we were assured 

 that quantities of "them brakes" grew 

 just across the brook. Taking a shovel, 

 the farmer immediately started to get us 

 all we wished, but he soon returned with 

 the common Cinnamon Fern. As we 

 labored to explain the difference he in- 

 terrupted with, ''Oh, yes! I know, you 

 mean hog brakes, the pasture is full of 

 them," but they proved to be the Eagle 

 Fern, Pleris aquilina,. On the moun- 

 tain we found the Broad Beech, 

 Phegopteris hexagonoptera, the dear 

 little Trichomanes, Asplenium trichom- 

 anes, and Aspleniiis eheneum, two of 

 our daintiest ferns, growing on rocks, 

 especially in the crevices. We also found 

 the Walking Fern, Camptosoi%ts rhizo-, 

 phylliis, just covering a large rock. 

 We thought that a red-letter day in our 

 fern hunting. The Woodsias, too, were 

 there, both Woodsia obtusa and Wood- 

 sia ilvensis. All of these were new 

 finds for us, and upon our return to the 

 farm-house with our baskets filled, we 

 displayed them to our hospitable friend 

 only to hear him say, "O, yes, they are 

 all brakes. I have found those brakes 

 growing in our well." All of our knowl- 

 edge of the long scientific names had 

 not the least effect on that man. I 

 doubt not that to this day he, with his 

 good wife, wonder why we took a ride 

 of twenty-five miles in order to obtain 

 a basket of "brakes." 



I went down to a point on our river 

 bank with a party of little people to find 

 the Ostrich Fern, Onoclca struthiop- 

 teris, and they led me to a little swampy 

 place where they grew to a height of 

 over three feet. The long plumer were 



magnificent and the children played 

 hide and seek among them. Never had 

 I found such luxuriant growth of our 

 ferns. The sensitive fern, Onoelea sen- 

 sihilis, while abundant in many locali- 

 ties, reaches its greatest growth in 

 damp, shaded places. 



A walk of six miles to a mountain 

 lake gave us a grand chance to see the 

 several species of Wood Ferns, belong- 

 ing to the genus Aspidium. We also 

 saw beautiful communities of the Poly- 

 pody, Poly podium vidgare, as they cov- 

 ered immense rocks with their bright 

 green fronds which bore large, round, 

 white spore cases on their backs. There 

 were large patches of the Beech Fern, 

 Phegopteris polypodioides, and we 

 found the dainty little Oak fern, Phe- 

 gopteris dryopteris. I wonder that I 

 had never noticed these beautiful ferns 

 until I began to study them. On this 

 walk we passed many knolls just 

 covered with the Hay-scented Fern, 

 Dicksonia pilosiuscula, and the Lady 

 Fern, Aspenium Ulix-foemina. 



I can never quite forget the shout 

 that was heard when we found our first 

 Adder's-tongue, Ophioglossum vulga- 

 tum, in the sphagnum swamp, sur- 

 rounded by the blue-fringed gentians. 

 We found the dainty Maidenhair, Adian- 

 tum pedatt'im, on most of our walks, and 

 it was always beautiful. We had thought 

 the Climbing Fern, Lygodimn palma^ 

 turn, was not to be found in New Hamp- 

 shire, and unless one is a lover of ferns, 

 he can never realize our delight as we 

 found and gathered our hands full of 

 the dainty plant, which is one of our 

 most exquisite ferns. We brought 

 home roots of all our ferns and planted 

 them about our homes or in pots. But, 

 removed from their original haunts, 

 they lose a great share of their beauty. 



Should I never again see the ferns 

 of New England, I cannot forget the 

 grand and beautiful views that memory 

 holds of the ferns in their haunts, and 

 my summer with the ferns will be a 

 bright spot that I will never tire recall- 

 ing. I had often been told that ferns 

 were a difficult study, but I found them 

 delightful, and now as I meet them, they 

 all seem like old acquaintances. 



Rest H. Metcalf. 



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