398 WAYSIDE Weeds, 



tie commonest of all, fringing the hill-sides and 

 wood-sideSj and wideT^margiaed country lanes, with 

 its tall growthji the stipe or ptem supporting the 

 three-divisioned and much-cut fronds well above 

 the earth, and the entire plant reaching a height 

 of three, four, or more feet. The son are what are 

 called ''marginal/' and are as it were covered 

 by the edges of the frond turned over them. 

 Lastly, on some bank you will come upon the 

 common polypody (Fig. HI), certainly one of the 

 plainest of its family, but a very characteristic fern, 

 with its boldly marked and bright yellow sori (Fig, 

 112), presenting their spore cases without either 

 the involucres of the male fern or the marginal 

 foldings of the bracken. 



Of course, according to situation, you will get 

 other ferns besides these — ^it may be some one of 

 the aspleniums or spleenworts (Fig. 114) j but those 

 already mentioned wiU puffice for our purpose, more 

 especially as we would have you add a moonwort (Fig, 

 116), a horse-tail or two (Fig. 115), and anadder's- 

 tongue if you can, from the damp meadow. Queer 

 names these two last,, but they are all of them near 

 relatives of our fern friends, and our bundle would 

 be incomplete without them, and indeed is scarcely 

 complete now without a club moss or two ; but as 

 these do not quite come under the category of 

 " Wayside Weeds," we may venture to omit them. 



And P.OW let us survey our collection, and gather^ 



