WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND FERNS 



they are long, are conspicuous on account of the 

 unusual size of the lowest pair of pinnas. 



A common plant in the rich August woods is the 

 Virginia Grape Fern, with its spreading leaf and 

 branching fruit-cluster. The rather coarsely cut 

 fronds of the Silvery Spleenwort are also frequently 

 met with in the same neighborhood. Occasionally 

 in their companionship we find the delicate and 

 attractive Narrow-leaved Spleenwort. 



August is the month that should be chosen for ex- 

 peditions in search of some of our rarest ferns. In 

 certain wild ravines of Central New York, at the 

 foot of shaded limestone cliffs, the glossy leaves of 

 the Hart's Tongue are actually weighed down by 

 the brown, velvety rows of sporangia which emboss 

 their lower surfaces. Over the rocks near-by, the 

 quaint, though less unusual. Walking Leaf runs riot. 

 Perhaps in the crevices of the overhanging cliff the 

 little Rue Spleenwort has secured a foothold for its 

 tiny fronds, their backs nearly covered with con- 

 fluent fruit-dots. 



On the mountain-ledges of Northern New Eng- 

 land we should look for the Green Spleenwort, and 

 for the Fragrant Shield Fern. Along rocky moun- 

 tain-streams Braun's Holly Fern may be found. In 

 wet woods, usually near the coast, the Net-veined 

 Chain Fern is occasionally conspicuous. 



More southern localities must be visited if we 

 wish to see in its home the Hairy Lip Fern, whose 

 most northern stations were on the Hudson River 

 (for I do not know if this plant can be found there at 



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