GROUP IV FERTILE AND STERILE FRONDS LEAF-LIKE AND SIMILAR , 

 SPORANGIA ON OR BENEATH A REFLEXED MARGIN 



from the stigma of conceit, far from it, but from 

 that of error. The glib utterance of Latin names 

 is attended with a strange power of silencing your 

 opponent and filling him with a sort of grudging 

 belief in your scientific attainments. 



The truth is that the average layman who takes 

 an interest in plants is as sensitive regarding the 

 Maidenhair as he is about his recognition of an 

 orchid. By way of warning what more need be 

 said ? 



Though the Maidenhair has a wide range and 

 grows abundantly in many localities, it possesses a 

 quality of aloofness which adds to its charm. Even 

 in neighborhoods where it grows profusely, it rarely 

 crowds to the roadside or becomes the companion 

 of your daily walks. Its chosen haunts are dim, 

 moist hollows in the woods or shaded hill-sides 

 sloping to the river. In such retreats you find the 

 feathery fronds tremulous on their black, glistening 

 stalks, and in their neighborhood you find also the 

 very spirit of the woods. 



Despite its apparent fragility, the Maidenhair is 

 not difficult to cultivate if provided with sufficient 

 shade and moisture. 



Ill 



