26 THE OSMUNDAS. 
areas to itself, stretching away for long distances in 
level reaches of green. 
The young crosiers or “ fiddleheads”’ begin to peep up 
in plashy pastures before the grass has turned green and 
may be distinguished from all others by the dense coat 
of silvery white wool in which they are clad. As the 
weather warms and they expand into fronds, the woolly 
covering turns to a tawny hue and gradually falls away, 
although vestiges of it remain throughout the summer, 
scattered along the stipe and in little bunches at the 
base of each pinna. 
The fertile fronds are first to appear, but long before 
they have reached maturity the sterile have sprung up and 
overtopped them. It is rare for any fern to produce its 
fertile fronds first, and in the rapid development of the 
sterile fronds this species seems striving to be like the 
rest. An examination of the crown when the fronds are 
uncoiling shows that the fertile and sterile fronds are 
borne in separate circles and that the fertile belong to 
the outer circle although at maturity they are invariably 
surrounded by the sterile ones. The exchange is effected 
by a sharp bend outward at the base of the sterile frond’s 
stipe but is so little known that nearly every one believes 
the fertile fronds to belong to the inner circle. 
Only one crop of fronds is produced each year, un- 
less the first is injured or destroyed. The plant is not 
to be caught unprepared, however, for nestling at the 
crown of the rootstock are the buds for several years to 
come. This central portionin all the Osmundas is known 
as the “heart of Osmond.” Itis tender, crisp and edible, 
tasting somewhat like raw cabbage, and is easily obtained 
by pulling up the clump of half-developed fronds. The 
operation, of course, destroys the plant. 
