THE WOODSIAS. 
HE fern collector who lives ina 
region abounding in shaded 
yin ledges of limestone may count 
himself fortunate, since it is in 
such places that the families 
of rock-loving ferns attain their 
best development. Rocks of 
any kind, however, unless per- 
fectly dry and exposed to the 
full sunshine, have strong at- 
tractions for ferns and even the 
sunny cliffs are not always un- 
tenanted, so that all are worth 
searching. Explorations of this 
kind are among the most pleasant phases of botanizing. 
There is such an attractive element of chance in it. It 
is possible that we may find only common species, but it 
is also possible that the next turn in the cliffs or a 
climb toa higher ledge may bring to our hand some 
rare and graceful denizen of the rocks for which we 
have long been looking. 
The Rusty Woodsia. 
An interesting little member of one of these rock- 
loving families is the rusty woodsia (Woodsia Ilvensis). 
In its chosen haunts it has few companions and no com- 
