120 THE MARSH FERN TRIBE. 
fern belongsto another family. In the Isle of Wight, ac- 
cording to Britten, it is called ground fern, while an- 
other English writer alludes to it as the creeping water 
fern. In some parts of America it is called the beaver 
meadow fern probably from its abundance in the wet 
Open. savannas 
known as beaver 
meadows. The 
name of snuff- 
THE SNUFF-BOX. box fern will no 
doubt be thought particularly appropriate by all who 
examine fully matured fertile fronds. The pinnules 
curl over the abundant sporangia in such a way as to 
appear very much like tiny half-open snuff boxes.  Per- 
haps quill fern is also in allusion to the revolute pinnules. 
The marsh fern is found from Canada to North Caro- 
lina, the Indian territory and Kansas and occurs also in 
Europe and Asia. It thrives well in the fern garden 
but can scarcely be said to be a beautiful species and is 
therefore little cultivated except upon the borders of 
small lakes and ponds. 
The New York Fern. 
Just as the marsh fern loves wet situations, the New 
York fern (Aspidium Noveboracense) loves dry ones. 
It is not meant that either is strictly confined to its 
favourite domain, but that their habitats seldom overlap 
to any great extent. In dry, shady woodlands, this is an 
abundant—possibly the most abundant—species. It par- 
ticularly loves the shade of oak, birch, maple and beech 
but avoids direct sunlight and seldom remains long after 
the sheltering trees are removed. 
