FEENS OP GREAT BRITAIN. 157 



catldn blunt. This pretty species differs so much from 

 our other Horse-tails, that it is readily distinguished 

 even at a glance. Its pale green fronds remind one of 

 a miniature Indian palm, and it is by far the most 

 elegant and graceful of our native species. In wet 

 shady places in the north of this kingdom the plant is 

 not unfrequent, and it must be described rather as local 

 than rare in this country. In Germany and Holland it 

 is very common ; it grows, too, in Prussia and Switzer- 

 land, as well as in North America and Northern Asia. 

 It is found at a greater altitude than any other species, 

 though it never reaches higher than from 1,800 to 2,400 

 feet. It is plentiful in the Highlands of Scotland, and 

 in the north of Ireland, and also in several parts of 

 Yorkshire, and other northern counties; and is found 

 occasionally in some southern localities, as on Apse 

 Heath, Isle of Wight, and occasionally in Kent, Sussex, 

 Devonshire, and other counties. Mr. Newman mentions 

 that it grows in the Hampstead and Highgate woods, 

 and says that it is remarkable that it was seen there as 

 long since as the time of Lobel. He adds, " In Scot- 

 land I observed it growing with peculiar luxuriance in 

 the vicinity of Loch Tyne, in a little fir-wood on a 

 hill-side. The fructification had entirely disappeared, 

 and each stem had attained its full development, and 

 every pendulous branch its full length and elegance. 

 Altogether I could have fancied it a magic scene, 

 created by the fairies for their especial use and pleasure. 

 It was a forest in miniature, and a forest of surpassing 

 beauty. It is impossible to give an idea of such a scene 

 either by language or illustration." 



