INTRODUCTION 



jHOREAU teUs us, "Nature made a fern for pure 

 leaves." Fern leaves are in the highest order 

 of cryptogams. Like those of flowering plants 

 they are reinforced hy woody fibres running 

 through their stems, keeping them erect while 

 permitting graceful cur\'es. Their exquisite sym- 

 metry of form, their frequent finely cut borders, and their 

 rich shades of green combine to make them objects of rare 

 beauty; while their unique vernation and n;ethod offruit- 

 ing along with their wonderful mystery of reproduction 

 invest them with marked scientific interest affording 

 stimulus and culture to the thoughtful mind. By pecu- 

 liar enchantments these charming plants allure the ardent 

 Nature-lover to ob.serve their haunts and habits. 



"Oh, then most graccfiilly tliey wave 

 111 tilt' forest, like a sea. 

 And dear as they are l)eautifvil 

 Are these fern leaves to me." 



As a rule the larger and coar.ser ferns grow in. moist, 

 shady situations, as swamps, ravines, and damp woods; 

 while the smaller ones are more apt to be found along 

 mountain ranges in some dry and even exposed locality. 

 A tiny crevice in some high cliff is not infrequently chosen 

 by these fascinating little plants, which protect themselves 

 from drought by assuming a mantle of light wool, or of 

 hair and chaff, with, perhaps, a covering of white powder 



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