CHAPTER II 



STUDIES IN FERN LIFE 



Few of our native plants call forth such universal 

 admiration as the graceful members of the fern 

 tribe, and it is quite certain that it would be 

 impossible to find subjects which present a 

 more fascinating hfe history. Early observers 

 were much perplexed as to the manner in which 

 the reproduction of the fern was carried out. 

 In some way they connected the brown scaly 

 substance on the backs of the leaves with the in- 

 crease of the kind, but of seeds there was none 

 to be found, and the fern plants seemed to arise 

 spontaneously from the soil. Modern research 

 has dispelled most of the mysteries which 

 surround the story of the fern, and we may now 

 foUow the marvellous process by which the new 

 plant comes into the world from start to finish. 

 Yet, even though our knowledge on these 

 matters is now fairly complete, a description of 

 the process is much more than a mere recital 

 of facts. Right from the beginning, when the 



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