The Fern Tribe. 311 



they are cut with the most exquisite regularity. But the Tree- 

 Ferns of the tropics are said to be most superb objects, com- 

 bining the grace and agreeable color of their European kindred, 

 with the majestic aspect of the Palms. 



It is usual to call the leaves of Ferns by the name of frond, 

 a3 if their leaves were not analogous to those of other plants. 

 But I see no use in continuing this old fashioned word, which 

 was coined at a time when the leaf of a fern was thought to be 

 a sort of compound between a branch and a leaf. It is much 

 better, on every account, to call it by the name that the same 

 part bears in other plants. 



For the purpose of studying the organization of Ferns, I re- 

 commend you to take a leaf of Hart's-tongue, (Scolopendrium 

 officinarum,) a plant which is common on most damp and 

 shaded banks, and within old open wells, the mouths of which 

 are almost choked up by it.* All that you will find of the pl.-int, 

 is a brown scaly rootstock, from which grow a number of 

 handsome lance-shaped leaves of a deep green color, placed 

 upon a shining ebony-black stalk. If the leaves are newly 

 formed, you will, by holding them up against the light, readily 

 see their veins, which are dissimilar to those of all other plants. 

 They neither resemble Monocotyledons, nor Dicotyledons ; are 

 neither netted nor parallel, but have simply a forked structure. 

 You will remark that although now and then, one vein may be 

 found running straight from the mid-rib nearly up to the mar- 

 gin, without dividing, yet that the principal part fork very soon 

 after the vein has left the mid-rib, and that sometimes one of 

 the branches forks again. This kind of vein is peculiar to 

 Ferns, and will enable you at all times to recognise them, 

 whether their reproductive parts are present or not. 



After the leaf has been growing some little time, you may 



* This plant, though a native of some parts of the northern States, and 

 known as caterpillar ftrn, may not be familiar to the American student 

 In that case, one of the genus Asplenium, often called Spleen-wort or walking 

 leaf, may be substituted fur examination. The only important difference 

 between the structure of these ferns and the Hart's-tougue is, that in tht- for- 

 mer the sori lie across the veins of the leaf, while in the latter they are 

 parallel, and often attached to them. 



