IO FERNS OF KENTUCKY. 
geological formations, especially the coal measures. Here, 
on our mantel-shelf, is a beautiful specimen of fossil fern, 
with all the characters distinctly marked. It is just as 
perfect as the living plant. What a history this specimen 
reveals to us, carrying us back through the dim, primeval 
ages to the very dawn of life upon the globe! * 
From a strictly utilitarian point of view, very little use 
has been made of ferns, the root of the Male Fern alone 
furnishing the materia medica with a drug of some value. 
The true lover of ferns is not troubled with this lack of 
utility. ‘The woods and glens and mountains are replete 
with objects of interest, whether seen with the eye of a 
botanist or of an amateur. He finds treasure-trove in every 
patch of ferns. Every plant, whether dried for household 
decoration, or simply named and classified, will recall the 
quiet loveliness of nature whenever the mind is vexed 
with worldly care. The window, with its store of living 
plants, the parlor wall, ornamented with vines, the fern- 
album, filled with carefully prepared specimens, all serve 
to tell the story of their discovery. The Climbing Fern is 
there, reminding him of the long tramp among the hills; 
the little Bladder Fern, recalling the visit to the woodland 
spring, where it was gathered from the crevices of the 
dripping rocks, and where, from the overhanging ledge, 
he attempted to trace the trailing root of the Polypody, 
or watched the Lady Fern unfolding its scroll of deli- 
cate tissues. 
* Prof. Leo Lesquereux has recently described and figured twenty 
fossil ferns belonging to the Tertiary Flora of the United States. 
(See Hayden’s Geological Survey of the Territories, vol. vii. 1878.) 
