12 FERNS IN THEIR HOMES AND OURS. 



necessary to imagine that the crown, instead of 

 being turned to an erect position, still remains 

 upon its side, and that the fronds only become 

 erect as they develop. We shall then have a 

 plant of the character of Asplenmm filix-foemina^ 

 or Woodwardia Virginica ; and, to connect these 

 ferns with the extreme form of the Ptcris, it will 

 be only necessary to suppose the loose crown of 

 the Woodwardia so elongated that only one frond 

 will be found to every inch of stem, and the 

 terminal point of growth to keep at a given dis- 

 tance below the surface of the ground. The 

 importance of observation and the possession of 

 knowledge upon these subjects is very great ; as 

 will be found when ferns are to be collected in 

 the woods or fields for transplanting, or specimens 

 are to be chosen from the greenhouse for the 

 fernery, or especially when the species for basket 

 culture are to be selected. 



The leaves or fronds of ferns vary greatly in 

 texture and cutting. Familiarity with their tex- 

 ture will greatly aid the cultivator in determining 

 the situation in which a new-comer must be placed 

 when its proper natural surroundings are not al- 

 ready known. If a bit of the under cuticle of a 

 frond be examined by the microscope with a 

 power of fifty to one hundred diameters, the stoma- 

 ta or breathing-pores will be seen. They are the 

 same as upon the leaves of flowering plants, and 



