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streams and where the feet sink deep in Sphagnum 

 instead of leaf mould. Here W oodwardia angustifolia 

 luxuriates and is perhaps our most abundant species. 

 Its black running roots trail in and out of the Sphagnum, 

 under other roots and in every conceivable crevice. 

 Fronds of every size can be found from the smallest to 

 those broader than the hand. I have a few times found 

 specimens with large fronds distinctly twice pinnate. 

 When the black stipe holds erect the fertile frond it is 

 even more conspicuous. W oodwardia Virginica has the 

 same range though wandering further from the water, 

 perhaps, and is almost as plentiful. Osmunda cinnamo- 

 mea might more justly be given the palm for quantity, 

 for while not met with so generally, it often takes pos- 

 session of a broad area. Stretching out as far as the eye 

 can reach it grows tall and rank and is a noticable feature 

 of the landscape whether robed in varying shades of 

 green, in fruit or as fantastic fiddleheads. So level are 

 the pine flats, its favorite habitat, that it can be viewed 

 to better advantage there than elsewhere. The fronds 

 turn to a clear gold late in the season and can be seen 

 at a great distance. The cinnamon fern is called by the 

 Negroes " Ferrin," a corruption, perhaps, of fern. It is 

 universally known and the root valued highly by them for 

 its supposed medical qualities. 



The root of Ptcris aquilina is also used by them, but is 

 not called " ferrin," but " Black Root." Another com- 

 mon name for the bracken which is not recognized as a 

 fern even by those who usually know a fern, is " Poor 

 Man's Soap." This, though probably a localism, is well 

 established and so impressed me as a child as to be held 

 responsible for the untidy appearance of every tramp, 

 for on experimenting I found it a poor substitute. This 

 species is as familiar a feature of the Piney Woods as 

 the wire grass with which it mingles, together flooring 

 the illimitable stretches of pine forests. The variety — 

 pseudocaudata — grows in sandy places near rivers or our 

 more rugged Pine Barren streams. The wing-like fronds 

 are immense and quite suggestive of the eagle origin. 



