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is the dear little Poly podium in can ion. familiarly known 

 as " Little Polly " with children. Little Negroes delight 

 in bringing it up with their bundles of fagots. Placing 

 it on the lids of the cooking vessels over the open fires, 

 in the end of the cabins where the family cooking is 

 done, they watch its antics with glee. Much that is in- 

 teresting can be learned from the colored race. Un- 

 consciously they have acquired many of Nature's secrets, 

 not only from the fact of so much of their time being 

 spent in the fields, but because it is habitual with them 

 when not at work or nodding in the sunshine to be wan- 

 dering in the woods, especially on the Sabbath day. The 

 medicinal qualities of plants has a peculiar fascination 

 for them. The resurrection fern is also a common name 

 for this fern. It may be of interest to some — especially 

 those who believe in its preference for the live oak — to 

 know of the various trees on which I have seen it grow- 

 ing. Observation leads me to think that wherever it 

 finds a spot so situated as to retain a little soil, furnishing 

 the necessary foothold with plenty of moisture, there this 

 hardy little fern will thrive. A decaying roof sheltered 

 by o'er-hanging branches is one of its favorite locations. 

 Here it grows on the oak, beech, maple, Magnolia grandi- 

 flora and M. glauca, Oxydcndnim, Osmanthus, Liriodcn- 

 dron, Syniplocos, Cliftonia, Melia, and red cedar. I have 

 never seen it on the cypress or pine. Our fern escapes 

 are worthy of mention, especially Lygodium Japonicum, 

 as this is the only station known in America. It promises 

 to be a valuable one, having already become firmly es- 

 tablished withstanding some of our most severe winters. 

 It escaped from a greenhouse (several miles from the 

 town) and now lines the sides of a ditch which runs into 

 a swampy locality. It is a noticable feature of the road- 

 side as it climbs the dogfennel and other weeds far from 

 associations with greenhouse products. Another. Pteris 

 scrrulata, has become so established as to be almost 

 termed naturalized. Not only has it spread on the banks 

 of a stream which runs through a portion of the town, 

 but peeps from many a sidewalk bridge, in ditches, and in 



