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Gentian family, Bartonea tenella, displays its tiny blossoms side 

 by side with the gorgeous orange spikes of Polygala lutea and the 

 purple ones of P. cruciata. Though choosing such sunny spots 

 for its residence, our shy little friend nevertheless shows a decided 

 preference for a bit of shade, and most likely will be found in 

 modest retirement beneath the shadow of a huckleberry bush or 

 under the protecting shelter of a clump of grass. In some local- 

 ities its boon companion is Lycopodium Carolinianum, the most 

 delicate of our club-mosses and a plant which, whenever seen, may 

 encourage the hope of finding Schizsea nearby. It is not, how- 

 ever, a sure "call-plant," as in one spot at Forked River last fall, 

 the fern was found with no Lycopodium discernible in the neigh- 

 borhood except an occasional plant of L. inundatum Bigelovii. 



The fertile fronds of Schizaea mature early in autumn, and 

 have browned, shed their spores, and usually fallen before winter 

 sets in ; but the sterile fronds are evergreen and their green spirals 

 may be collected in mid-winter by the sharp-eyed. Though so in- 

 conspicuous in the tangle where they grow as to test the keenest 

 eyesight, these sterile fronds possess such distinctive characteris- 

 tics in their cell structure that the late Dr. J. Gibbons Hunt is 

 quoted as saying of them that with a microscope "the botanist 

 need find no difficulty in identifying the smallest fragment of the 

 plant." As sometimes occurs in human nature, so here in vege- 

 table nature, we have a case of a powerful individuality resident 

 in an insignificant frame. 



The two species by which the genus Woodwardia is repre- 

 sented in the Eastern United States, are both frequent in these 

 New Jersey barrens. Of the two, W. Virginica seems rather the 

 commoner, and is one of the handsomest plants of the swamps 

 which form its home. In favorable situations its noble fronds are 

 often two feet or more in length, poised upon smooth, dark stipes 

 of much beauty. This fern spreads by means of long, black root- 

 stocks, creeping close under the surface of the ground, and will 

 usually be found at its best in July. The spore cases then form a 

 genuine linked chain of brown on the backs of the fronds — an ar- 

 rangement characteristic of the genus, and earning for both our 

 species the common name of " Chain Fern." 



In September, in similar situations, we shall likely notice the 

 curious, fertile fronds of Woodwardia areolata, their long, 

 narrow pinnae loaded with heavy chains of sporangia. Tall 

 and gaunt they stand, on polished [stipes of purplish brown or 



