THE FERN BULLETIN 



45 



was made. It is the only Philippine species. A com- 

 parison with the earlier illustration will show that the 

 two species have a common resemblance but are not 

 likely to be mistaken for each other. 



JUVENILE FERNS. 



By Adella Prescott. 



Among the important questions we all are called 

 upon at times to answer is the oft recurring one 

 "Whom does the baby look like?" and at no time is 

 this question more perplexing than when the infant 

 under discussion is a fern, for often it bears so slight 

 a resemblance to its parents that only an intimate 

 friend of the family, familiar with all its character- 

 istics, would dream of the relationship between them. 



One of my first experiences with these deceptive 

 juveniles was with the maidenhair. This was the 

 one fern that I had always felt perfectly sure of for 

 there seemed no possibility of ever mistaking it foi- 

 anything else, so when in a cool, shady ravine I found 

 some small ferns resembling maidenhair but with the 

 rachis undivided, I immediately jumped to the con- 

 clusion that it was the rarer Venus hair instead of that 

 of a common maid. 



To be sure my trusted authority (Clute) questioned 

 the finding of this fern as far north as New York and 

 this was not only Xew York but Central New York 

 at that, but might not I be the happy discoverer of a 

 new station? But as specimen after specimen was 

 revealed to my searching glance the conclusion forced 

 itself upon my reluctant mind that such abundance in 

 a place so easily accessible could hardly have been 

 overlooked by botanists and that these were, after all. 

 only the youthful progeny of the beautiful but com- 



