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FERNS UN THE LION FOUNTAIN AT ALTON TOWERS. 



FERNS— HARDY AND EXOTIC. 

 By Charles T. Druery, F.L.S., V.M.H. 



TO the studious and appreciative eye the delicate cutting and graceful form of a Fern 

 are fully as attractive as a flow er, and its lovely shades of green constitute indeed a 

 welcome change from the brilliant hues of the parterre where Flora flaunts in 

 dazzling costumes as gay as varied. Popularly, however, Ferns, especially the 

 native hardy Ferns, are regarded as little better than weeds, and although in innumerable 

 gardens we find specimens of one or two species, sometimes well grown and handsome, but 

 more often starved and wretched looking, the full capacity of the plants as decorative foliage plants 

 is utterly unknown to most people even among those who grow them. Our temperate island 

 climate being decidedly congenial to Ferns, as is evidenced by their profusion in our Western 

 Counties, certain forms of our particular native Ferns ranking, as we shall presently see, with 

 the most beautiful ones the world produces, we propose in this article to do what we can to 

 enlighten our readers as to their real and proper merits. Before, however, we enter upon this 

 particular phase, we may point out that Ferns, incredible as it appears, are the accepted 

 progenitors of all our flowers. There was a time in the history of the world w hen no flowers 

 existed ; the earth's surface was mainly covered with warm ocean waters and steamy marsh 

 lands, roofed in with cloudy vaporous skies. Vegetation evolved from the humble seaweeds 

 gradually found a footing on the land, and in adapting itself to aerial conditions was developed into 

 gigantic Mosses, Ferns, and their allies, which age after age and a?on after aeon grew and flourished 

 and died to form our present coal-beds and make us heirs to the wealth and power thence resulting. 

 In time presumably cooler and drier conditions and brighter skies and sunshine bred the 



