THE FERN BULLETIN 



55 



closest kind of a search, with eyes at the level of our 

 knees before a specimen was detected. The sterile 

 fronds, curled like corkscrews, grew in little tufts and 

 were more readily visible than the fertile spikes which 

 were less numerous and together with the slender stipes 

 were of a brown color hardly distinguishable from the 

 capsules of the mosses and the maturing stems of the 

 grasses which grew all about. Lying flat upon the 

 earth with face within a few inches of the ground was 

 found the most satisfactory plan of search. Down 

 there all the individual plants looked bigg*er and a side- 

 long glance brought the fertile clusters more promin- 

 ently into view. When the sight got accustomed to 

 the miniature jungle, quite a number of specimens were 

 found but the fern could hardly be said to be plentiful 

 and all that we gathered were within a radius of a 

 couple of yards. 



This seems, indeed to be one of the plants whose 

 whereabouts are oftenest revealed by what we are wont 

 to term a "happy accident" as for instance, when we 

 are lying stretched on the ground, resting, or as we 

 stoop, at lunch, to crack an egg on the toe of our shoe. 

 I know of one excellent collector who spent a whole day 

 looking for it diligently in what he thought to be a 

 likely spot but without success when finally, just be- 

 fore the time for return came, as he was half crouch- 

 ing on the ground, scarcely thinking now of Schizaea, 

 its fronds suddenly flashed upon his sight, right at his 

 feet. 



The sterile fronds of Schizaea pusilla are evergreen 

 so the collector may perhaps best detect it in winter se- 

 lecting days for his search when the ground is pretty 

 clear of snow. The surrounding vegetation being at 

 that time dead the little corkscrew-like fronds stand 

 out more prominently. The fertile fronds die before 



