722 



77?^^ EXILED MOONWORTS. 



to accommodate nearly a dozen persons. The bottom 

 of the ravine is some twenty feet below the seats. 

 The point of land (23) nearest the street slopes gently to- 

 wards the end, where it becomes precipitous, dropping 

 suddenly some eight feet. At the end of the table- 

 land point is a rustic bridge connecting the table-land 

 with a triple oak tree opposite. This bridge or elevated 

 plat also contains seats. There are steps at 25, made 

 of sod, which lead down the bank of the ravine on the 

 •west side about two-thirds of the way, and then along 

 the side and up to the table-land again, crossing a 

 small gulley which is spanned by a rustic bridge (26). 

 The watercourse at the bottom takes such an angle 

 that by cutting out some of tha underbrush I have 

 opened the view from this bridge some 500 feet up 

 stream. By a similar treatment of the bank above the 

 bridge, an artistic view from the edge of the bank at 



that point and a pleasing variety of walk is obtained. 

 To the north of the pleasure gardens is shown a lot 

 running 300 feet north, and this is my vegetable gar- 

 den and cow yard. 



The sloping of the lawn from the house as seen from 

 the street gives a charming effect, especially when 

 backed by the ravine trees. This is evident in the 

 excellent engraving on page 725. One enjoys refreshing 

 rest to the eye and the sense of seclusion and quiet, by 

 reason of the unlimited abundance of foliage on the 

 ravine trees and the verdure of the lawn. Thecharming 

 views obtained in looking down the sub-ravine, through 

 the interlacing boughs, and the magnificent glimpses 

 (along dotted lines C, D) obtained of the lake from 

 several points within the grounds, together contribute, 

 with all the other features described, to make a garden 

 most delightful. W. C. Egan. 



THE EXILED MOONWORTS. 



SOME FAMOUS HARDY FERNS AND THE BOTANISTS. WHAT 



HAVE THOUGHT OF THEM. 



THE WISE AND THE IGNORANT 



^UPPOSE our flowerless friends, 

 the moonworts, to be en- 

 dowed with sensibilities, and 

 then imagine, if you can, 

 the unhappiness — after being 

 a felicitous filicis for centuries 

 — discussed by philosophers, 

 prized by alchemists, feared 

 by the superstitious and the theme of poets' songs — 

 imagine, I say, after all of this notoriety, the igno- 

 miny of being put out from among the royal family 

 of cryptogams because the "powers that be" 

 have at length decided that owing to the nature of 

 its sporangia and the fact that the botrychium does 

 not enter this world in the orthodox manner of ferns 

 in general, it can no longer be retained among them! 



For it is true that the botrychii, consisting of some 

 ■dozen or more species, have been but are no longe.r 

 considered ferns. All true ferns must, in scientific 

 Janguage, be " circinate in vernation," and no botry- 

 chium ever came out of the ground rolled up like a 

 watch spring— a fashion prevalent among genuine ferns. 



The straight vernation of both botrychium and ophio- 

 glossum has long been recognized ; but until recent re- 

 visions of standard botanical works the distinction was 

 not considered of sufficient importance to warrant the 

 promotion of the sub-order of ophioglossum to the front 

 rank, thus forming an independent family. 



The various species are distributed throughout the 

 -world with the exception of Africa, where the genus is 

 Tinrepresented. The plant is found in all zones, but is 

 most abundant in the temperate regions of the northern 

 ^hemisphere. 



The root stock is always very short, with clustered 

 fleshy roots which are full of starch. The fronds — if 

 we may be allowed to call them so — consist of a com- 

 mon stalk, a posterior sterile and an anterior fertile 

 segment ; the base of the stalk also contains the bud for 

 the next year's frond. The sterile segment of the frond 

 is ternately or pinnately divided or compound. The 

 contracted divisions of the fertile segment bear a 

 double row of sessile naked sporangia; these are dis- 

 tinct without a ring, and open transversely. They are 

 in reality a modified portion of the frond, and the 

 sulphur-colored spores are formed from changes taking 

 place in its inner tissue — a point of fundamental im- 

 portance in the eyes of botanists. 



Of all the recorded species we have the two extremes 

 in Bolrychizcm Vu-ginianinn and B . simplex. The former 

 is the tallest and by far the handsomest member of the 

 moonwort family. Its texture is very different from 

 the other species, being thin and membraneous when 

 mature, although it is thick and fleshy enough in its 

 early stage. It is variable in size, often attaining a 

 height of two feet and a breadth of sixteen inches. 



Obviously the Virginia grape-fern or rattlesnake 

 fern, as it is sometimes called, is a summer visitor, for 

 its filmy robe of green withers at the lightest frost. 

 The European range of this species is from Norway to 

 Austria; it is also found in Asia and North America, 

 and is common in rich woods of the United States. 



Cultivation. — My own experience in the cultivation 

 of this plant certainly does not coincide with Mr. New- 

 man's theory that the moonwort is the easiest of all 

 ferns to cultivate. Good specimens /ioz'^- refused to grow 

 freely in spite of his assertion to the contrary. It is 

 quite possible, however, that the trouble is in the taking 

 up, for which he gives explicit directions: "First dig 



