THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
plant looks like the Christmas fern but is smaller, lacks the 
eared leaflets, the narrowed apex and its fruit is found in 
rather large roundish dots on the under surface. On such 
rocks one may find the common bladder fern {Cystopteris 
fragilis) and its ally the bulb-bearing- bladder fern ( C. biilbi- 
fera). The woodsias, too, especially IVoodsia obtiisa and 
the rusty woodsia {W. Ihensis) may occur, but it is not easy 
to describe them- so that the novice will recognize them. 
All are small or medium-sized ferns. Cystopteris fragilis is 
commonest. C. bulbifcra thrives only on moist rocks while 
Woodsia Ihensis almost insists on the tops of the driest 
rocks, often in full sunshine. 
In almost every swamp one may find the sensitive fern 
(Onoclea sensibilis) with coarse and unfern-like foliage 
that is not at all sensitive to ordinary stimuli. Its fruit 
resembles small green or dark brown berries borne in com- 
pound spikes; they appear late in the year and often remain 
erect above the snow all winter. They are familiar objects 
to the rambler in winter. The ostrich fern (Struthioptcris 
Germmiica:) is a near relative. It has foliage like that of the 
cinnamon fern, but the fruit is produced late in the year 
and is more like that of the sensitive fern. Another fern 
that resembles the cinnamon fern is the common wood- 
wardia or chain fern {Woodicardia Virginica). Its fronds 
do not grow in circles. howe\-er. and the fmit is borne in 
oblong dots on the under-side of the fronds, llie sterile 
fronds of the narrow wocxlwardia {W. August ifoiia) re- 
semble those of the sensitive fern but the fruit is lx)rne on 
the under-side of the fronds instead of in t>err}'-like spikes. 
There is no use in describing the maidenhair (Adiu):- 
tiini pcdatum) for everyl>>dy knows ir. nor in describing 
the various members of the Xcphrodium and Asplcniurn 
genera for they cannot l>e certainly separated without a 
l»ok. It may be said, however, that the Asplcniiiiiis are 
