viii INTRODUCTORY. 
it, and, as lie reads, it will unfold itself more 
and more ; luring the scholar on, in its own sweet 
way, to greater researches ; and repaying him a 
thousand-fold, in happiness, for any labour or 
time spent in its study. 
One of Nature's simplest pages — I had almost 
said one of its prettiest — is that which I have made 
the subject of this small volume. 
The common hedge -row, the old wall, the rock 
by the sea-coast, and the wild moor, provide for us 
the little kingdom of Ferns, whose peculiar habits 
of life and growth form a pleasant study for our 
hours of recreation. 
We should begin our collection from those which 
grow near our own homes, bringing first one root, ■ 
then another, finding out to wdiat family they 
belong, what soil suits them, and their distinctive 
characters and habits. 
The cottage garden may always have room for 
its Fernery ; a few plants by the old well, by the 
