11 
Sidmouth. I hunted two years before I found It, 
This was well: for the satisfaction I at last derived 
in lighting upon my long-sought, was increased by 
the delay. Desires should not be gratified too soon, 
either in the seeking of ferns or fortunes. Is it not 
strange that delight can be found in a bog? Yet 
was it in a bog on Bucken Hill that a two years’ 
search was rewarded by success. How shall I de- 
scribe the spot? It is two miles and a half from 
Sidmouth. Go to Snogbrook, and then go up the 
lane to the saw-pit, the blacksmith’s forge and the 
white cottages on the south flank of Bucken Hill. 
Mount the steep field between the saw-pit and the 
forge, and come out upon the open heath. At the 
foot of the heath is the swamp, and at the newest 
or west end of the swamp there are a few roots in 
vigorous growth. Half a mile further on, at the 
eastern side of the hill, in Sweetcombe Yalley, 
(pronounced Swetcum) at the top of the grass fields, 
are several scattered patches of the L. oreopteris . It 
seems to like this elevated situation. 
Cultivation. — A loamy soil without any admix- 
ture suits it well. The warmth of a room or a 
greenhouse is too oppressive. The open air is more 
congenial. It must have constant moisture. The 
fronds appear in May, and do not survive the suc- 
ceeding winter : indeed, they are generally cut down 
by the first sharp frost. 
