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ASPLENIACEiE. 
Athyrium Filix-femina, Presl, Babington. 
Aspidium Filix-fcemina^ Smith. 
Asplenium Filix-foemina, Hooker. 
This fern seems to claim precedence in beauty over every 
other British species. The exquisite grace of its habit, the ele- 
gance of its cutting, and the brilliant delicacy of its colour, 
combine to render it an object of general admiration. Tt may, 
perhaps, require some knowledge of kindred species fully to un- 
derstand the peculiarities which unite in giving to this fern its 
superiority over the rest, but dull indeed must be the perception 
and cold the heart that fails to appreciate its excessive loveliness. 
The Lady Fern is distributed more or less abundantly through- 
out the British islands, its favorite resort being moist and warm 
woods ; but it does not shrink from the exposure of open moors 
and naked hill-sides, and if sheltered by masses of weather-worn 
rock, its delicate fronds may often be found developing their fra- 
gile pinnules near the summits of the loftiest peaks of our Scottish 
Highlands. In Ireland it is more abundant although less beau- 
tiful than in England : it abounds on all the bogs, and is used 
as packing for fish and fruit, as we see the Common Brakes 
employed in this country. On landing at Warren-point, near 
Newry, I was rather surprised to see what quantities of it were 
employed in packing the herrings there exhibited for sale. 
All the forms found in Britain occur in every country of Eu- 
rope ; and others, very similar, have been found in Africa, Asia, 
Australia, and the United States of North America. From the 
last-mentioned country my kind correspondents have sent me 
three supposed species ; but whether these are really distinct 
from ours, and from each other, I can scarcely venture to pro- 
nounce, more especially as the question of species and varieties 
among our own forms of this fern, is at present undecided. 
I have felt so great difficulty in giving by a figure any satis- 
factory idea of the beauty of this species, that I refrain from any 
comment on the failures of its other depictors. 
The genus of this fern has been made a source of unnecessary 
trouble and confusion to botanists. Although the accurate Roth 
