60 
FERNS. 
[P ter is. 
the pinna. Indusium adhering to the margin of the frond, within 
which is another cover, contrary or opposite to the outer one, and in 
like manner fringed. When the young leaves first uncoil themselves 
they are densely downy. 
If the leaf-stalk be cut across near the root, it exhibits the bundles of vessels very 
plainly, in the form of an oak tree, or, as Linnaeus thought, a spread eagle ; hence 
its name aquilina. This is seen in the generic woodcut above, where also is a 
transverse section of the rhizoma, showing a totally different arrangement of 
vessels. The circumstance of the curious arrangement of vessels of the stalk 
was a matter of notoriety at a very early period. Thus we find in a most rare 
little book, entitled, ‘A Dvalogue or Communycation of two persons devysed or 
set forthe, in the Latin Tonge, by the noble and famous clarke Desiderius 
Erasmus, intituled, The Pilgrimage of pure Devotyon, newly translatyd into 
Englislie’ (no date, supposed to be 1551), is the following curious passage: — 
“ Peraventure they ymagyne the symylytude of a tode to be there ; evyn as we 
suppose when we cutte thefearne stalke there to he an eyle.” 
This Fern is useful for many purposes, independently of the anthelmintic and 
astringent properties the herbalists attach to it. It is the favorite haunt of the 
deer tribe. As it is very long before it rots, and does not harbour insects, it is 
excellent as thatch ; it does not hold moisture so much as straw, and is, therefore, 
better as litter for cattle, and as a cover to preserve plants from frost. It is also 
very excellent to lay fruit upon, or to pack it in, as it does not communicate any 
mustiness. Containing tannin, it is useful in the preparation of the lighter kinds 
of leather, and affords excellent potash when burnt. Its harsh texture and 
astringent taste render it unpalatable to cattle, though the roots are sought for 
by pigs, and have even been dried and ground for bread, but only in times of the 
greatest scarcity. Upon being boiled they yield a strong mucilage. The peasants 
of most parts of the kingdom assert their right to it as fuel, and use it chiefly to 
heat their ovens, a purpose for which it is well adapted, as it burns furiously. It 
is so valuable to the farmer of Germany for cattle fodder that it is an article of 
ready sale there, and the cutting of it subject to very severe forest laws. 
It remains dormant during more than half the year, the fronds not appearing 
till the middle of May, and being cut off with the first slight frost of autumn. 
It is also very impatient under culture : to remove a root otherwise than with a 
considerable quantity of earth attached to it, or in any season but that of its 
torpidity, would assuredly destroy it, as would also cutting down the fronds three 
or four seasons in succession. The remarkable paucity of young fern plants, of 
almost every species, must have struck the attention of most botanists. A single 
frond of Pteris aquilina produces more seed than any number the mind can con- 
ceive ; millions of leaves do often extend over a waste or park, yet how rarely is 
a young plant to be discovered anywhere. Indeed, had young plants been fre- 
quent, our ancestors could scarcely have imbibed the notion that they yielded no 
seed, or that it was a rarity, and only to be procured at the exact hour of the 
night on which John the Baptist was born. Pliny, says, “ of fern be two kinds’ 
