44 
RAMBLES IN SEARCH OF FERNS. 
Plate VI., Fig. 1 and A). Take your knife and cut the stalk across. Could 
you not fancy that it is a tiny picture of an oak tree ? Now, cut it in 
a slanting direction, and you might suppose the mark to be the figure 
of a spread eagle. Its Latin name, acjuilina, is given it on account 
of this fancied resemblance.” 
Willie was interested. “ Fern -seed !” he said; “ I thought ferns 
had no flowers ; and how can they have seed V” 
“ That I cannot explain, Willie. The seed grows on the back of 
the leaves in great abundance, without any flowers having preceded 
it. It used to be imagined that those 
1 Who gathered fern-seed walked invisible;’ 
and people used to go out on St. John’s Eve to collect it with great 
ceremony.” 
“ I wish it was really so,” replied the boy, laughing. “ What 
jolly fun it would be if one could go about and be invisible! There ■ 
is a fern that grows somewhere hereabouts, which is much prettier 
than those Brakes. Only the donkey women know about it, and they 
won’t divulge the secret, because they make so much by selling the 
fern. But I will try and coax my favourite old woman to take me 
into the secret.” 
Away went the good-natured boy, and I eagerly opened Esther’s 
letter. Kind Esther ! She inclosed a nice specimen of the Parsley 
fern, which she had found in abundance, she said, during a tour she 
was now taking in the Lake Country. She meant to plant some 
in her fernery, but she feared being able to keep it alive, as the 
people said it hated limestone, and could only endure the primitive 
rocks ! 
I hastened to examine my treasure. The round seed masses were 
placed on the margin at the back of the leaflet, and the edge rolled 
round to cover them. Some of the fronds were barren and some 
fruitful. The fruitful were taller and more erect than the barren. 
All this agreed perfectly with the description in Esther’s book of the 
