INTRODUCTION 
5 
country adding a distinctly-marked element of beauty to the 
charm of the scenery. 
Tree Ferns within the torrid zone grow twenty, thirty, 
forty, and fifty feet high, often exceeding even that height. 
Yet, majestic as are these great tropical Ferns when found 
growing in such situations, and under such circumstances, 
their size takes nothing from the grace of their forms. 
Indeed, they are as much superior in grace and beauty to 
the other arborescent growths of the forest, as the lesser 
species of this charming order of plants are superior to the 
rest of the vegetable kingdom. Naturally, therefore, the 
