82 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
lane, you find that the grass^covered pathway nar- 
rows, whilst the hedges close in ; trees now, ivy 
as well as moss-covered, are on each side of you, 
and interlace their green tops. Then, between 
moss-covered, fern-fringed hedge-banks, you pass 
an open fir copse on the right. Then the lane, 
still winding round to the left, narrows more 
rapidly still ; narrows indeed so much, that the 
bushes which crown its hedges almost meet over- 
head, and thus arresting the moisture and in- 
creasing the shade, cause the ferns on each side 
to become developed into grander forms, until 
two or three splendid specimens of the Broad 
Buckler Fern and the Male Fern in the hedge- 
bank on the right compel you to pause and 
admire their exquisitely graceful aspect. A few 
steps further on, bending still round to the left, 
you again stop to admire the splendid growth 
of a Brake, which, growing out of the humid 
hedge-bank, has reached a height of eight 
feet. Now the lane for a short distance ob- 
serves a straighter and narrower course, between 
hedge-banks containing luxuriant specimens of 
