DOWN A GREEN LANE ! 85 
this inner paradise of the ferns. And on the 
right, hard by the Brake which spreads its arching 
fronds towards you, a noble specimen of the 
purple-stemmed Lady Fern springs out of the 
hedge-bank ; its splendid clusters of fronds, each 
a yard in length, flinging over the scene the 
indescribable gracefulness which is a fit emblem 
of fern-land. 
And now for a plunge into this glorious lane 
of lanes. As far as you can see, it appears to 
melt away in shadowy green, as it sinks down 
over the declivity of the hill. For some distance 
along the path, in both hedge-banks, the Lady 
Ferns appear to hold sway. Here is a grand 
specimen, fully four feet long ! and there are 
many others equally grand, and equally beautiful, 
in every shade of purple stem. Intermingled 
with them and forming a charming variety of 
fronds, are some fine plants of the Male Fern, 
the Broad Buckler Fern, with its curling leaflets, 
and the Brakes, the latter towering up to the 
height of eight feet. Peer between the branches 
which filter the light on the hedge-top, and you 
