CHAPTER I. 
THE BRACKEN 
Pteris aquilina . 
F all our native ferns, the Bracken, or Brake, 
is the most plentiful, and the most widely 
distributed. It abounds almost everywhere ; and 
hence, perhaps, the reason why it has been con- 
sidered by some persons to be a common or 
vulgar-looking plant. But it is emphatically a 
vulgar taste which can thus judge of this beauti- 
ful fern. To our mind it is exquisitely graceful ; 
and its abundance does but increase the charm 
which it flings over hill, woodland, and plain ; 
and does but testify to the abounding goodness 
of the Creator in giving us so much to delight 
the eye and to please the mind. 
That the Bracken is put to vulgar uses may be 
