THE BE A CHEN. 
131 
may be found growing on shallow though rich 
beds of leaf-mould ; that is to say, under con- 
ditions which compel the rhizome to creep hori- 
zontally, instead of to grow down vertically. Then 
in order not to break or injure the rhizome, the 
plant should be removed together with the soil 
in which it may be growing. Small specimens 
should be taken with this object, as it is generally 
impossible to get up the roots of the larger 
growths. We remember going to Hampstead 
Heath, some few years since, for a small Bracken. 
We removed one, turf and all, bodily, and the 
same plant is now growing bravely. As we pen 
these lines, our Bracken has just performed an 
% 
extraordinary feat. We planted it between two 
small rockeries amongst irregular blocks of stone ; 
and during the summer it has thrown up its 
fronds from its creeping rhizome in various direc- 
tions. One morning we noticed what appeared 
to be a broken tip — freshly broken it seemed — 
of our Bracken frond lying on the top of one of 
the rockeries which the plant had overshadowed. 
“ Those dreadful cats ! ” thought we ; and we 
