THE HARTSTONGUE. 
135 
its name — and tapers in its upper portion to a 
point ; and from this point, through the centre 
of the frond, is carried a thick midrib, on each 
side of which — at the back of the frond — are 
arranged in oblique lines the spores, protected by 
a green cuticle covering them when the frond is 
young, but bursting this covering in the fall of the 
year, and revealing lines of rich, dark-brown seeds 
in countless myriads. The stem of the Hartstongue 
when young is covered with beautiful white downy- 
looking hairs or scales, which, as the plant becomes 
older, assume a brownish tinge ; the stem itself 
being usually of a dark purplish colour. The 
fresh shining green of the Hartstongue is delight- 
ful to behold. The plant altogether beautifully 
contrasts with the compound forms of the other 
British ferns. It is most interesting to study its 
varying moods in its free wild state. Few of our 
native ferns are so enterprising as the Harts- 
tongue. It will grow even on bare walls in the 
full sunlight, where it can at the best get little 
moisture for its roots. In such situations, how- 
ever, it becomes a tiny thing, rarely exceeding 
