CHAPTER IV. 
THE HARD FERN. 
Blechnum spicant. 
A LTHOUGH not so graceful as most of the 
British ferns, there is a rigid elegance about 
the Hard Fern. Its name is admirably suited 
to its character, for its texture is hard, and its 
habits robust. But its delightful colour — a dark 
shining green — and the elegance of simplicity 
which is noticeable in the arrangement of the 
leaflets on its fronds — make amends for its lack 
of feathery grace. Like the Lady Fern, in whose 
company it is frequently found, it delights in 
abundant moisture and the most complete shade, 
preferring situations where water perpetually 
trickles over its crown. Its fronds grow from a 
tufted root-stock, and are supported on stems 
which vary in length in different specimens, but 
