CHAPTER IX. 
THE BRISTLE FERN. 
Trichomanes radicans. 
j-^OWN on yon dripping rock, where, from 
the perpetual spray flung by the ever- 
roaring waterfall above, an eternal moisture 
reigns ; where the arid winds of winter and 
the dry scorching heat of summer can never 
change the pervading dampness, which continues 
with unceasing persistence, grows the Bristle 
Fern! An eternal moisture is the vital principle 
of its existence. Not its roots merely, but 
crown, stem, and frond must be surrounded con- 
tinuously, unceasingly, by moist vapours. Unlike 
the hardy ferns which will look fresh and green 
in the sunshine or when exposed to the play of the 
dry summer breezes, if their roots can drink in some 
moisture from wall, rock, or hedge-bank, the Bristle 
