THE FERN PARADISE. 
1 68 
Fern shrivels up, through its exquisite sensitive- 
ness, before the slightest drought. Nursed in the 
atmosphere of the waterfall, in that atmosphere 
must it live and develop. 
Rare indeed amongst British ferns is Tricho- 
manes radicans. Not England or Wales or 
Scotland can produce it. But it seems to have 
made a home for itself in the south of Ireland. 
There, in many localities, by river-falls, on drip- 
ping rocks on the lake borders, in ravines and 
glens, it is to be found : but only where un- 
ceasing dampness, caused by dripping water, 
exists. On the wet surface of the rock or wall 
which it has chosen for its habitat it spreads 
its thread-like, matted roots like a film. Some- 
times it grows amongst the moss and earth 
which may have collected on the rocks. It 
has a creeping rhizome, from which grow its 
fibrous roots, that cling to the damp rocks 
or expand in the moist crevices between 
them. The rhizome is encompassed with hairs 
or bristle-like scales. The stem of the frond 
is usually about half the length of its leafy 
