V] 
The larger part of our true Ferns require shade and much 
moisture, but a few, as Woodsia Ilvensis, will thrive on hillsides 
exposed to full sunlight. Dryopleris fragrans and apparently As- 
plenium montanum, grow under shelving ledges, getting their 
moisture from the atmosphere, and several of our evergreen ferns 
are found in quite dry but shaded situations. Ferns, although 
thriving in damp situations, are seldom found growing in water, 
but Osmunda regalis is occasionally seen flourishing in the bed of a 
brook, and one of our species, Asplenium filix-fcemina, seems capa- 
ble of adapting itself to almost any environment. In the family 
Ophioglossaceae, Ophioglossumvulgatum, Botrychium simplex a,nd\Bo- 
trychium ternatum, thrive best in the open sun. In Lycopodiacere 
all grow in the shade, but Lycopodium inundatum. Nearly all the 
Equisetacfem and all the Isoetacea?, require abundance of both sun 
and water, indeed, two species of Isoetes, I. lacustris and I Tuck- 
ermani, are usually submerged to the depth of several feet. 
There is much difference in the dimensions attained by our 
native ferns, Onoclea Struthiopteris under favorable circumstances 
reaching the height of eight or ten feet, while the fronds of the 
little Asplenium ruta-muraria are only one or two inches long. 
In the following pages an attempt has been made to furnish 
students and collectors with a ready means of identifying the spe- 
cies and varieties of the ferns and their allies native to the New 
England states, to give their natural surroundings, and in the case 
of the more uncommon species, their stations ; and particularly to 
give as accurately as possible the proper time for their collection, 
which latter has possibly never before been attempted. To this 
end every available source of information has been utilized, includ- 
ing Underwood’s “Our Native Ferns,” Gray’s Manual, Hooker’s 
•‘Synopsis Filicum,” Wood’s “Botanist and Florist, ’’Eaton’s “Ferns 
of North America,” and the many local lists which have been 
published. Much has been gleaned from an extensive correspond- 
ence with collectors, and much as regards the chronological list 
from the author’s personal observations. Although prepared for 
