71 
Plate I, fig. 18. 
“ Oh, mickle is the powerful grace, that lies 
In plants, herbs, stones and their true qualities : 
Nor nought so vile, that on the earth doth live, 
But to the earth some special good doth give : 
Nor aught so good, but strained from that fair use 
Eevolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.” 
Shakespeare . — Romeo and Juliet, 
Northern Hard Fern. Blechnum Boreale. This plant 
has both a barren and a fruit-bearing frond. It prefers the 
north side of hills, and hence the name. It appears to the 
eye much like a two-edged comb, the teeth of which are 
much wider and coarser in the barren than the fertile frond. 
The teeth also instead of being uniform, in width, taper at 
the extremities. The fertile fronds are nearly twice as high 
as the barren ones, and vary from twelve to eighteen inches. 
The leaflets are a little wider towards the base, and the back 
part of those which are fertile is covered with fruit. These 
latter also become more and more remote from each other as 
they approach nearer the base, and in both cases the leafiets 
are alternate. The stalks, too, vary. In the one they are 
long, with a few rudimentary teeth interspersed, smooth, 
glossy, dark brown, having a few fine scales ; in the other 
they are short, greenish brown, and more densely covered 
with scales. A tuft of these fronds is spread in a circular 
form. The outer ring consists of the barren and the inner 
of the fertile fronds. The latter die before winter sets in, 
while the former remain green and fresh until the early 
spring. It might almost be imagined that there are here 
two distinct Ferns, as one kind appears so much taller, more 
graceful and not ashamed to hold up its head ; while the 
other is nearly prostrate, not so finely divided, and though 
of a bright green colour, still seems to indicate its inferiority. 
At first the covers are white, in a long uninterrupted line, 
lying upon a longitudinal vein, which is situated about mid- 
way between the mid-vein and the margin. These after- 
wards bend back, open towards the mid-vein, and burst 
asunder in patches. This is much more clearly seen, if we 
select for inspection a plant sparingly fruited, and having 
the widest pinnules that we can find fruit-bearing. "When 
