140 
who casts his eyes on our various hedgebanks in the spring, 
cannot fail to notice how differently the Eerns seem to come 
into leaf from any other plant. The Eerns have the seed 
vessels on the back of the frond, except the Elowering 
Eerns, which are the Adderstongue, the Moonwort, and the 
Eoyal Eern, Osmunda Eegalis, and all except these have, as 
is seen under a microscope, their bags of spores or seed 
surrounded by an elastic ring. If, therefore, the Eern is 
not circinate in its vegetation, nor has the fruit on the back 
of the frond, nor its bags of spores surrounded by an elastic 
ring, we may rest assured that it is the Adderstongue or 
Moonwort. If it is circinate, but has its fructification on 
the ends of the fronds or their branches, and still no elastic 
ring, then we may’ be satisfied that it is the Eoyal Elowering 
Eern. These have no covers to their fructification. We 
have one more species that has no cover. Now, if we see 
a Eern that has its masses of spores on the back of the 
leaves without a cover, we may be confident that it is the 
Common Polypody, or Beech Eern. If it has a round cover 
with a slit in it and attached at the inmost point of that 
slit, then it is a Shield Eeru, Lastrea : if it has a round 
cover without a slit and attached at the centre, then it is a 
Prickly Eern, Folystichu7n, If it be a linear cover, and that 
a curved line, and attached the whole length, then it is that 
genus of the Spleenworts which is called LS,dy Eern, 
Athyrium. If the cover be a straight line and attached 
along the sides of the veins of the leaflet, then we have all 
the other Spleenworts, Asplenia. If the straight cover be 
in pairs, then it is a Hartstongue, Scolopendrnm : if it is 
obscure and the masses of fruit are hid by scales, then it is 
the Scaly Spleenwort, Ceterach. When the straight linear 
cover is parallel with the mid-rib, it is a Northern Hard 
Eern, BlecJinum, and when it is on the margin and originates 
from the bent-in edge of the frond, it is Brake, Pteris. 
It is hoped that these hints, as well as those given in the 
commencement of the volume, will serve to remove any 
difficulty that may arise in attempting to discover the 
various Eerns of the neighbourhood. Several have been 
drawn already to amuse themselves with this simple study 
as a recreation, in consequence of our observations previously 
