47 
“ When the fern is as high as a spoon, 
You may sleep an hour at noon : 
WTien the fern is as high as a table, 
You may sleep as long as you are able.” 
Plate II, fig. 14. 
4. Wall Eue Spleenwort. Asplenitm ruta muraria. New- 
man considers this as belonging to a distinct genus, Ame- 
sium, because the ultimate subdivisons are without a distinct 
mid-vein. This plant no doubt received its name from its 
resemblance to rue. It is to be found on almost every ruin 
and old wall, and ‘‘like our half-domesticated birds, the 
sparrow, the swallow, and the martin, seems to have deserted 
its native wilds, and to have taken its residence among the 
habitations of men.”* Though growing in the moist clefts of 
rocks, and even on their perpendicular faces, it is much more 
frequently found on decayed walls. The frond is bipinnate 
(doubly divided) at the base, and pinnate (simply divided) 
at the tip. The leafiets are diamond-shaped, oblong, or egg- 
shaped, with the upper part toothed. The root is dark 
brown, whence many fronds arise thickly crowded together. 
The plant is dark green, rather of a blueish cast, and the 
leafiets are stalked. There is no distinct mid-vein to the 
upper leaflets, but a series of veins arise, which are some- 
times branched. As many teeth or notches as there are on 
the tips of the leaves, so many, for the most part, are the 
veins or their branches. The clusters of fruit are from two 
to five. The covers are jagged or uneven at their margins. 
The leafy part is triangular, and the branches often consist 
of three leaflets. The stalks are wiry, and, at the lase only^ 
dark brown or black. The roots are dark and fibrous, pene- 
trating deep into the mortar, and difficult to be extracted. 
It is especially fond of brick walls. The favourite part of 
the wall, whether stone or brick, on which it perches, is just 
under the coping. There we find the diamond leaves and 
spider’s cobwebs fondly embracing each other. The young 
botanist, if he wishes to discover the genus to which this Tern 
and some others belong, must be careful not to wait until 
the fructification is too far advanced. If he does so, he will 
Newman. 
