84 
triangular, and sometimes lance-shaped, with a much shorter 
stalk, scarcely half its length, and thickly covered at its 
base with dark scales, which have a transparent margin and 
their very tips almost black. The two pairs of the two 
lowest pinnae are triangular : the others linear. The first 
upper pinnule of the lowest pinnae is much shorter than the 
first under one. In every other pinna there is very little 
difierence between the pinnules that are above and below 
their respective rachis. The lowermost pinnules of the 
lowest pinnae are nearly, if not quite, divided into distinct 
little leaves, and hence the plant is almost, if not altogether 
tripinnate. Many of the pinnules, too, nearest the rachis 
of the frond, are either stalked or have a broad stalk-like 
attachment : the others are decurrent and run more or 
less into one another. The leaflets have linear segments 
ending in remarkably coarse blunt teeth, a striking mark 
of distinction from the ordinary form. If we closely exam- 
ine the under parts of the leaves, we shall observe that they 
are thickly covered with minute stalked glands* The covers 
of the fruit, when seen under the microscope, appear to be 
jagged, and also fringed more or less with stalked glands. 
The clusters or sori are generally in two rows on each side of 
the mid-vein of the leaflets. If the pinnules are almost or 
altogether divided into distinct leaflets, the divided parts 
have two rows likewise. The fructification, though small, is 
abundant over the whole frond. There is another pecu- 
liarity, that the stalk is for the most part green, and only 
purple close to the base. Most of the pinnae are nearly at 
right angles to the mid-stem, and distant from each other. 
The lobes of the leaflets are blunt at their extremities, where 
there are two or three coarse teeth. Whether it be owing 
to the pure air of the hills, or to the inherent character 
of this variety, it has a more elegant form than any of the 
other Dark Scaled Ferns. It does not attain so great a 
height, neither does it stretch out its arms so widely, still it 
is prettier in its mode of growth, and much more erect with 
spreading or bending branches. The very coarseness of the 
teeth, the dark green colour, and the distance of the pinnae 
from each other, give it such peculiar grace and symmetry, 
that the lover of nature should not hesitate to take a long 
walk to secure to himself a good specimen of the Fern 
of the Hill. 
