INTRODUCTION TO FERN LAND. 
kind of electric light. As the water falls, drip . 
drip ! into the pool below, the light increases, and 
then — oh, glorious sight ! — you see at the side and 
on the roof of this lonesome sea-cave the beauti- 
ful Sea Spleenwort ( Aspleniam marinum), hiding 
its roots in the cavern- walls, and spreading out 
its bright green and shining fronds, that they may 
luxuriate in the dark humidity of its chosen re- 
treat. Or peer over yonder cliff, whose inacces- 
sible sides overhang the seething waves ! Look 
closely into the shady cleft which nestles under 
yon projecting spur ! There you may see, far out 
of your reach, one of the most rare and exquisite 
of the British Ferns — the True Maidenhair 
(. Adiantum capillus- Veneris ) . Could you venture 
near enough to grasp it in your hand, you would 
indeed recognize that it is one of the most exqui- 
site of plants. Its fine black wiry frond-stems 
like a dark maiden’s hair — it is most appropriately 
named — rise in clusters from its crown, the main 
frond-stems being branched with smaller and more 
beautiful hair-like stems, which bear upon their 
tender points the delicate, liglit-green, fan- 
shaped leaflets. 
73 
