THE FERN PARADISE. 
The leaflets arranged in alternation on each side 
of the rachis — longest in the middle of the rachis, 
shorter at the base, and shortest at the top — are 
narrow and tapering, and are symmetrically 
divided into oblong blnnt-pointed lobes ; some of 
them — the largest ones, and those nearest the 
rachis in the lower part of the frond — being quite 
separate from each other, — that is to say, divided 
quite down to the mid-stem of the leaflets ; the 
others being attached to those next to them by a 
leafy wing, and those nearest the tips of the 
leaflets being almost merged into each other. The 
lobes are broadest at the base, with rounded blunt 
points. There is a smooth, shiny, rigid, leathery 
appearance about the upper surface of the lobes, 
the backs of which have a duller, rougher surface. 
The spores are produced on the backs of the 
leaflets, usually in the upper portion of the frond ; 
and each leaflet is thickly studded with the little 
kidney-shaped clusters of the cases which contain 
them. In the early summer, and until each frond 
has reached its full development, the scale cover- 
ings of these clusters are green ; but they soon 
turn to a rich dark reddish-brown colour, and 
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