10 
HISTORY OF BRITISH FERNS. 
which the daisy-heads and the dandelions were plucked to 
be made into floral chains, and those which yielded the 
buttercups, the roses, and various other kinds for the rural 
garland, produced, besides their flowers—those brilliantly- 
coloured parts which the tiny fingers chiefly desired to 
gather—other parts, mostly green, in which the same 
intuitive perception already mentioned had learned to re¬ 
cognize the leaves. These two kinds of “ organs/' as they 
are called—the leaves and the flowers—are the parts of 
the plant most apparent in the majority of cases. 
Popularly speaking, then, a Fern may be said to be a 
plant which bears leaves only, and no flowers ; and these 
leaves are greatly varied, and very elegant in form. But 
some will say, How can we tell a Fern, which never bears 
flowers, from some other plant which does bear flowers, but 
from which they are temporarily absent ? This seeming, 
and to the beginner real, difficulty, is to be overcome by a 
little patience and attentive study. Nothing worth acquir¬ 
ing is to be gained without these. Search must be made 
for what seems to be a full-grown plant; the under surface 
of its leaves must be examined, and brown, dust-like 
patches, round or elongated, or in lines, will be found placed 
here and there, and generally arranged with much regu- 
