INTRODUCTION TO FERN LAND. 
55 
fee found in the recesses of its woods; they hang 
from rocks and walls and trees, and crowd into 
the towns and villages, fastening themselves with 
sweet familiarity even to the houses. 
Devonshire abounds in warm, moist, and shady 
nooks; and Ferns delight in warmth, moisture, 
and shade. Though they love the warmth, they 
avoid the sun, and when accidentally exposed to 
its full influence, their delicate fronds become 
shrivelled and discoloured. Yet these beautiful 
plants do occasionally coquet with the tiny sun¬ 
beam which may perchance find its way through 
some crevice in their cool rocky home, or through 
the thick foliage of the hedge-row under whose 
darkest shade they love to grow. But even the 
Ferns are changeable in their moods, and fickle in 
their attachments, differing from one another in 
their habits and modes of growth. Some members 
of the lovely family will boldly grow in situations 
where, perched on rocky corners, away from the 
cool shelter of overhanging shrubs, they are ex¬ 
posed to the full blaze of the sun, and roughly 
blown upon by the wild force of the wind. Others 
only seek to bathe the tips of their delicate fronds 
