138 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
tlie far-off distance—such is the landscape which 
lies stretched ont before and below ns. 
But we turn again towards our glorious lane, 
which now begins a swift descent, the pathway 
rapidly narrowing. Hedge-branches again close 
over our head. Majestic fronds of the Brake, 
the Male Fern, and the Broad Buckler Fern, 
brush against us. Our path is now almost ob¬ 
structed by the wild and glorious vegetation which 
clothes the ground. Fern-fronds thicken around ; 
the thickly-matted growth of the hedge-banks 
becomes more dense; the way appears almost 
barred by a grand specimen of Polysticlunn angu- 
lare; and we stop at the same moment arrested 
by the fragrant odour from a huge bush of honey¬ 
suckle in full flower. Here, for a few yards, the 
shrubs overhead spread their branches far away 
from the hedge-top, and the lower portion of the 
bank on the left reaches back to such a distance 
as to envelop the ground underneath almost in 
darkness. In this kindly and congenial shelter 
the Ferns are growing to grand dimensions, 
fostered by the darkness and humidity which 
prevail under the leafy canopy. 
