240 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
other plants ? The general answer to this ques¬ 
tion is that a Fern is a flowerless plant. Although 
flowerless, it is not seedless; but its peculiarity is 
that it acquires its seeds without the intervention 
of flowers. Let us borrow just one hard word 
from botany—and we only do so because in one 
word it explains the most exact distinction between 
Ferns and other seed-bearing plants. Ferns, then, 
belong among plants to the class Cryptogamia , 
which literally means c concealed fructification.’ 
They are therefore, although flowerless, seed¬ 
bearing plants, and when they bear seed it is 
hidden away. Those who have never seen a Fern 
would naturally, at first, experience some little 
difficulty in knowing—although bearing in mind 
the general definition which we have given—how 
to distinguish it from another plant when both 
are—the one without seeds, and the other without 
flowers or seeds. No definition which would be 
sufficiently popular for our purpose can be offered 
to remove this difficulty. Certain peculiarities of 
Ferns can be mentioned, and when these are re¬ 
membered, one or two visits to a country lane 
where Ferns abound will be quite sufficient to 
