THE HARTSTONGUE. 
267 
of which.—at the hack of the frond—are arranged 
in oblique lines the spore-cases, protected by a 
green cuticle covering them when the frond is 
young, but bursting this covering in the fall of the 
year, and revealing the lines of rich, dark-brown 
seed clusters. The stem of the Hartstongue 
when young is covered with beautiful white 
downy-looking hairs or scales, which, as the plant 
* becomes older, assume a brownish tinge; the stem 
itself being usually of a dark purplish colour. The 
fresh, shining green of the Hartstongue is delight¬ 
ful to behold. The plant, altogether, beautifully 
contrasts with the compound forms of the other 
British Ferns. It is most interesting to study its 
varying moods in its free wild state. Few of our 
native Ferns are so enterprising as the Harts¬ 
tongue. It will grow even on bare walls in the 
full sunlight, where it can at the best get little 
moisture for its roots. In such situations, how¬ 
ever, it becomes a tiny thing, rarely exceeding two 
or three inches in length, and often assuming a 
yellowish colour from constant exposure. But 
the favourite haunts of the Hartstongue are the 
depths of cool woods ; the tops of hedge-banks, 
r 2 
