THE POLYPODIES. 
317 
beside us on our table, in a shallow seed-pan ; and 
it does us good to pause now and then, and look 
at its glorious wealth of magnificent fronds. 
This same specimen was some few weeks since 
growing on the moss-covered wall which skirted a 
Devonshire brook. When we got it, in its wild 
state, its fronds had attained what is generally re¬ 
garded as their maximum length,—namely, eighteen 
inches. And what exquisite roots ! A perfect net¬ 
work of fibres, which, growing in the perpetual 
moisture engendered under the mossy covering of 
the wall, had crept along until they formed a 
sheet nearly a foot square. Then, the atmosphere 
of the brook had wonderfully helped the vigorous 
growth of the plant. We took our specimens 
from their damp and mossy habitat—carefully 
preserved them during our stay in Devonshire, 
by keeping them constantly moist—and then 
brought them to our London home. But we did 
not forget to supply as nearly as possible the 
conditions under which we found them growing 
in their natural home. Shade, moisture, and leaf- 
mould, are the three conditions of success for 
the Common Polypody. It requires no great 
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