386 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
hill and down dale, through five miles of ferny 
lanes, until, arrived at the brow of a hill, we began 
to descend to the lower ground along a narrow 
road, shut in by high Fern-covered embankments, 
which, with the trees which crowned their tops, 
cast dark shadows on the narrow carriage-way. 
We were close upon the habitat of the Fern we 
were seeking; but although carefully searching 
the hedge-bank as we neared the spot we could 
not find a stray specimen. All at once, however, 
our guide stopped, and pointing to the hedge- 
bank on the right invited us to search. We had 
arrived within the charmed circle. The bank was 
literally clothed with splendid specimens of Lastrea 
recurva , their fronds revelling in the twilight of 
the hedge, and their roots plunged into the rich 
soft leaf-mould of the hedge. 
The inexperienced Fern-hunter is very likely to 
mistake small plants of the Broad Buckler Fern 
for the Hay-scented Fern. But although there 
is a general resemblance between the two, there 
are peculiarities about the latter which render 
it easily recognizable. The general form of the 
frond, the form of the branches, and the peculiar 
