T h e cultivation of Ferns is becoming a fashionable
pursuit. It is no longer confined to the botanist
and horticulturist; almost every one possessing good
taste has made, more or less successfully, an attempt
to rear this tribe of plants. Ferns constitute so
beautiful a portion of the creation, whether they
ornament our ruins with their light and graceful
foliage, wave their bright tresses from our weatherbeaten
rocks, or clothe with evergreen verdure our
forests and our hedgerows, that it seems next to
impossible to behold them without experiencing
emotions of pleasure. Years before Ferns had become
to me as friends with familiar faces, I could
not pass them without turning to feast my eyes on
what I thought their excessive lovehness. It cannot
then excite much wonder, although I regret to say
it has incurred some blame, that I should turn aside