. Our ferns in their haunts; a guide to all the native species. Ferns. THE UNCOILING FRONDS. 15 ters on the bracken and the lady-fern. As a sort of extension of the " Doc- trine of Signatures " it was assumed that since the seed is invisible, it would render its pos- sessor invisible also. It was supposed to have many other virtues, and could be obtained only by the exercise of the greatest care and endurance. An old legend accounts for the fern's lack of flowers by asserting that all ferns bore them until the Nativity. In honour of that event, the plants that were mixed with the str
. Our ferns in their haunts; a guide to all the native species. Ferns. THE UNCOILING FRONDS. 15 ters on the bracken and the lady-fern. As a sort of extension of the " Doc- trine of Signatures " it was assumed that since the seed is invisible, it would render its pos- sessor invisible also. It was supposed to have many other virtues, and could be obtained only by the exercise of the greatest care and endurance. An old legend accounts for the fern's lack of flowers by asserting that all ferns bore them until the Nativity. In honour of that event, the plants that were mixed with the straw in the stable put forth their flowers. The ferns, alone, did not, and were therefore condemned for ever afterward to be flowerless. Even the early botanists could not understand a proc- ess which in such a mysterious way produced new plants without the intervention of a flower. As late as 1828, Sir J. E. Smith wrote of the idea that ferns do not bear seeds, as follows :—" I see no advantage in applying a new denomination to the seeds of these and other cryp- togamous plants. Hedwig gave the Greek name spora to the seeds of mosses because he conceived them to differ in their structure and germination in some indef- inite manner from seeds in general. The most malicious rival of his immortal fame could not have imagined any- thing more subversive of that fame or of his luminous. FLOWERING Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Clute, Willard Nelson, b. 1869. New York, F. A. Stokes Co
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1901
