HOW TO KNOW THE FERNS

Since the publication six years ago of “How to Know the Wild Flowers” I have received such convincing testimony of the eagerness of nature-lovers of all ages and conditions to familiarize themselves with the inhabitants of our woods and fields and so many assurances of the joy which such a familiarity affords that I have prepared this companion volume on “How to Know the Ferns.” It has been my experience that the world of delight which opens before us when we are admitted into some sort of intimacy with our companions other than human is enlarged with each new society into which we win our way.It seems strange that the abundance of ferns everywhere has not aroused more curiosity as to their names haunts and habits. Add to this abundance the incentive to their study afforded by the fact that owing to the comparatively small number of species we can familiarize ourselves with a large proportion of our native ferns during a single summer and it is still more surprising that so few efforts have been made to bring them within easy reach of the public.