earthwhen it washotand swampy. They formed large forests thatcovered
mostofthe earth. Gianttree ferns grewabout30 or 40 feet high.
Duringan ancient era called theCarboniferousAge, great layers of these
fern trees died and their remainsaccumulatedin the swampy lands in which
they grew. Still later, movements oftheearthand theadditionalpressureof
layersofrock sediments (soil) on top of the ferns formed beds of coal. Scientists
haveestimatedthatittookabout300 feetofcompressedgiant tree ferns to
form 20 feetofthe coal which we find in mines today.MAKING ACOLLECTION OF DRIED FERNS
You may want to make a collection of delicate fernplantstomountin an
albumor scrapbook. Ifso, collect the fernsjustas you did the ones you
transplantedto pots or to your terrarium. Remember, ferns grow in moist,
wooded,shady areas.
Follow thisprocedure:To press or dry your collection of ferns, place each
one between sheetsofnewspaper and lay it between heavy books. After it
\ has dried, slip each fern inside a plastic envelope or between piecesofthe
stickycellophanewrappingpaperyourmotherprobablyuses in the kitchen.
Using stickycellophanetape, you can thenmounteach envelope on aseparate
page in ascrapbookor on sheets of unlined paperin anotebook. You may
want toprintsome basicinformationabouteach fernunderneaththeappro-
priateenvelope. A collection ofdried ferns is fun to make, and you'll be
surprisedat how much you'lllearn in the process ofgatheringandmounting
yourferns.
There are many varietiesofferns, but the mostcommonare theChristmas
fern, thecinnamonfern, the sensitive fern and themaidenhair. There are also