FERN ISLANDS 122 FERNIE surface of the leaves or from their mar- gins. The collection of seeds are called sori. FERN, or FARNE, ISLANDS, a group of 17 rocky islets off the N. E. coast of Northumberland cc, England. St. Cuthbert aied here, and his stone coffin is still pointed out. The "Forfarshire" steamer was wrecked here in 1838, when nine persons were saved by the heroism of Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. FERNALD. BERT M., a United States Senator from Maine; born in West Poland, Me., in 1858. He was educated in the public schools and at Hebron /icademy. He engaged in the packing business, in which he became very suc- cessful. He was a member of the State House of Representatives, and was for tv/o terms State Senator. In 1909 he was elected Governor of Maine, and in 1916 was elected to the United States Senate He was re-elected in 1918. FERNALD, CHARLES HENRY, an American zoologist; born in Mount Desert, Me., March 16, 1838; was edu- cated at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary; was an acting ensign in the United States navy during the Civil War; and Professor of Natural History at the Maine State College in 1871-1886. In the latter year he was appointed Pro- fessor of Zoology at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. His publications include "Tortricidae of North America"; "The Crambidse of North America"; "The Pterophoridge of North America"; "Pyralidae of North America," etc. FERNALD, CHESTER BAILEY, an American writer; born in Boston, Mass., March 18, 1869. He was a contributor to magazines, and author of "The Cat and the Cherub, and Other Stories" (1896) ; "Chinatown Stories" (1899) ; Under the Jackstaff" (1903); "John Kendry's Idea" (1907) ; "The White Um- brella" (1919). He wrote a number of plays; notable are: "The Pursuit of Pamela" (1913), and "The Day Before the Day" (1915). FERNANDEZ, NAVARETTE, (fer- nan'deth), surnamed El Mudo, or "the Dumb," a Spanish painter; born in Lo- grono, Spain, in 1526. He was a dis- tinguished pupil of Titian, and became painter to Philip II., for whom he adorned the Escurial with some of its finest picture?. Among his chief works are a "Martyrdom of St. James," a "Nativity of Christ," "St. Jerome in the Desert," and his masterpiece, "Abraham with the Three Angels." His brilliant coloring earned for him the name of the Spanish Titian. He died about 1579. FERNANDO DE NORONHA, an is- land in the South Atlantic Ocean, be- longing to Brazil. It is 8 miles long, by a mean breadth of 2 miles, and has a rugged, mountainous, wooded surface. It is used as a penal settlement for Brazilian criminals. FERNANDO PO, an island in the Bight of Biafra, 20 miles from the west African coast, and about 40 in length by 20 in breadth. It is mountainous in the interior, presenting a rich and va- ried aspect of beauty and fertility. A large portion of its surface is covered with dense forests of valuable timber, while the land gradually rises from the steep and rocky coasts into two peaks culminating upward of 10,000 feet above sea-level. It is well watered, and the sugar cane grows in spontaneous abun- dance. Yams form the staple food of the natives. Birds, some varieties of animals, and fish are plentiful. The climate is very unhealthy. The capital :'s Sta. Isabel. This island was disco '- ered in 1471 by the Portuguese, wl o ceded it to Spain in 1778. The Spaniards eventually abandoned it and the Brit- ish, in 1824, selected it as a suitable military depot and naval station. They, in their turn, abandoned it in 1834. on account of its insalubrity. The Span- iards again took possession in 1844, and called the island Puerto de Isabel. It is now used by them as a penal settle- ment, to which, in 1869, several Cuban patriots were deported, as political prisoners. FERNEY, a village of France, in the department of Ain, five miles N. W. of Geneva. This place not merely owes its celebrity, but even existence, to its hav- ing been for a lengthened period the residence of one of the greatest writers of modern times. Voltaire purchased this estate in 1768. Out of a paltry village, consisting of a few miserable cottages, he constructed a neat little town, in which he established a colony of industrious artisans, principally con- sisting of watchmakers from Geneva. Voltaire resided here, with little inter- ruption, for more than 20 years. Dur- ing the whole of this period Ferney was to the literary and refined what Mecca is to the Mohammedan world. Voltaire quitted Ferney for the last time on Feb. 6, 1778. FERNIE, a city of British Columbia, Canada, in the Kootenay district. It is near the Elk river, and on the Canadian Pacific, the Great Northern, and the Morrissey, Fernie, and Michel rail-
