Early in the month of May may be observed by those who suffer their eyes to be occupied by what is going on among the lowly plants and herbs that spring up in their path, a most charming fern, known by the familiar names of Maiden hair and Fairy fern, from its elegant lightness. It is one of the most graceful of all that graceful tribe of plants; its botanical name is Adantium or Maiden hair; it grows in wild swampy and tangled thickets; it may be seen by the road side, but mostly does it love the rich, black, spongy mould on the banks of creeks, and there you must often ha70 noticed it At first the leaf comes up curiously curled, having the appearance of a brown hairy caterpiller. A few warm hours of sunshine or soft rain makes the leaf unroll, and the tender leaflets expand. In three or four days what a change has been effected! The thick covering of brown hair has disappeared - no trace of its infant dress remaining visible on the whole plant The stem becomes and black, and elastic, like fine whalebone, supporting its exquisite foliage on foot-stalks like lightness, diverging in a semi-circular form, and displaying fronds of the tendereet, most vivid green.

Many other ferns retain the hairy covering, which forms a fringe of russet brown along the footstalks; and one in particular, that may often be seen in green-houses, is so clothed at its roots with this hair as to obtain from it the name of the hare foot fern.

This elegant species, the capillaire, preserves its color well in drying; and will bear the pressure of a moderately heated iron, if laid between many folds of soft paper. It may be then pasted down on a sheet of thick white paper by the application of a camel's hair brush dipped in common flour paste. Great care and neatness is required in this work not to apply too much moisture, and with a bit of fine rag to press down the leaf or leaves in the natural form of the plant; it must not be twisted or distorted into any stiff figure, as much of the merit of the work depends on preserving the exact appearance of the plant Many kinds of flowers can be also preserved in the same way by carefully disposing the petals and leaflets between sheets of blotting paper, and submitting them to considerable pressure. A box filled with stones is a good press, but a screw linen press is best if it can be had Specimens thus preserved, when dry enough, should be pasted down and the stalks secured by a slip of common adhesive plaster placed across in one or two places very neatly. The botanical and common name may be written at one corner, or a list with figures appended as reference kept with the specimens.

The ferns are easier to preserve than flowers; therefore I recommend them to young beginners.