EDITOR'S TABLE. 



nefis, diTergiDg iu a semi-circular form, and displaying fronds of the tenderest, most vivid green. 

 Many other ferns retain the hairy covering, which forms a fringe of russet brown along the foot- 

 stalks ; and one iu particular, that may often be seen in green-houses, is so clothed at it;3 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 tlie 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 

 j^reserving 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. 



PoDorHTLLUM PELTATUM — Mandrake or 3Tay Apple. — This was the first indigenous fruit that I saw 

 in Canada ; it attracted my attention on ray first journey through the woods. I noticed, growing 

 by the side of the road at the edge of the forest, a plant with two large palmate leaves, between 

 the axils of which hung a yellow oblong fniit, about the size of a Magnum Bonum plum. The 

 man who drove the horses told me it was good to eat^ and alighted and plucked it for me, advising 

 me to throw away the thick outer skin. The fruit was over ripe, and there was a rank flavor that 

 I did'nt quite relish. I have since become better acquainted with the plant, and as there are 

 many things about it deserving of notice, I will give a description of it for the information of 

 those persons who have had less time to study it. 



When the May Apple, (for in Canada that is its most common name,) first breaks the groimd 

 early in the month of May, the leaves are folded round the stem like a closed parasol, and are of 

 a bronzed green, almost copper color, and expand, displaying two palmate leaves, i. e., spread 

 like a hand; it is peltate — the peduncle, like a pillar, supporting the leaf from the center 

 underneath, as in the Nasturtium and "Water LUy, {Kymph(ea). In the fruit-bearing plants tlie 

 petioles form a fork, in the axil of which one large green bud (rarely, but sometimes, two), is 

 inserted ; the blossom is large rosaceous form, white, with a yellowish tint. At a little distance 

 it gives out a pleasant fragrance, but when held too near is rank and overpowering. The flower 

 is very handsome, belonging to the class and order of Pohjcmdria monogynia. It is not easily 

 preserved, as it is brittle and fleshy, and loses much of its beauty in its dried state. It is better 

 to dry and press the flower separate from the leaves ; it can be restored to its place (the axil of 

 the leaves) and pasted down after the whole is prepared. This plan I have often pursued very 

 advantageously. 



The fruit of the May Apple, when the plant is found growing in moist partially shaded spots, 

 will attain to the full size of a Magmtm Bonum plum. The latter end of August is the usual time 

 for its ripening. To Iiave it in perfection, the fruit should be gathered before it turns quite yellow 

 and laid in a sunny window. The outer rind, which is thick and fleshy and of a rank flavor, 

 mnot be cast aside. The inner pulp, on which the seeds are imbedded, is of a delightful rich 

 acid ; but when intended for preserving, the fruit may be used quartered or entire, and thrown 

 into boiling syrup, in which ginger or cloves have been boiled. Thus treated, after having 

 remained in the jar some weeks, this is a most delicious preserve, scarcely inferior to some of 

 "West's Indian manufacture. Let the skillful and curious in such matters try it. 



The roots of the May Apple are used by the Indians as a cathartic ; they are reticulated. It 



