MAIDEN HAIR. 203 
MAIDEN HAIR. 
Up to the present day, botanists have in vain 
studied this plant, which seems to conceal from the 
most searching examination the secret of its flowers 
and seed, confiding to Zephyr alone the invisible 
germs of its young family. That deity selects a 
spot for the cradle of its offspring. Sometimes he 
delights to form with its long tresses the dark veil 
hung before some cavern, in which the solitary 
Naiad has slept ever since the beginning of ages ; 
at others, bearing them on his wings, he fixes them 
like verdant stars on the top of the towers of some 
old castle, or, disposing them in light festoons, he 
adorns with them the cool and shady spots which 
the herdsman loves. Thus this species of fern, which 
baffles the researches of Science, and conceals its 
origin from the most piercing eyes, does not with- 
hold its benefits from those who solicit them. 
