section, westward to California, and northward to the British Provinces.

"Though the maidenhair has a wide range, and grows abundantly in many
localities, it possesses a quality of aloofness which adds to its charm.
Its chosen haunts are dim, moist hollows in the woods, or shaded hillsides
sloping to the river. In such retreats you find the feathery fronds
tremulous on their glistening stalks, and in their neighborhood you find,
also, the very spirit of the woods."


MRS. PARSONS.

[Footnote A: It may be stated that capillaire syrup besides the use here
indicated was highly esteemed as a pectoral for the relief of difficult
breathing.]

[Illustration: Common Maidenhair. _Adiantum pedatum_ (Reading, Mass.,
Kingman)]

[Illustration: Alpine Maidenhair. _Adiantum pedatum_, Var. _aleuticum_
(Fernald and Collins, Gaspé County, Quebec, 1906) (From the Gray
Herbarium)]

The fern is not hard to cultivate if allowed sufficient moisture and shade.
Along with the ostrich fern it makes a most excellent combination in a fern
border.

Var. ALEUTICUM, or Alpine Maidenhair. A beautiful northern form especially
abundant on the high tableland of the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, where it is
said to cover hundreds of acres. In the east it is often dwarfed--six