the earliest come the anemones, and one of the prettiest of these
is the _wood-anemone_, or wind-flower. It grows from six to eight inches
high, beside old stumps in the moist woodlands; the stem is smooth, and
on the top nods a single flower, drooping, graceful, softly white, and
shaded on the outside with pinkish-purple. Another of the same family,
the _rue-anemone_, has a central blossom, pretty large, which is
surrounded by a row of little buds and blossoms, which has given it the
name of hen-and-chickens.

[Illustration: HEPATICA.]

Another delightful April flower is the _hepatica_, growing sometimes in
New England woods, but abundantly in the Middle States. This charming
little plant is fond of the loveliest shades of deepest blue, fading
into the palest purple and white, and on the Orange mountains, in New
Jersey, are clumps of the most beautiful rose-color. The hepatica grows
finely if transplanted.

[Illustration: DRABA VERNA.]

Do not fail to find the snow-white bud of the _bloodroot_, which comes
up wrapped in a charming little green cloak, and also the smallest of
all the floral tribe, the _Draba verna_, with atoms of white flowers,
and stems only an inch or two high. Some plants that may be easily found
are:

Wood-anemone, margins of fields; New England.
Rue-anemone, same localities; New England.
Hepatica, woody hill-sides; Middle States.
Bloodroot, rich open woods; New England.
Blue violet, fields, meadows, hills; everywhere.
Draba verna, sandy fields and road-sides.
Spring beauty, moist open woods; New Jersey, South.
Wild geranium, open woods and fields; New England.
Erigenia, damp soil; New York, Pennsylvania.
Quaker ladies, road-sides, fields; everywhere.
Dandelion, road-sides, fields; everywhere.
Azalea, New England woods and elsewhere.
Benzoin--spice-bush--damp woods; New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
American mistletoe, New Jersey and South.

TWO ANCIENT FAMILIES.

A PAPER READ BEFORE THE "LITTLE LITERATI" BY MOTHER.

I fear I appear before you but illy prepared for the evening duties, as,
mother-like, my week has been full of cares--unusually so. Being left to
choose my own subject, I thought to speak briefly of a worthy but almost
extinct family, or, indeed, I should say two families.

Many grown persons persist in declaring that the families have passed
entirely out of existence, but I find there are a few of them to be
found still on the rugged mountain-