The day was hot, the sun shone out And burned the little flowers, Who earthward drooped their weary heads, And longed for cooling showers. One little daisy, hot and tired, And scorching in the sun, Had altered much, for fair was she When the morning had begun. "Come, put yourself beneath my shade!" A graceful fern thus spake, "For if you stay out there, dear flower, You'll shrivel up and bake." So daisy leaned towards the fern And hid beneath her shade, And on the fern's cool, mossy root Her burning petals laid. No sunlight fell on her, but, oh! The poor fern had it all; She drooped down low, and lower still, Who once was straight and tall. "Daisy," she said, "I'm dying fast, My life is near its end, My time with you is almost past, So farewell, little friend." Then daisy wept, her tears ran down Upon the poor fern's root; A thrill of fast returning life Through the languid fern did shoot. Full soon she grew quite fresh again, No longer did she burn; For little daisy's tears of love Had saved the dying fern. MAUD EGERTON HINE, a child of less than eight years old. * * * * * CHEMISTRY OF A HEN'S EGG. Before proceeding to inquire into the interior composition of the egg, we will consider the exterior covering, or the shell--the physical and chemical structure of which is exceedingly interesting and wonderful. The white, fragile cortex called the shell, composed of mineral matter, is not the tight, compact covering which it appears to be; for it is everywhere perforated with a multitude of holes too small to be discerned by the naked eye, but which, with the aid of a microscope, are distinctly revealed. Under the microscope the shell appears like a sieve, or it more closely resembles the white perforated paper sold by stationers. Through these holes there is constant evaporation going on, so that an egg, from the day that it is dropped by the hen, to the moment when it is consumed, is losing weight and diminishing in volume. This process goes on much more rapidly in hot weather than in cold, and consequently perfect eggs are not so readily procured in summer as in winter. If, by any means, we stop this evaporating process, the egg remains sound and good for a great length of time. Covering the shell with an impervious coat of varnish, or with mutton suet or lard, aids greatly in their preservation. The substance used to stop transpiration must not be soluble in watery fluids, or liable to be removed. By chemical agencies, that is, by actually filling up the little holes in the shell by lime placed in solution (the solution holding the proper chemical substances to form an impervious coating of carbonate of lime over the entire surface), we have preserved eggs for months, and even years, in a sweet condition.