  Axions, originally proposed to solve the strong CP problem of quantum
chromodynamics, emerge now as leading candidates of WISP dark matter. The rich
phenomenology associated to the light and stable QCD axion can be described as
an effective magnetic field that can be experimentally investigated. For the
QUAX experiment, dark matter axions are searched by means of their resonant
interactions with electronic spins in a magnetized sample. In principle,
axion-induced magnetization changes can be detected by embedding a sample in an
rf cavity in a static magnetic field. In this work we describe the operation of
a prototype ferromagnetic haloscope, with a sensitivity limited by thermal
fluctuations and receiver noise. With a preliminary dark matter search, we are
able to set an upper limit on the coupling constant of DFSZ axions to electrons
$g_{aee}<4.9\times10^{-10}$ at 95\% C.L. for a mass of $58\,\mu$eV (i.\,e.
14\,GHz). This is the first experimental result with an apparatus exploiting
the coupling between cosmological axions and electrons.
