that breathes upon a bank of violets, stealing and giving odour.' And, to mention no more, Thomson, in his noble hymn at the conclusion of the Seasons,' invites the flowery race to join in the general chorus of praise to the great Creator :

Soft roll your incense, herbs, and fruits, and flowers,
In mingled clouds to Him, whose sun exalts,

Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints 1.

6

The examination of flowers by the microscope opens a new field of wonders to the inquiring naturalist. Sir John Hill (in the Inspector, No. 109) has given an interesting account of what appeared' on examining a carnation. It is written with so much elegance, and beauty of style, that we are induced to give the narrative, though somewhat long, in the language of the ingenious author. The principal flower in this elegant bouquette was a carnation: the fragrance of this led me to enjoy it frequently and near the sense of smelling was not the only one affected on these occasions; while that was satiated with the powerful sweet, the ear was constantly attacked by an extremely soft but agreeable murmuring sound. Curiosity is a first principle in my nature on all occasions of this kind. It was easy to know that some animal, within the covert, must be the musician, and that the little noise must come from some little body suited to produce it. I am furnished with apparatuses of a thousand kinds for these occasions. I instantly distended the lower part of the flower, and, placing it in a full light, could discover troops of little insects frisking and capering with wild jollity among the narrow pedestals that supported its leaves, and the little threads that occupied its centre. What a fragrant world for their habitation ! what a perfect security from all annoyance in the deep husk that surrounded their scene of action!

See the elegant and interesting Contemplative Philosopher, 2 vols. 12mo. See, also, T. T. for 1814, p. 135.

'I was not cruel enough to pull out any one of them for examination; but adapting a microscope to take in, at one view, the whole base of the flower, I gave myself an opportunity of contemplating what they were about, and this for many days together, without giving them the least disturbance. Thus could I discover their cconomy, their passions, and their enjoyments. With what adoration to the Hand that gave being to these minute existences must a heart, capable of a due warmth in His praise, see the happiness he has bestowed on them! But, alas! all magnitude is but comparative; an accident of matter, not one of its properties; and, in reality, a very nothing, in no degree affecting the subjects themselves, though of such seeming consequence

to us.

The microscope, on this occasion, had given what nature seemed to have denied to the objects of contemplation. The base of the flower extended itself under its influence to a vast plain; the slender stems of the leaves became trunks of so many stately cedars; the threads in the middle seemed columns of massy structure, supporting, at the top, their several ornaments; and the narrow spaces between were enlarged into walks, parterres, and terraces.

On the polished bottoms of these, brighter than Parian marble, walked in pairs,, alone, or in larger companies, the winged inhabitants: these from little dusky flies (for such only the naked eye would have shown them) were raised to glorious glittering animals, stained with living purple, and with a glossy gold that would have made all the labours of the loom contemptible in the comparison.

I could, at leisure, as they walked together, admire their elegant limbs, their velvet shoulders, and their silken wings; their backs vying with the empyræan in its blue; and their eyes, each formed of a thousand others, out-glittering the little planes on a brilliant; above description, and too great almost for Q

admiration. I could observe them here singling out their favourite females, courting them with the music of their buzzing wings, with little songs formed for their little organs, leading them from walk to walk among the perfumed shades, and pointing out to their taste the drop of liquid nectar just bursting from some vein within the living trunk: here were the perfumed groves, the more than myrtle shades of the poet's fancy, realised; here the happy lovers spent their days in joyful dalliance; or, in the triumph of their little hearts, skipped after one another from stem to stem among the painted trees; or winged their short flight to the close shadow of some broader leaf, to revel undisturbed in the heights of all felicity '.'

The marine plants which flower this month, and which are chiefly found on sea-shores and in the crevices of rocks, are, buck's horn (plantago coronopus), which flowers the whole summer; burnet saxifrage (pimpinella dioica), sea arrow-grass (triglochin. maritimum) on muddy shores; the clammy lychnis (lychnis viscaria); the cerastium tetrandrum; scurvy grass (cochlearia), sea-kale (crambe maritima) on sandy shores; the sea-cabbage (brassica oleracea), the sea stork's bill (erodium maritimum), the slender bird's foot trefoil (lotus diffusus), the mountain fleawort (cineraria integrifolia) on chalky cliffs; and the sedge (carex arenaria) on sea-shores.

The leafing of trees which is, usually, completed in May, takes place in the following order: (1) The willow, poplar, alder, and other aquatics; (2) The lime, sycamore, and horse-chesnut; (3) The oak, beech, ash, walnut, and mulberry; but the whole of the third number are not in full leaf till next month. This circumstance, however, depends much upon the state of the weather, which, in England,

The whole of this paper will be found in Dr. Drake'sGleaner, vol. ii, p. 268.

2 See T. T. for 1815, p. 199.

is very precarious; consequently, the order of leafing of trees and shrubs will frequently vary, according to the advanced or retarded progress of the spring. But, too often, EURUS cold'

Forbids each shrinking thorn its leaves unfold,

Or hang with silver buds her rural throne ;

No primrose shower from her green lap she throws,
No daisy, violet, or cowslip, blows;

And FLORA weeps her fragrant offspring gone.
Hour frost arrests the genial dew;
To wake, to warble, and to woo,
No linnet calls his drooping love.

MASON.

The corn, however, is benefited by a cold and windy May, as it is too apt to run into stalk, if the progress of vegetation be much accelerated by warm weather at this season. In late years, some sowing remains to be done; and, in forward ones, the weeds should be well kept under.

The salmon-peel is taken this month; it is a small fish resembling the salmon in its external appearance, as also when cut; but, to the palate, it is perfectly tasteless. Many persons, however, mistake this fish, at first sight, for the salmon-trout, than which it is impossible to conceive any thing more different.

Description of Forest Trees.

[Continued from p. 129.]

FIR-TREE (pinus).-The Scotch fir (pinus sylvestris). This species of fir thrives most luxuriantly on the north and east sides of hills, where it not only grows more rapidly, and attains a greater height, but the grain of its wood is also more compact, and the trees are fuller of sap than if they had been planted in another direction. The Scotch fir is propagated froin seeds, which are obtained from the cones or fruit it produces. Squirrels are known to strip the whole bark off a young fir-tree, in consequence of which it dies, and is broken by the first high wind. The hare

is another enemy to young firs, though less dangerous than the former.

The Scotch fir is one of the most useful plants in the whole vegetable creation: it furnishes us with the best red or yellow deal, which is employed in the making of masts', floors, wainscots, tables, boxes, and for numberless other purposes. The trunk and branch of this species, in common with the rest of the pine tribe, afford excellent pitch and tar. The tops, or young tender shoots, are a useful substitute for fodder, especially during the winter season.

The roots, when divided into small splinters, are employed by the poor as a substitute for candles. The outer bark is of considerable use in tanning leather; the inner rind is, by the inhabitants of Loch-Broom, in the county of Ross, converted into ropes. In the more northern parts of Europe, it is, in times of scarcity, made into bread. The young cones, when distilled, afford an essential oil, somewhat resembling that of turpentine: a resinous extract is also prepared from them. An infusion of the buds is a good antiscorbutic.

2. Pinus abies, or Spruce Fir, is a native of the northern parts of Europe, whence it has been introduced into this country. It is propagated in the same manner as the Scotch fir, and delights in a dry, gravelly situation, though it will thrive in almost every soil. It will grow and flourish at the enormous height of 6842 feet, as instanced on some of the mountains in Switzerland.

There are two varieties of this species, namely, the white and black spruce; the wood of both is very light, and decays when exposed to the air for a considerable length of time: it is chiefly employed for

▲ The fir used for building houses, and for masts of ships, comes chiefly from Norway; poles come from Dantzic, sixty or seventy feet in height, for masts, and are floated down the rivers from Poland and the Lithuanian forests.