--But even here their services do not end; for, when worn out in one shape they assume a new form, and not only furnish the material from which is formed the wrapper of the manufacturer, and the package of the merchant, but that invaluable article upon which I now write-upon which we are able to hold converse with friends at a distance-and by means of which, man transmits his thoughts to man, and generations unborn are enabled to hold converse with past ages!

By means of these pliant productions, we are als supplied with a variety of seeds and oils, of much quest in common life; and wherever disease is known. there, we have reason to believe, medicinal herbs sprin up as antidotes; some communicating their healing, virtues by the root, some by the stem or stalk, son by the leaves, and others by the flowers or seeds A number of these, and many others of the greatest utility in medicine, come forth in various places of the globe without the aid of art, and are found growing wild among the herbs of the field ;-but these are n

experiments have been made at Portsmouth on the application of grass, a common product of New Zealand, to the manufactured large and small ropes, of which a favourable report has been giv The grass is strong, pliable, and very silky in its nature, and may s cut thrice a year.

† Hydrophobia.-Dr L. Spalding, a learned physician of New York in a pamphlet which he has lately published, announces the circu stance of a plant, commonly called skull-cap, (the scutellaria laterif ef Linnæus,) as being a preventive of, and cure for the hydrophobi and that it has been in use, as such, more than fifty years. It is d seribed as having never failed of a sanative effect; and is recommen ed as fitter for use when dried and reduced to powder, than when fres The testimony of several American physicians is superadded to that Dr Spalding.-See Edin. Mag. Dec. 1820.

e effects of chance. They were originally planted by e hands of Omnipotence, at the suggestion of Divine enevolence, prompted by Omniscience. It was the me Lord who created medicines out of the earth, at cast abroad, from the lap of his treasures, the nuerous seeds which produce those useful plants. Hẹ resaw the distresses of his creaturés, and in pity to eir calamities, not only commissioned the balm to ring up in Gilead, for the healing of the eastern bes, but has spread abroad that boundless variety medicinal herbs, which are to be found in every imate, suited to the diseases of those particular spots, here providence, all-wise, hath fixed the lot of their habitants.

What a beautiful variety of nutritious esculents and quisitely formed flowers do our gardens present !— re, the Parsley with her frizzled locks, the Celery ith her outstretched arms, the Asparagus with his wering stem, the Artichoke with his turgid top, the auliflower with her milky dome, the Cabbage with r swelling form, a variety of greens with their curled aves, and long files of pease and beans-await in silce their master's call, to do homage at his table ;ad here too are deposited, among a number of valuable nd useful roots, the acrimonious Garlic, the highly flar oured Onion, the sweet tasted Carrot, and that exellent farinaceous substitute for bread, the wholesome 'otatoe.*

• The preservation of Potatoes, it is said, may be effected by a pro. ess similar to that which is had recourse to in Scotland for the preervation of eggs; viz. by dipping them in boiling water, in order o destroy the living principle. Large quantities may be cured at ›nce, by putting them into a basket, as large as the vessel containing

If we descend even to the lowest, or the most ne glected among the orders of vegetables, we shall find that they are, or may be, all applied to some profitable or useful purpose ;-that, indeed, it becomes not any "presuming impious railer" to tax "Creative wisden, as if aught" in the words of my motto," was formed in vain." The Fern, or Brake, is not only applicabie to various uses in rural economy, but the true Sag powder, is said to be made from the pith of a species fern; and it is asserted, by Captain Cook, that th people of New Zealand make use of the root of the common fern for bread. Besides serving as food for cattle, and a number of other useful purposes, to whic the common heath is applied, Dr Willich mentio that, in the island of Islay, in the west of Scotlan a wholesome ale is prepared, by brewing one part malt, and two parts of the young tops of heath, which hops are occasionally added. Bees are very par tial to the flowers of heath.

The numerous family of Mosses, although they ma be styled the dwarfs of the vegetable kingdom, are n without their uses. There is one description, the gre hair-moss of the Laplanders, which furnishes that pe ple with their bed and bedding. Mosses are pecu arly plentiful in high northern latitudes and elevate situations; indeed, so much so, that St. Pierre has marked, in his strong and energetic language: "N ture seems to have clothed with them, as with a fleet the rocks and trees of high-lying grounds and po regions, for the same reason that she has clothed th

the boiling water will admit, and then just dipping them a minute two, at utmost, by which means the germ, which is near the skin, Be killed without injuring the potatoe.

mals of these regions with thick furs." One thing, wever, is certain, that gardeners, and those who are ustomed to send plants to a distance, know well the ue of moss as a packing article. We have already l occasion to notice the Rein-deer lichen, and the Dortant purposes it is made to serve in the northern ions; but, not to dwell on this numerous order, ich is said to comprehend no less than 363 species, st of which are natives of Great Britain, we shall t mention the esculent Iceland Liverwort, or lichen, ich abounds also in the highlands and lowlands of otland, as well as in some of the more northern parts of gland and Wales, which is said to contain such a great oportion of nutritious matter, that one ounce, boiled a pint of water, yields about 7 ounces of mucilage. the different kinds of Funguses, the powder of the nmon puff ball is sometimes used as a styptic, and as emits narcotic fumes, when burnt, it is occasionally ployed to take a hive without destroying the bees. uffles and morells have their uses in modern cooky, and some species of the mushroom which has been nominated "an isthmus between the animal and vetable kingdom," are much in request for the same

rpose.

Even the neglected Furze, which, in its young oots, furnishes such a grateful supply of nourishing od to the cattle that graze in its neighbourhood, may oftener converted into fences, in situations, where her shrubs would not thrive, than it is; and few ants, it has been observed, "are applicable to more umerous purposes of domestic utility" than the oom, which is left to vegetate and grow wild on our andy pastures and heaths. Nay, Nettles and Thistles,

which are reckoned among the weeds of creation, it is now more than suspected, may be profitably employed, and turned to good account by man, would he take the trouble to avail himself of the use of them!*

But what are we to say of poisonous plants?—are we to reject them as useless, or, what is worse, dangerous and baneful, without one redeeming quality to speak in their favour? By no means.-A number of these, whose properties are best known, are found to be extremely useful in many cases in the practice of medicine; and, it is a pleasing consideration, that, if the family of plants, in some instances, furnish what, if taken injudiciously, will prove poisonous, the same tribe of organized substances also furnisheth the A tidote.+

In all these respects, and many more (although it is impossible to enumerate them,) do the vegetable tribes individually obey their MAKER's will, and fulfil the ends of their creation. But there are two shapes in which they may be said generally to contribute to this

* Some experiments on the preparation of linen and thread from the floss of nettles have been made lately in Ireland. The thread in c our, strength and fineness, was equal, if not superior, to that obtained from flax, and the linen had the appearance of common grey lis en."-Edin. Mag. May 1819.

Speaking of thistles, Dr Willich observes: "All the species of thes neglected vegetable, may be usefully employed. The seed-crowns of the thistle afford both a valuable material for manufacturing paper, and a kind of strong cloth; and the ashes obtained by burning the whole plant, are of great service in glass-houses."

+ M. Drapiez has found, that the fruit of the feuillea cordifolia, is a powerful antidote against vegetable poisons. Dr Chisholm bas mentioned, that the juice of the sugar cane is the best antidote against a senic.-Edin. Phil. Journal, No. 7. p. 221.