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sunbeam or moonbeam falls on its polished leaves, they are beautiful, and when rustling in the breeze, they possess an additional interest. The ivy has been used in many a superstitious rite; let the Christian make a better use of it.

"Ivy! thou art ever green,

Let me changeless then be seen:
While my Saviour loves me-ne'er
Let my love grow old and sere.
Ivy! clinging round the tree,
Gladly would I learn of thee;
Clinging, as the year goes round,
To the cross would I be found."

The potato (Salanum tuberosum) belongs, as already mentioned, to this order, and has been of more advantage | to the human race than any other production of America, from which it was introduced in the reign of queen Elizabeth, by the celebrated sir Walter Raleigh, who first planted it in his garden at Youghal, in the south of Ireland. The original wild potato of America has a small worthless root; but this has been wonderfully improved by artificial cultivation. In this country, the potato blooms from May through the summer, according to the period of planting; the flower being of various shades, of purple or white, with large yellow anthers, in some degree united and opening by a double pore at the end. The berry which succeeds has two cells and numerous seeds.

One of the most common plants of the second order, both wild and cultivated, is the carrot, (Daucus carota,) which may be met with on the borders of fields, and in pastures and waste places, on almost every variety of soil, from granite to chalk. The flowering umbel is hollow, like a cup, and hence it has been popularly called bird's nest, a character which may help to prevent the young botanist from mistaking it for any other plant of the order, the umbellifera being so very similar in general appearance. The flowers are separate, the outermost irregular and barren, the inner fertile, the central one generally neutral and often coloured; the calyx indistinct, the petals inversely heart shaped, with an inflected point, irregular; the filaments hairlike and spreading, and larger than the corolla. The flowers appear in June, July, and the subsequent months.

As an example of the third order, the common elder, (Sambucus nigra) termed, provincially, bower tree, is one of our best known shrubs or small trees, rising about fifteen feet high, and flower

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ing from May till July, with a quintuply divided bouquet, or umbel of white highly-fragrant blossoms, the corolla having five divisions, and the berry three seeds. There is a dwarf species, (S. ebulus,) which is purely herbaceous, dying down to the ground every year; but the root is perennial. It is not very common, but in Wiltshire, about Compton Basset, where the writer has met with it, the farmers find it difficult to eradicate it from the ground.

In the fourth order, we find classed a very pretty mountain meadow plant, the grass of Parnassus, (Parnassia palustris,) which, during the autumn months, renders whole tracts of the moist upland pastures, where it grows, white with its beautiful blossoms. In such situations, it is common in the three kingdoms; and the writer has also seen it equally abundant in the valley of Chamouni, Switzerland, and other Alpine countries. The petals are veined with pellucid lines, and within these are numerous yellow glands, supported on footstalks of a very singular appearance, the use of which, in the economy of the plant, is unknown. The seed vessel has four valves and numerous seeds. The leaves, from the root, are heart shaped and taper pointed.

As an illustration of the fifth order, the cultivated flax (Linum usoristissimum) is not only very pretty, so as to be ornamental in the flower garden, and by no means uncommonly sown as an annual in the gardens around London, but it is one of the most important plants, next to cotton, for our manufactures. It blows in June and July, with a fine blue flower, followed by a seed vessel with ten valves and ten cells. The seeds are used for making linseed oil and linseed meal.

Flax appears to have been cultivated from the earliest times, being mentioned in the Old Testament among the productions of Egypt, Exod. ix. 31. When it is ripe, it is pulled up by the roots by hand, and laid in water to soak, till it begins to rot. It is then taken out, spread in the air to dry, and to fit it for the operations of breaking, scatching, and combing, or heckling.

Another common plant of this order is thrift, (Armeria maritima, formerly Statice Armerica,) a native plant, which grows profusely on some of our coasts, above high-water mark, and also on the tops of the highest mountains in England, Wales, and Scotland. It blossoms

from May till August with red, purple, scarlet, or white flowers, in a roundish head. The calyx has two leaves, entire, plaited, and membranous; the petals are five; the leaves linear, flat, and blunt. It makes a good garden border, and will thrive and blossom even in the smoke of towns and cities, and is most easily multiplied, to any extent, by division of the crowns and roots.

As thrift is cheaper than box for a garden border, the poor usually give the preference to the former. Thus poverty becomes its patron: while the flower is fresh, it should teachus thank fulness, and when it fades, it should remind us of our mortality. "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am," Psa. xxxix. 4.

The sixth order may be illustrated by a very curious and interesting plant, the sundew, (Drosera,) of which there are three native species: round-leaved sundew, (D. rotundifolia,) long-leaved sundew, (D. longifolia,) and English, or great sundew, (D. Anglica ;) the first two, common on most heaths and bogs; the last, rather scarce. They have a quinquefied calyx, fine petals, which rarely open, except when the sun shines upon them brightly. The seed vessel has one cell, with three or four valves, and many seeds. The plants are all small and inconspicuous, of a reddish brown colour, so like the soil, that the student requires to look minutely into the localities, in order to find them. The leaves nearest the root are furnished with glandulous hairs on the upper surface, and fringed round the edge; each hair having, at the extremity, a small globule of pellucid liquor-like dew, continuing, even in the hottest part of the day, and in the fullest exposure to the sun: hence the name of sundew, and the old Latin one of Rosa solis.

The only not uncommon native plant, illustrative of the seventh order, is mousetail, (Myosurus minimus,) which grows in the cornfields and gravelly pastures, and is often found in the vicinity of London. The stamens vary in number from four to twenty; but the tail-like form of the flower, or rather seed spike, and the grass-like leaves, will prevent the student from mistaking it for any other plant. The flowers are extremely small, the calyx having five leaves, with a spur at the base, and the corolla five petals with a tubular claw.

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The plants which are arranged in the sixth class have six stamens, as the term Hexandria implies. It is divided into six orders, like the preceding class. 1. Monogynia, with one pistil, as the lily and onion. 2. Digynia, with two pistils, as mountain sorrel. 3. Trigynia, with three pistils, as the dock. 4. Tetragynia, with four pistils, as water plantain. 5. Hexagynia, with six pistils. And, 6. Polygynia, with many pistils.

The natural order, Liliacea, or liliceous plants, all belong to the first order of this class, which contains some of our most choice flowers, including the tulip, hyacinth, and jonquil; and there are few seasons of the year when some species of the order may not be procured for illustration in the garden, if not in the field, from the earliest months, when the snowdrops appear.

"The first pale blossom of the unripen'd year, As nature's breath, by some transforming power Had changed an icicle into a flower."

They may be found till the later months of autumn, when the spiderwort, the Guernsey lily, and the oriental hyacinth come into bloom within doors.

The snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is a native bulbous-rooted plant, half a foot high, flowering from January till April, according to the soil and situation; and in a wild state, in woods, and on banks, covering larges patches of ground to the exclusion of every other plant, in the same way as the blue bell (Scilla nonscriptus) does, which grows in similar situations. The flower bud, enclosed in a sort of thin leathery sheath, (sputha;) the calyx has three concave divisions; the corolla is cup shaped, with three small-notched divisions; the stigma is simple, and the leaves simple and of a glaucous green colour. The double varieties are the most common in gardens, in which the stamens, from luxuriance of growth, are replaced by petals.

Following the snowdrop, in the succession of flowering, the daffodil, (Narcissus pseudo-narcissus,) belonging to this order, flowers in March and April,

the blossoms being pale yellow; the calyx with six equal divisions; the corolla in form of a cup, funnel shaped, and having a single saw-toothed leaf. The stamens are placed within the cup. The most common variety of this, also, cultivated in gardens, is that with double blossoms, which the student will, accordingly, not find to agree with the class from the stamens, having been replaced with petals by over luxuriant cultivation. There are several species of this genus with white flowers, often doubled and of exquisite fragrance, common in gardens, such as the poet's lily, (N. poeticus,) | which blows considerably later than the daffodil.

Succeeding the daffodil we have the tulip, (Tulipa gesneriana,) flowering from May till June, the blossom being in numberless varieties, produced by crossing, and by diversity of cultivation. The calyx or corolla, about which botanists are not all agreed, has six divisions, is bell shaped, blunt, and smooth.

It is said that a country fellow was once sent on an errand to the house of a Dutch tulip fancier. The Dutchman prided himself on the costliness of his flowers; and many of his tulip roots were worth from twenty to thirty pounds a piece. As the countryman had walked a long way, some refreshment was given him, which, indeed, he seemed to want. As he stood in the yard, eating a piece of bread and cheese, he fixed his eyes on what he supposed to be a number of onions, placed on a lone wall to dry. Thinking that an onion would make his bread and cheese relish the better, and not imagining that he was doing any harm, he laid hold of a couple of them, and proceeded, too hungry to be over nice in his taste, he cut them in slices. He had eaten one, and had almost finished a second, when the Dutchman, who had caught sight of him through the window, rushed upon him like a tiger. Mynheer was in a terrible passion, and no wonder; for the simple-hearted countryman, in appeasing his hunger, had been demolishing some of the choicest tulip roots that Mynheer had in his possession.

A singular foreign plant, the maguey, (Agave Americana,) or American aloe, belongs to this order; but though this plant is by no means uncommon, being kept most usually in large boxes or pots to ornament lawns and terraces, the student may not so readily meet with it in

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flower. It was first known to blossom in England, in the year 1729, in the garden of Mr. Cowell, at Hoxton, near London. Another plant flowered in 1737, at Eaton hall, in Cheshire, of which a print was engraved; and from the inscription thereon, we learn that the stem bud appeared on June 15, and for some weeks grew at the rate of five inches a day, the flower branches being perfected in twelve weeks, and then ceased to grow for a month, while the buds were forming. It produced one thousand and fifty blossoms. One, which blossomed, at Leyden, in 1760, produced more than four thousand blossoms.

The popular notion that this plant blossoms only once in a hundred years is quite a vulgar error; for the time of its flowering depends on the growth; and in warm countries it will blossom in a few years. The stem will grow from twenty to forty feet high.

The mountain sorrel (Oxyria reniformis) is the only British plant of this order, and is not uncommon on the mountains of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and elsewhere. The writer of this article found it on Skiddaw and on the Mam Tor, in Derbyshire. It is a very pretty plant, with kidney-shaped leaves, and a greenish blossom, with two petals.

In the third order, we find the common dock, of which field sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a well known species, common in meadows and pastures, sending up a pannicle of reddish-brown flowers during the summer months. The calyx has three leaves, the petals are three and convergent, the seeds are three sided. There is a smaller species, (R. acetosella,) common on bare heaths, turf walls, and other barren places. The leaves of both are agreeably acid, the acid having the property of taking ink stains out of linen.

We have all of us, in our youthful days, employed the dock to cure the pain inflicted by the stinging nettle; and we have gathered green sorrel, and enjoyed the pleasant acid it contains. Too little do we call to mind the pleasures of childhood, and the mercies of riper years.

"While God has given us rosy hours

Of health and peace, and fruit and flowers;
While we in pleasant paths have trod,
What have we rendered back to God?"

The fourth order contains the water plantain, (Alisma plantago,) which is to be met with in almost every pond of

water, sending up its broad leaves, and its tall branching spike of purplish white flowers during the summer months. The corolla has six divisions. There are several other species, which have all a similar appearance to those just described.

The petiveria (P. alliacka) is a stone plant of this order, a native of Jamaica and the other West India islands, where it grows in the low lands, in dry gravelly soil, and shady situations. It has the property of enduring much drought, and remains green when other vegetation is burned up; a valuable property in a hot climate. The cattle eat it greedily; but it gives to their milk the disagreeable odour of garlic.

Of the other orders we have no common illustrations to offer that would be useful to the student.

CHILDREN OF PRISONS.

WHEN I was in Berlin, I went into the public prison, and visited every part of the establishment. At last I was introduced to a very large hall, which was full of children with their books and teachers, and having the appearance of a Prussian school room. "What!" said I, "is it possible that all these children are imprisoned here for crime?" "O no," said my conductor, smiling at my simplicity; { "but if a parent is imprisoned for crime, and on that account his children are left destitute of the means of education, and are liable to grow up in ignorance and crime, the government places them here, and maintains and educates them for useful employment." This was a new idea to me. I know not that it has ever been suggested in the United States; but surely it is the duty of government, as well as its highest interest, when a man is paying the penalties of his crime in a public prison, to see that his unoffending children are not left to suffer and inherit their father's vices. Surely it would be better for the child, and cheaper as well as better for the state. Let it not be supposed that a man will go to prison for the sake of having his children taken care of; for those who go to prison usually have little regard for their children. If they had, discipline like that of the Berlin prison would soon sicken them of such a bargain. Professor Stowe.

ODD SORT OF PEOPLE.

66

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"DON'T go in there, Frank; they are such odd sort of people,” said Arthur, as Frank was dismounting to open the gate of Mr. Welford's cottage. I must go in,” replied Frank; for uncle desired me to call." "Then," said Arthur, may depend upon it I shall not accompany you. I will ride on and speak to Ned Tankerville: you can call there for me; or I will meet you at the end of the lane." So saying, Arthur put spurs to his horse, and was out of sight in a minute. I accompanied Frank in his call at Mr. Welford's, where we were received with cordiality and politeness. The commission which Frank had to execute, was to request the company of Mr. and Mrs. Welford and family to dine at the Hall one day in the ensuing week: the invitation was accepted, and the day fixed upon. While the deliberations on this matter were proceeding, I was-I hope not rudely, but certainly with some curiosity excited by Arthur's remarkgaged in scrutinizing the scene around me; and I saw nothing, either in the house or its inhabitants, which seemed to me to exemplify it. The house and furniture were neat, comfortable, and even elegant. The grounds, though not very extensive, were laid out with exquisite taste, and preserved in the nicest order. The family appeared to be intelligent, active, and cheerful. "Odd sort of people!" said I to myself: "I wonder what Arthur could mean; I expected to see a place as gloomy and unfurnished as a hermit's cell, with inhabitants uncouth or fantastic in appearance, and morose or ridiculous in manners; but -Ah! well. I shall see more of them when they spend a day at my uncle's, and perhaps find out what Arthur means.'

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The Welford family paid their visit. Whoever might regret this, I did not, for we passed the day most agreeably; and it was not till after the visitors had taken their departure, that I even recollected Arthur's sneering remark about their being "odd sort of people."

At the breakfast-table next morning, several topics of conversation which had been started on the preceding evening were resumed; and while referring to the pleasure we had enjoyed, I said to Frank, that I thought if Arthur had staid to spend the day with us, he must have changed his opinion of the Welford family. It could only be for want of

knowing them better, that he looked upon them as odd sort of people.

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"I don't know that,' ," said my uncle; our opinions of others are in a great degree influenced by our own tastes and habits. We are very apt to judge of things not so much by their intrinsic merits as by their accordance or dissonance with our own preferences and practices. When things are in their own nature perfectly indifferent, customs which are new to us, and of which we do not understand the reason, seem preposterous and absurd. By uneducated people, even to converse in a foreign language is condemned as talking gibberish; and people of different nations acquainted with no language but their own, are thus barbarians to each other."

"But that is very narrow-minded," said Frank.

Yes," replied my uncle, "want of information naturally cramps the mind; but pride and prejudice do so in a still greater degree, and lead to much greater illiberality. A naturally noble mind, though placed in circumstances unfavourable to its developement, will admit the possibility of there being truth and good sense in matters which it does not understand; but a contracted mind will condemn, as foolish and ridiculous, all persons and practices not exactly conformed to its own standard, especially if the practices can by any means be construed into a tacit reproof of its own."

My uncle's remarks brought to my recollection an ingenious story I had just read in "Evenings at Home." It is called "Travellers' Wonders." A captain being importuned by his children to tell about some of the strange countries he had visited, relates to them a variety of strange particulars which excite their wonder and censure; but they afterwards find that they had been listening to a description of their own habits and practices, expressed in other words than those with which they were familiar, and placed in a somewhat different point of view from that to which they were accustomed; and I thought, that perhaps in saying that the Welfords were odd sort of people, Arthur meant no more than that they called things by different names, or perhaps acted differently from himself in some little matters to which he might attach undue importance.

"Nothing more likely," replied my uncle. "I can easily suppose that the vocabulary of Mr. Welford and that of

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Arthur Longley would almost be as different as if they were foreigners: they may possibly call the same animal a dog or a cat; but as to any quality, action, or habit, I can scarcely imagine them to have an idea in common. Arthur, you know, considers himself well born, because he happens to be related to one or two persons possessing a title, or the shadow of a title, and was never, that he is aware of, connected with any person engaged in trade or commerce. Mr. Welford, too, considers himself well born; for he is the son of virtuous and intelligent parents in humble life, who early instilled good principles, and set good examples before him, and who denied themselves to obtain for their sons an education which they knew how to appreciate, though they did not possess. This proved the foundation of their son's rising in life. He was placed in a manufactory, and by his diligence, punctuality, and skill, gained favour with his employers, and was advanced in the establishment. Meanwhile his leisure hours were employed in applying the mathematical knowledge he had acquired, to practical purposes connected with his employment. In time he matured several experiments, and they proved completely successful in simplifying the process and improving the product of his labour. The value of his discoveries was honourably acknowledged by his employers, and he was admitted to a share in a most extensive and lucrative concern, and to a family connexion with the senior partner. After a prosperous commercial career of fifteen or twenty years, Welford said, what few prosperous tradesmen under fifty years of age can be induced to say, "I have enough; I will retire to educate and enjoy my family, and leave the field of commerce open to new competitors." He purchased the estate, and erected the modest dwelling you saw last week, and there settled with his family a few months ago. His father resides with them, a fine old man full of intelligence, benevolence, and vivacity. He is at present visiting a daughter at some distance, or would have made an agreeable addition to our party of yesterday.

"Our worthy neighbour, you perceive, has made out his own patent to nobility, by rendering important advantages to the commercial interests of his country, and by uniformly maintaining a noble course of conduct: not least so in his fulfilment of "the first command

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