venerable face, and endeavoured to evince, by their audacity the greatness of their courage. Meanwhile, the unfortunate owl, not knowing where to direct his strokes, or where to fly for refuge, turned his head, and rolled his eyes at random, with an air of stupidity, and gave, from time to time, a loud snap with his bill. At length, unable to endure their insults, forth he darted in despair. The whole company followed, and either the just aversion, which he inspired, or else an instinctive consciousness of safety, induced them to pursue him without mercy. On they went, till a cloud suddenly obscured the sunbeams, and the owl happily approached a rocky bank covered with underwood; into this he darted, and none among the chattering crowd were bold enough to follow him.

That rocky bank is watered, at its base, by a clear gravelly stream, the favourite resort of a fine king-fisher, (alcedo ispida).

I have seen this beautiful creature hovering in the sunbeams over a less rapid flowing of the current, with the evident design of attracting his finny prey. In a few moments, a group of fishes. began to assemble, and remained gazing on the dazzling object. Immediately the kingfisher was down upon them, and having, with a single stroke, brought up the finest in his bill, he flew rapidly to the opposite side, and leisurely devoured it.

He then balanced himself over the water, again the fish assembled, and again he rendered one of them his prey. He was preparing a third time to repeat his aggressions, when a kite, which had been watching his movements from a neighbouring tree, made a sudden swoop towards him. But happily his quick eye perceived the danger, and in a moment my little halcyon shot away to his fastnesses in the opposite bank.

Ferns are now in flower, and as the month advances to a close, the under surface of their pinnated, or gracefully divided leaves, are elegantly varied with small circular lines, dots, or patches. Our green lanes, the roots of old beech trees, and spring heads, are profusely ornamented with the hart's-tongue and female polypody; the latter, when placed in a green-house, acquires a brighter colour, a more luxuriant growth; it also becomes an evergreen, and extremely ornamental plant.

Some of the latest butterflies are abroad; the phalena pacta, a white moth, may be often seen encumbered with the morning dew, and sleeping, unconscious of its danger, in the path-way; and the apis manicata, one of the solitary bees, which constructs an habitation for her future young, without any reference to her own accommodation, is our frequent visiter. This gay insect does not excavate a hole for the reception of her thin trans

parent cells; she places them in the cavity of old trees, in walls, and even inside the lock of a garden gate. When the cells are constructed, she lays an egg in each, fills them with honey, and plasters them with a covering, apparently, composed of honey and pollen. She then attacks the woolly leaves of the downy woundwort, corn cockle, and similar plants, industriously scrapes off the wool with her mandibles, rolls it into a little ball, and conveys it to her nest. This ball, the careful creature sticks upon the plaster, that covers her cells, and thus closely envelops them with a warm, downy coating, impervious to every change of atmosphere.

Though the movements of the common waterspider (aranea aquatica) are not peculiar to any season of the year, yet the present month is very favourable for observing her proceedings. The streams, which she frequents are generally clearer than any other; they are not disturbed by frequent rains; and hence her watery palace may be occasionally observed. When about to construct this dwelling, she spins, and then attaches her loose threads to the leaves of aquatic plants; over these she spreads a glutinous secretion, which resembles liquid glass, and is so elastic, as to admit of considerable dilation and contraction. She next enwraps herself with a mantle of the same

material, and ascends to the surface, where she draws in a quantity of air; this she again pumps out through an opening in the body, which seems peculiar to aquatic spiders, for the purpose of inflating their aerial garment. Thus clothed, and shining like a globe of light, our watery arachne plunges to her subaqueous habitation, and disengages the bubble from beneath her robe, in order to inflate it, till by repeated efforts a dry and commodious dwelling is erected in the midst of the waters. When finished, it is about the size of a pigeon's egg; and here she reposes, undisturbed by wind or wave; here also she devours her prey at leisure, and emerges from it to search the waters or the land for food. The male constructs a similar habitation: early in the spring, also, he assists his nearest neighbour to render her dwelling larger and more commodious, and when the eggs are laid and carefully packed up in a silken cocoon, in a corner of the dwelling, the female watches them with unwearied tenderness, while he continues to hunt for prey.

The diving-bell is an invention of modern days, the triumph of art over an unfriendly element ; but this triumph was long since anticipated by our water spider. Perhaps there is no invention, that may not find a prototype among the works of nature.

"

SEPTEMBER.

September marched eke on foot,

Yet was he heavy laden with the spoils
Of harvest riches."

SPENCER.

THE corn harvest is now generally completed, but this offers little repose to the labours of the husbandman; the fields are again ploughed, and prepared for winter corn, of which the sowing has again commenced.

Now, also, the gathering in of the apple harvest is begun, and this is a very cheerful season. Though not professedly a cider neighbourhood, we have a great deal of orcharding round the village, and the apples are generally good and plentiful. Several of the cottages have small orchards attached to them, and the gathering in of the crop summons the weaver from his loom, and his family from the labours of the manufactory.