may not be too much to extend the observation to all flowers; the poets describe them as precious gifts in their gladdening influences. Motherwell offers up his acknowledgments thus

I thank Thee, God, for every boon Thy hand in mercy showers, And oh! not least among Thy gifts, the beautiful wild flowers.

Numerous other poets echo the same sentiments. Deep glens and wild wastes have been sometimes said to engender depressed feelings, but even there the flowers bloom; there is, in truth, nothing saddening in such scenes to the lover of nature. Coleridge insists that there is nothing melancholy in nature that its scenes are an antidote to melancholy feelings. Probably no study or pursuit is fraught with so many cheering influences as the study of nature. To love nature is part of man's own nature; we see it breaking forth in childhood's earliest days, and in many instances becoming more deeply cherished as years increase. Vicious pursuits may blot it out in youth, and cares and the spirit of mammon obliterate every trace in after life. To the latter class the whole aspect of nature is without interest; they are unable to construe her language, or learn from her teachings. But

"To him who in the love of nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language; for his gayer hours
She has a voice of gladness, and a smile,
And eloquence of beauty; and she glides
Into his darker musings with a mild
And healing sympathy that steals away
Their sharpness ere he is aware."-BRYANT.

JULY 24TH.

THE SWEET VERNAL GRASS.-(Anthoxanthum odorátum.)

"All in a row,

Advancing broad, or wheeling round the field,

They spread the breathing harvest to the sun,

That throws refreshful round a rural smell."-THOMSON.

THE sweet vernal grass is an annual, standing about a foot high, the flowers, in short heads of pale yellowish green,

turning to a brownish yellow as the grass ripens. It may be somewhat difficult for those who have paid but little regard to the various grasses of our fields (though of such deep importance to man's welfare) to select any particular species from the 1,500 existing varieties, but bouquets of sweet-scented vernal grass are worth the gathering for its full rich odour. If

"The dull

See no Divinity in grass,"

they must surely appreciate its pleasant savour, for it is this particular variety that so sweetly perfumes the hayfields; the odour somewhat resembles that of the wood-ruff, and is emitted as soon as the grass is cut, becoming more powerful as the sap exhales in the sun. The perfume is said to arise from the presence of benzoic acid in the juices of the grass-but we are not chemist enough to test this fact.

:

The various occupations of the hayfield in bright, sunny weather usually produce in the mind of the observer sensations of delight the labour, though often very severe, appears rather as a recreation than work. It is pleasant to be awakened in early morning by the mowers' sweeping scythes. Tennyson says:

"O sound to rout the brood of cares,
The sweep of scythe in morning dew."

The easy, graceful circles of the band of mowers as they regularly follow each other down the field—the farm maidens scattering or tedding the crops-the farm labourers raking, loading, and stacking-are all pleasurable views, especially when the sun smiles gaily, and a fresh perfume is wafted on every breeze. The pleasurable feelings of the observer are also heightened by those sensations of gratitude that cannot but be awakened by the bountiful crop that covers the land for the food of cattle and thus for the sustenance of man.

JULY 25TH.

THE FOX GLOVE.-(Digitalis purpurea.)

THIS month is not unfrequently distinguished by magnificent days of clear, bright weather; leaving, indeed, nothing to be desired for a country excursion-the heat tempered by fresh breezes, and all nature robed in green,

“With breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom,"

beautiful as the face of early youth.

Wandering through one of the beautiful suburbs of a retired but old city we came upon an unfrequented locality which appeared to have been left to the culture of Dame Nature herself-down the steep hillside to the left, a deep shade of wood, matted with bramble and fern-to the right the view more open, but thickly covered with brake and broom, and glowing along the steep hillsides, with the deep purple blossoms of the showiest of our native wild flowers. The Fox Glove

"In whose drooping bells the bee
Makes her sweet music,"

is clothed in the richest purple, and beautifully freckled within with eye-like spots, set in creamy rings of the most delicate and fanciful pattern. The plant deems itself worthy of admiration, and lifts its tall head full of the pride of beauty; but beware! within all this fair exterior lurks a terrible power -the cup, all beautiful as it is, is full of deadly poison. With due caution, however, this powerful agent becomes a friend to man. Withering highly recommended the plant as a remedy in certain diseases, and states that in his own practice he had found it "an active and useful medicine." It derives its name from the resemblance the blossom bears to a glove; it seems to have been known of old as "folks' gloves" -that is, fairy gloves-and in France as "Gant de Notre Dame." The flower, however, bears more resemblance to a cap than a glove; in Ireland it is known as Lusmore, or 'fairy cap." And now the sun dips to the west-the sky is full of the softest, mellowest light, the edges of the clouds glowing in the brightest hues, until

to sober grey.

46

'The purple twilight drops down "

"Sweet day! so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky;
The dews shall weep thy fall to-night,

For thou must die."-GEORGE HERBERT.

JULY 26TH.

THE GREEN ROSE CHAFFER BEETLE (Cetonea aurata),

also known as the Copper Beetle, is one of our most splendid insects. Unlike the Beetle tribe, it prefers the sunniest hours for its excursions abroad, hovering in the air like a butterfly, and feeding upon the nectar of flowers. It is known as the Rose Beetle, but it appears to prefer the fragrant white pink, where it dines and bathes, and beds apparently in perfect bliss. It is a beautiful insect, as large as the chaffer, dressed in green and golden armour, often dotted with white, gleaming in the sunbeams like an emerald, or

"As if inlaid

With brilliants from the mine.

The sparkling of the lustrous wing-cases as the insect hovers in the air renders it conspicuous, but, nestled in its favourite bed of flowers, it may escape detection. It is rarely seen on the ground, as it belongs to the floral insects. By its day flight it escapes the nocturnal birds; and as its colour so closely assimilates to the foliage of the pink, some of the dangers of day are avoided.

Beetles may be said to wear their bones outside, as there is no internal skeleton, or bony frame. The legs of this insect will be seen to vary considerably from those of the ground beetle; the structure is evidently formed for climbing up plants and clinging to the foliage; indeed, every portion of the insect is clearly adapted to the sphere of life it is destined to fill. How frequently this lesson is forced upon the attention of the observer of Nature, recalling the lines of Pope :

"To man the voice of Nature spake :

Go, from the creatures thy instruction take."

Under favourable circumstances it would appear that this insect lives to a considerable age. Rosel states that he kept one of this species of beetles alive for upwards of three years, feeding it on fruit and moistened white bread.

Many of the beetle tribe of the Cape, Brazil, &c., glow with the richest colours, their gorgeous apparel probably rendering them inconspicuous amid the bright blooms of tropical plants; some species are perfect marvels of beauty, and are highly prized by collectors. Swainson speaks of £30 having been refused for a single specimen of a rare kind of beetle.

JULY 27TH.

BLACK HENBANE, OR HOGSBEAR.-(Hyoscyamus niger.)

HENBANE juice is one of the direst poisons given forth by any of our native English plants; it is usually found in waste, neglected places, occasionally in railway cuttings and embankments. The plant is known by its erect, round, branched stalk, rising about two feet, and bearing irregular clusters of straw-coloured flowers, these are painted in the most singular manner with lines of deep purple; the seeds are small and flattened, kidney-shaped, with small indentures; the leaves of the plant are large, and cut into irregular lobes, somewhat clammy to the touch, woolly and of a sea-green colour-the leaves embrace the stem; the root, in shape, closely resembles the parsnip; there is about the root, stem, leaves, and flowers an unpleasant, oppressive odour. It is a plant that should be well known in all its parts, for it is a deadly narcotic poison. Gerarde distinguishes it as one of the "banes and poysons of pernitious and malignant temperature." Lightfoot says that a few seeds of this deadly plant have deprived men of their senses, and of the use of their limbs. Dr. Houlton records an instance where Henbane roots were cooked by mistake for the supper of the inmates of a monastery; and states that, after supper, those who partook of the roots were strangely affected;