sea. re The winter green, (Trientalis Europaa,) illustrative of the first order of this class, may be found in dry turfy woods and heaths, chiefly in Scotland and the north of England, being confined chiefly to northern localities, though it will grow well, when cultivated, in gardens round the metropolis. Linnæus found it in the Alpine district of Lulean Lapland, and was fond of the plant, probably, because it helped to fill up this small seventh class, and to complete the uniformity of his system. The calyx is seven leaved, the corolla has seven segments, regular, flat, and whitish rose coloured. clan of people had resided for many | nia, with one pistil, as the horse chestgenerations, and to seek a home in the nut. 2. Digynia, with two pistils, as dark and distant woods of America. In African limeum. 3. Tetragynia, with the melancholy progress towards the four pistils, as lizard's tails. 4. Hepshore, they came to the parish | tagynia, with seven pistils, as septas. church, where they were wont to worship God, and near to which the remains of their fathers were deposited: they entered the sacred enclosure, stood on the tombs of their relatives, *66 turned and wept, and still returned to weep." A good old patriarch addressed a few words of comfort to them; he took out the Gaelic psalm book from his pocket, "Let us sing," said he, "the forty-sixth psalm," a prayer was offered up to the God of their fathers, and their souls were refreshed; they proceeded without a murmur or complaint, without one expression of resentment or vengeance against the unfeeling chieftain. There is a magic spell in the true simplicity of sacred melody and sacred poetry which cannot fail to enchant and command the heart.-Extract of a letter from the Rev. Dr. M'Leod, of Campsie, Scotland, to an Irish clergy-feet high, blowing from April till May, The horse chestnut (Esculus hippocastanum) furnishes a much more common illustration of this order. It is an ornamental flowering tree, a native of Asia, grows from forty to one hundred with a reddish white blossom, in a large thyrsus-like spike; the calyx, with one bulging leaf; the corolla, with five unequal petals, downy upon the surface, and plunged in the calyx; the capsule has three cells, with large chestnut-like seeds; the leaves have seven fingershaped divisions. The leaves, when first developed, are singularly interesting and beautiful, being very large, and of a fine green colour. When enfolded in the bud, they are covered with a sort of down, which falls off as they expand, sooner or later, according to the dryness or moisture of the season. The growth, both of the tree and of the leaves, is very rapid, both shoots and leaves having their growth sometimes perfected in three weeks from the time of foliation. The flowers appear a short time after the leaves, and are white, variegated with red and yellow. The fruit ripens about the end of September, or beginning of October, and is allowed to fall from the tree; but if wanted for seed, must be soon after gathered, and either sown, or mixed with earth, because, as M. Baudrillart remarks, if it be exposed to the atmosphere, it will lose the power of germinating in a month. The buds of the horse chestnut are covered with a gummy substance, which protects the interior from wet; and we cannot have a better illustration of the the number seven, having the calyx in seven deep segments, seven petals, seven capsules, and seven germens. There are two other speeies, both natives of the Cape of Good Hope. THE EIGHTH CLASS. OCTANDRIA, care taken by Providence of the buds of plants. On detaching a bud, during the winter season, it will be found to be about the size of a garden pea; and after the external covering has been removed, a great number of scales appear; as many as seventeen have been counted. On taking off the scales and the down, which form the internal covering of the bud, the young branch leaves surrounding a spike of flowers, will be brought to view, so distinct, that with the aid of a microscope, they may not only be counted, but their stamens and pistils, and even the pollen in the anthers. The student may thus, by dissecting the buds of the horse chestnut, procure illustrations for study, even in the winter season. It is necessary to remark, how-natives of this country, and such as have ever, that the operation requires the utmost delicacy and care. The finest avenue of horse chestnut trees, in England, is at Bushy Park; and little inferior, is one from the city of Bonh to the Chateau of Poppelsdorf, on the Rhine. Individual trees, when old, sometimes attain a magnificent magnitude, of which there is a fine example just beyond the fifth milestone from London, on the Maidstone road, close by the Roebuck inn. Part of the root of this tree has arched itself over a small stream of water, by the side of the footpath, forming a natural bridge. The African linneum, (L. Africanum,) the only example of the second order of this class, is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, half a foot high, blowing in June and July, with white flowers, and oblong stalked leaves. The calyx is five leaved; the petals five, and equal; the capsule globose and two celled In the third order, we have the lizard's tail, (Saururus,) of which there are three species, the drooping, (S. cernuus,) from Virginia, being, perhaps, the best known. It is a trailing perennial, seldom rising more than two feet high, and blows in July; but does not ripen seed in this climate. The flower is without petals; the leaves are heart shaped. The various species of septas are in the fourth order, of which the Cape one (S. corpensis) is a very pretty small plant, about nine inches high, flowering in August and September, with a fine umbel of red and white flowers. The leaves are connate, arenated, and roundish. The stem is nearly naked. According to Linnæus, it is remarkable for The plants arranged in this class are furnished with "eight stamens,' as the term Octandria implies. It is divided into four orders. i. Monogynia, with one pistil, as heath and Indian cress. 2. Digynia, with two pistils, as galenia. 3. Trigynia, with three pistils, as buckwheat and bistart. 4. Tetragynia, with four pistils, as waterwort and gloryless. In the first order, are placed some of our prettiest plants, both such as are been introduced and become favourites in our gardens. Among wild plants, we find the heath, the willow herb, tree primrose, whortleberry, and maple. Among the garden plants, the foreign heaths, the fuchsias, balm of Gilead, and Indian cress, or nasturtium; so that the student may find illustrations for study, in most of the months of the year, with the exception of two or three of the winter months; and even then, some of the heaths are in flower, either out of doors, or in the greenhouse. Besides the common heath, (Erica vulgaris,) whose flowers are not very conspicuous, the grey heath (E. cinerea) is by no means rare in most parts of the three kingdoms, growing on the hedges of woods, and rising about one foot high. It blows from July till September, with a drooping spike of fine purple flowers; calyx with four leaves; corolla with four persistent divisions. The anthers are crested; the capsule membranous with four or eight cells. The leaves are placed three in a whirl round the stem. It is a very showy plant, and as it will bear cutting and trimming, it would form a good substitute for box, in the edging of garden borders. Another very beautiful native heath is the cross-leaved one, (E. Tetralix,) easily distinguished from the others by its flowers growing in clusters at the end of the stem; and by its leaves, which grow in fours, and form a sort of cross around the stem. They are margined with stiff hairs, each bearing a small globule at the extremity. By far the greater number of heaths are natives of the Cape of Good Hope; and not one has been hitherto found, so far as the writer knows, in either Asia or America, or any where between the tro- But it breathes of other things to me, Of tower, and tree by lightning riven, Among the eastern nations, it is still in the highest repute for its medicinal properties, though, in Europe, it is not deemed of great virtue. The leaves are small, commonly consisting of one pair of leaflets, with an additional one at the top, and of a bright green colour. Among the ancients, Strabo says, "Near this [Arabia] is the most happy land of the Sabeans, and they are a very great people. Among these frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon grow; and on the coast, about Saba, the balm also." Its native country is among the myrrh trees, behind Azab along the coast of the Straits of Babelmandel. Josephus tells us, (Antiq. v.) that a plant of this balm was brought to Jerusalem by the queen of Sheba, and given, among other presents, to Solomon, who was curious in the knowledge of plants. The Indian cress, or nasturtium, (Tropaeolum majus,) is a tender annual from Peru, growing six feet high, and blowing from June till killed by the frost. The blossom is large, and varies in colour, from pale yellow to deep purplish brown. The calyx consists of one leaf, with five spurred divisions; the corolla has five petals, unequal and The whortle berry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is a very pretty wild plant, not uncommon in woods, heaths, and commons; and well known for producing a purplish berry, about the size of a currant, very pleasant as a fruit, though it is no where, so far as the writer knows, cultivated for that purpose; but great quantities of the fruit are brought to market, both here and on the continent, gathered by peasants from the wild plants. They are even made an article of commerce at Hamburgh, for the pur-blunt; the fruit is à drupe, leathery and pose of colouring wine. The blossom is not unlike that of the heaths; and the plant itself somewhat resembles the small-leaved myrtle. The evening, or tree primrose, (Enothera biennis,) though a native of North America, has become naturalized in this country, and is not uncommon in old neglected gardens, and on rubbish heaps, blowing from June throughout the summer; being, for the most part, biennial, but not unfrequently annual in its flowering. The blossom is yellow; the calyx tube like, with four divisions; the petals four, plunged in the calyx; the capsule with four valves; and four cells containing numerous naked seeds, fixed to a four-cornered central column. The balm of Gilead (Amyris Gileadensis) is a common enough plant, kept in window pots. It would seem that the estimation of this plant was of the highest antiquity, balm and myrrh having been carried by the Ishmaelites to Egypt, Gen. xxxvii. 25; and the prophet Jeremiah, Jer. viii. 22, alludes to its medicinal virtues in the passage, Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered ?" 66 furrowed, containing one roundish seed. The leaves are target shaped and spreading, on very long leaf stalks, which support the plant by twining around the shrubs where it grows. The dark varieties, produced by accident, have been introduced only a few years, and are now great favourites. The small species (T. minor) does not rise above a foot or two in height; but the tall sort may be dwarfed by pinching off the ends of the shoots, or by planting it in a garden pot to confine the roots. Another genus of plants, ranked in this order, is the fuchsia, named in honour of Leonard Fuchs, a celebrated German botanist, who was knighted by the emperor Charles v., and published a history of plants, at Basle, in 1542, with five hundred and sixteen engravings in wood. The calyx, of all the species, is of one leaf, and may readily be mistaken by a young botanist, for the corolla or blossom, being of a fine scarlet colour, while the corolla is smaller, being contained within the scarlet calyx, and of a blue or purple colour, consisting of four small petals. The seed vessel has four cells, and many seeds. The fuchsias are natives of South America, particularly Chili and Brazil, and are great favourites in pots, since they were introduced in 1788, by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy, who introduced the scarlet one, (F. coccinea.) There are now many hybrid varieties obtained by crossing, and every year increasing by the activity of nurserymen and amateurs. They require to be kept well watered, or they will readily lose their leaves, and the blossom buds will drop off, without expanding. The upright galenia (G. Africana) belongs to the second order of this class. It has a four-cleft calyx, no corolla, and the capsule roundish, containing two seeds. The stem is erect and shrubby; the leaves fleshy and line like. The plant was named by Linnæus to commemorate the celebrated physician Galen, who flourished in the second century of the Christian era. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and flowers here from June till August. As illustrating the third order, we have the numerous species of polygonum, some one of which may be found, as weeds, in almost every field and garden. The birds' weed (Polygonum aviculare) is, perhaps, the most common of all these, growing every where in the three kingdoms, by waysides and waste ground, with long trailing branches, lying so close together, as to give the whole the appearance of a short turfy sward. The capsule is three angled, of a pink colour; the seed is brown, and much sought after by small birds, whence the name is derived. In gardens, it becomes a troublesome weed, as, like most of the species, the seeds are produced in great abundance. It is often the case, that we pass by common hedges and ditches without affording even a passing glance at the varied shrubs, plants, flowers, and grasses which individually might challenge our admiration. With an unsparing hand has the bounteous Author of creation scattered, in solitary places, plants of the most exquisite formation. Were our garden flowers unknown, the wild flowers of the field would be collected with care, and gazed on with delight; but thus it is with the common gifts of our heavenly Father. The very reason for which we should prize them higher, leads us to estimate them lower. O Father of mercies, make us more sensible than we are of thy favours ; And teach us, while we gaze around, Another very abundant species is the climbing buckwheat, (P. convolvulus,) called also black-bind-weed, and wintleweed, a very troublesome weed in corn fields and gardens, seeding profusely, and, from twining around the plants where it springs up, it choaks and injures them. The seed vessel is similar to the last, but the seeds are greatly larger in size, and might, probably, be cultivated with advantage, as good for poultry, or even for bread, being wholesome and nutritive. The common buckwheat, (P. fagopyrum) is sown in small quantities, in some places, by farmers, though the cultivation of it appears to be on the decline, as the produce is more uncertain, while it is decidedly inferior in qualities to every sort of corn. The seed vessel, like the two preceding, is triangular, and the ripe seeds are of the same form, and of a dark brown colour, and shining lustre. All sorts of seed birds and poultry are fond of them. Bistort (P. bistorta) is a medicinal plant of the same genus, which grows in small patches, in sandy fields, near rivers, in various parts of the country. It flowers in May and June, with a pale rose-red blossom, in a short close spike at the top of a tall stem. The corolla is five parted; the capsule, or seed organ, is triangular and red, containing an angular shining brown seed. The root is woody and tortuous, and is considered to be a good astringent in diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera; but it is not much used in modern medicinal practice. In gardens, a very common species of this genus is sown as an annual, and is known under the name of persicaria, (P. orientale,) though the proper plant of this name is a common weed in gardens and rubbish, popularly termed bird pepper, or arsmart, (P. persicaria.) The garden annual is from the East Indies, though it is by no means tender, and will, like the other species, continue to sow itself for years, successively, in the same garden. It is very similar in appearance to the bird pepper, but has a much finer scarlet colour; while the flower spikes droop in an elegant manner on the ends of the branches of the tall stem. There is also a dwarf variety of this tall sort, cultivated in gardens. The seeds are angular, like the preceding, and ripen in autumn. J. R. View of the Land Slip, near Lyme, Devon. A GREAT portion of the coast between Lyme and Axmouth consists of undercliff, evidently arising from large masses of the rocks being detached, and falling or slipping towards the sea, and thus forming the beautiful and wild scenery, for which this part of Devon is noted. Occasionally, the rocks stand boldly up to the beach, and this is the case where the greater part of the convulsion now appears; the great chasm having been formed directly through a mass of rock, projecting to the sea, leaving the ridges on the right and left still standing, almost perpendicularly. This disturbance consequently differs from the previous ones, in its being a direct sinking downwards of the part affected, and not a slip or slide of one rock along the sloping side of another, nor a fall of detached portions to the under-cliff below, except in some parts at the extremities of the chasm. The first unusual appearances preceding the event, were observed in the sea, which, during the greater part of December, 1839, was agitated in the neighbourhood, by remarkable land swells, without the wind commonly producing them. On December 24, 1839, before daylight, the inhabitants of Dowlands farmhouse, situated about half a mile from the present chasm, were awoke by a loud crashing noise, and a sense of the house shaking beneath them; the motion, however, was not sufficiently great to produce any apparent crack in the walls. As the day advanced, the tenant of a cottage on the under-cliff, about a quarter of a mile east from the present chasm, observed a crack quite across the lime ash floor; and this continued to widen through the day, without however producing any alarm. In the evening, the men connected with this and a neighbouring cottage, went to the Dowlands farm-house, to hold their accustomed feast on Christmas-eve; they returned about midnight, and noticed the crack in the floor to be wider, but went to bed without fear. On December 25, the tenants of the cottages were awoke by loud noises, and found the walls splitting; they had only just time to get out, when the roof of the one first affected came to the ground, and many small rents were visible around. About ten at night, the preventive coast guardmen found the beach to be rising, and the rocks adjoining to be cracking in every direction. Sparks like those of flints when struck by steel, arose from the sea, and there was a strong smell of sulphur. On one of them attempting to pass by the usual path from the undercliff across the rocks projecting to the M |