SKETCHES OF THE LINNEAN SYSTEM OF BOTANY.-No. V. As in chaotic darkness the word of God called forth the light; so in spring, it may be said, the breath of the Almighty diffuses life throughout the earth. What was dead is made to live, what was sterile becomes abundant, and what was dumb becomes tuneful. May is a season of blossoms and balmy breezes. It is a month that gives much, and promises more. The hill, the valley, the wood, the coppice, and the hedgerow, are sprinkled with buds and flowerets. The beetle, the bee, and the butterfly, on their errands of food gathering, or pleasure, are abroad. The live-long day rejoices, and morning, noon, and night, the song of the nightingale is heard. divisions. The berry is dark blackish purple. Medicinally, both the berries and leaves are employed as a warm carminative and narcotic stimulant; but as their effects depend on the prussic acid contained in them, and this being uncertain in quantity, they are very far from safe. For the same reason it is not safe to use bay leaves in cookery, as is often recommended, particularly in the older books. So dangerous a poison ought not to be thus tampered with for the sake of the aromatic flavour which it imparts. Belonging to the same genus is the cinnamon laurel, (L. cinnamomus,) an evergreen tree, a native of the island of Ceylon, and other parts of tropical Asia, flowering with us in January, which an swers to the midsummer of its native In May, while the cuckoo is proclaim-climate. The flowers, which are white, ing the spring, and the birds are build- grow in axillary panicles. The calyx ing their nests, the hedge hog sallies is wanting, and the corolla has six oval, abroad in search of cockchafers, his painted, and spreading petals. The fruit dainty meat. Lady birds, or, as young is an oval berry, with a depressed top, people call them, lady cows, with their and containing one seed. The bark, speckled wings, congregate together. which is in so great esteem as an aroField crickets and forest flies grow bold, matic spice, is taken off from May till Ocand the death-watch beetle beats his tober, from the younger branches. It forehead against any thing that emits a has a warm, pleasant, sweetish taste, and sound. ought to be very smooth, thin, and splintery, not liable to break in short cross pieces. It is employed in making oil of cinnamon, cinnamon cordial, and other preparations. In Ceylon, the natives also procure, from the tree, a singular production, called cinnamon suet, used for making candles. In the specimen which the writer of this article received from professor Christisan, of the University of Edinburgh, it appeared to be not unlike mutton suet; but rather of a more yellowish tinge, with little taste or smell. It contains eight per cent. of a fluid oil, not unlike olive oil, and a waxy substance, similar to cerin. How many a dame, in midnight hour, "Oh may we live, that we may dread In the ninth class, Enneandria, are arranged plants which have blossoms with nine stamens,' as the term Enneandria implies. It is divided into three orders. 1. Monogynia, with one pistil, as sweet bay and laurel. 2. Digynia, with two pistils, as rhubarb. 3. Hexagynia, with six pistils, as flowering rush. One of the most common evergreens in shrubberies and clumps for ornamenting the lawns of villas and country residences, is the noble laurel, or sweet bay, (Laurus nobilis,) a native of the south of Europe, flowering in April and May, and ripening berries in the autumn. The blossoms are of a yellowish white colour, and grow in short clusters. They have the peculiarity of some plants, producing flowers with stamens only, and other plants and flowers with pistils only. In both sorts of flowers, the corolla has four oval In the same climates grows a very similar tree to the cinnamon laurel, called cassia, (L. cassia,) an evergreen, belonging to the same genus, and so like the cinnamon, that botanists are not quite agreed whether it is specifically distinct, or a mere variety. The fruit is an egg oblong, black berry, with a sharp top, differing in this from the fruit of the cinnamon tree, which has a depressed top. What are called cassia buds are not procured from this, but from the cinnamon tree. The cassia bark is not unlike cinnamon in qualities, but is not so thin and smooth, and does not break Q so splintery, but in short cross pieces; | unite and blend so intimately. But by and, above all, the aroma is not so delicate putting a sample on a piece of hot bread, and fine. It is often sold for cinnamon its goodness will be proved by its becomto those who do not know the distinc- ing moist. It is a powerful stimulant, and in a large dose may prove poison tion. The biblical reader may remember that cassia is a sweet spice, mentioned by Moses as one of the ingredients in the composition of the holy oil, used when the sacred vessels of the tabernacle were anointed. Sweet cinnamon was also another ingredient. "Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, and of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive," Exod. xxx. 23, 24. The sassafras tree (L. sassafras) is another plant of this interesting genus, and is a native of North America, and also of Asia, flowering with us in May and June. The flowers, which are small and greenish white, grow in hanging panicles. There is no calyx, and the corolla has six narrow convex divisions. Some flowers have stamens only, nine in number, and no pistils; other flowers have both stamens, six in number, and one pistil. The berry is deep blue, in a small red cup. The wood, the root, and bark are the parts medicinally used, the taste being sweetish, aromatic, and somewhat acrimonious, depending on a resin, and an essential oil, which are both soluble in alcohol and water. It smells somewhat like fennel. In medicinal effect it is diaphoretic, promoting perspiration; and alterative, being used in form of decoction, or infusion. An oil is also prepared from it. The camphor laurel (L. camphora) is another evergreen species of this genus, and is a native of North America and Asia. The flowers, which are small and white, grow in close clusters. There is no calyx; the corolla has six small petals of an egg oblong form; the capsule is roundish; the fruit is red oval berry. The roots, wood, and leaves are used from which to distil camphor, which is a strongly odoriferous substance, of a bitter aromatic taste, slightly soluble in water, on which it will swim, and wholly soluble in alcohol. In the market, camphor is extensively adulterated with spermaceti white wax, which can with difficulty be detected by the eye, their appearance is so similar, and they ous. In the second order, we find the highly interesting rhubarb plants, (Rheum,) of which there are two principal species, and innumerable varieties. The wavyleaved rhubarb, (R. undulatum,) in some of its varieties, is to be found in almost every garden, and is a perennial, indigenous to Asia, and flowering with us in May and the following months. The flower stem rises from four to six feet high; the flowers being white, and growing in bunches, on a large branchy panicle. The leaves are very broad, undivided, but more or less waved on the margin. The leaf stalks are extensively used for making tarts, either alone or with gooseberries, or apples. The corolla has six persistent divisions, and the seed is three cornered and flat. The varieties consist chiefly in the size and colour of leaf stalks, some being green, and some pink or scarlet; and some very large and long, while others are thin and short. They are all easily propagated from seed, which springs up a few days after it is sown, or by dividing the roots, and planting out the divisions. The root has similar medicinal properties to the Indian rhubarb, though of considerably less power. It is frequently sold for the genuine. There is a variety called, on account of its unusual size, the Goliath rhubarb. A field of this variety, when in flower, presents the appearance of a miniature forest. The thick and jointed stalks are crowned with bunches of flowers that resemble clusters of white caterpillars. The Indian rhubarb (R. palmatum) is also a native of Asia, and was formerly much more common in gardens than it is now, since the common species came to be so generally cultivated for its leaf stalks. It flowers in May, like the preceding, the flowers being small and whitish, and growing in panicled clusters. There is no calyx; the corolla is six cleft, the divisions being blunt; the seed organ has three membranaceous margins, and encloses a triangular seed. The root is one of the most valuable purgatives ever discovered. The Russian or Turkey rhubarb is brought to market in round pieces, artificially dressed and perforated in the middle with a hole, intended to show the soundness of the interior. The sort hawked about the streets of the metropolis, by Jews and Armenians, is some inferior sort, rasped, dyed with turmeric, and artificially dressed, so as to make it resemble the genuine. It ought to be very compact and solid; not light and porous, and easily pulverized into a bright buff yellow-coloured powder. When chewed, it should feel gritty, and tinge the spittle with saffron yellow. When broken, the fracture should appear rough and jagged, showing numerous streaks of a fine bright red colour. The East Indian, or Chinese rhubarb, is not in round, but largish flat pieces, with perforation. In colour, it is brownish yellow, not reddish yellow, like the Turkey rhubarb. The texture is more compact and heavy, and it is less easily powdered. When broken, it presents a more compact smooth fracture of a dull colour, mottled with yellow, pink, and grey. The powder of this root is reddish, and not bright yellow. In the powdered state, all the sorts are extensively adulterated with the roots of meadow rue, common dock, and common garden rhubarb, very difficult to detect. In the third order, we find only one plant which is not very uncommon, the common flowering rush-on-water gladiole, (Butomus umbellatus,) a native perennial, growing in ponds and slow running streams, such as the Ravensbourne, at Lewisham, near the five milestone from London. It is a very handsome plant, blowing from June till late in autumn, the flowers growing on the top of a tall stem, in form of an umbel, their stalks being arranged like the spokes of an umbrella, with six divisions. The capsules are six, with many seeds. The leaves are sharp edged. A sluggish half-choked stream is, in sunshine, the rendezvous of insects of all kinds, gamboling in the air; flitting from one side to the other, and settling on the tops of the rushes and sedgy grass. What time, amid the glowing west, TENTH CLASS. DECANDRIA. In this class are arranged such plants as have flowers with "ten stamens," as the term Decandria implies. There are five orders. 1. Monogynia, with one pistil, as rue. 2. Digynia, with two pistils, as the pink and saxifrage. 3. Trigynia, with three pistils, as campian and catchfly. 4. Pentagynia, with five pistils, as lychnis and stonecrop. Decagynia, with ten pistils, as phytolacca. 5. Rue, (Ruta graveolens,) which illustrates the first order of this class, is an evergreen shrubby herb, a native of the south of Europe, to be met with in almost every garden, and blowing from June till late in the autumn. The flowers, which are yellowish green, grow in bundles. The calyx and corolla of the first blown flowers are five; the calyx and the corolla of the succeeding flowers are only four parted. The petals are concave. The receptacle has ten honey points (Nectaria) around it; the capsule is lobed, and the seeds rough and black. The leaves, which are sea green and very nauseous, are the part used in medicine. The distilled oil of rue is poi sonous. A great number of interesting foreign plants belong to this order, such as the senna tree, (Cassia senna ;) the copaiva tree, (Copaifera officinalis ;) the guaiac tree, (Guaiacum officinale;) the logwood tree, (Hamataxylon Campechianum ;) the Benjamin tree, (Styrax Benzoin;) the storax tree, (S. officinalis ;) the Tolu balsam tree, (Myroxylon Toluifera ;) and the Peruvian balsam tree, (M. Peruvianum ;) besides a native shrub, the bearberry, (Arbutus alvæursi ;) and the strawberry tree, (A. unedo.) The bearberry is not uncommon in marshy, mountainous situations in Scotland; and the strawberry tree has been found wild, it is said, in the south of Ireland. It is a very common evergreen in shrubberies, and bears blossoms and fruit at the same time, late in autumn, and early in winter, the fruit being not unlike a small strawberry, and the blossom somewhat like that of the whortle berry, or of the cross-leaved heath. In the second order, the most common plant, perhaps, is the shady saxifrage, (Saxifraga umbrosa,) better known under the popular names of none-sopretty, and London pride, the latter name having been given, it is said, on account of the plant thriving in the gardens of the most confined suburbs of the metropolis, in spite of smoke and want and woods. The blossom, which appears from March till June, is white and showy; the calyx with five spreading leaves; the corolla with five petals, two cleft; the capsule two celled, with many seeds; and the leaves sharp pointed, and somewhat rough. of light and air. It is a native perennial, | quently to be met with in hedges, copses, found in shady woods, in mountainous situations, and blows from April till June, with a pale carnation coloured blossom, in a handsome panicled spike, about one foot high. The calyx has five divisions; the corolla has five petals, prettily dotted with scarlet; and the seed vessel is two-beaked, and one celled with many seeds. The leaves vary in shape, but are almost uniformly notched with a sort of gristly notches. The clove, July flower, (Dianthus caryophyllus,) is another common garden plant of this order, said to be a native of Britain; but if so, it is very rarely to be met with wild. It flowers in July, with blossoms of various shades of red, growing in branched panicles. The calyx is cylindrical, having one striated leaf, with four scales at the base, very short and egg oblong; the corolla has five petals, very broad, beardless, and with claws; the capsule is cylindrical, with one cell and many seeds. The sweet-william (D. burbatus,) a wellknown species of the same genus, from Germany, has the flowers growing in a tufted bouquet, and the calyx leaves are bearded. Both are biennial. The July flower and sweet-william are to be found in the cottage garden of the poor, while slips of both adorn the blue broken jug of the almshouse window, and the sabbath-coat button hole of the aged labourer. Go on, old man! thou doest well Another foreign plant, of this order, commonly grown in garden pots for windows, is the hydrangea, (H. hortensis,) a native of China, and blowing from April, throughout the summer and autumn. The flowers are produced in a large globular rayed bouquet. The calyx is five toothed; the corolla with five petals; the capsule with two cells, opening by a hole between two beaks. The colour of the flowers may be changed from pink to blue, by growing the plants in a soil mixed with wood ashes, peat earth, or iron rust. The most common wild plant, illustrative of the third order, is the hedge stitchwort, (Stellaria holostea,) a very pretty evergreen perennial, very fre In gardens, an illustration of the order may be found in the pink-eater fly, (Silene armeria,) a native annual, occurring, though not very commonly, on rubbish, and in waste places. It blows from July till killed by the frost. The blossom is lake red, and grows in a tufted bouquet; the calyx consists of one bulging leaf; the corolla of five petals, crowned and clawed. In the fourth order, are two not uncommon wild plants, the wood sorrel, (Oxalis acetosella,) found in damp woods, and the stonecrop, (Sedum acre,) on dry walls, and on the sea shore. The wood sorrel is a very pretty flower, of a delicate reddish white colour, with darker veins, growing snugly on slender flower stalks, and slightly nodding. The calyx has five leaves, purple at the tip; the corolla is bell shaped, and five petaled; the capsule opens, when ripe, with a spring, which causes the seeds to be projected to some distance from the root. The stonecrop is often grown in pots, and has a showy yellow blossom appearing in June. The calyx and corolla have each five divisions. There are five scales at the bottom of the seed organ. The scarlet lychnis (Lychnis chalcedonica,) is a very common garden plant of this order, from Russia, flowering from June to July, and again in September, with a flat bouquet, or tufted umbel of fine scarlet blossoms. The calyx is of one leaf, cylindrical, ribbed, and claved; the corolla of five petals, with two lobed divisions. The ragged robin of the fields, or cuckoo flower, (L. flos cuculi,) is of the same genus; and the ragged robin of the gardens is a double flower of a common field plant, (L. diorca.) The rose campion (L. cæli rosa) is also of the same genus, and a very common garden flower. In the fifth order, we find the tree mustard, (Phytolacca dodecandria,) which, from a misapprehension of a conversation of one botanist with another, has been recently said, in many works, to be the mustard alluded to by our blessed Saviour, as producing the smallest of all seeds, and afterwards growing to a high branching tree. The phytolacca, however, does not grow in the Levant, and therefore could not be the tree alluded to. See Linnæan Trans. vol. xvi. for a statement of the original conversation, or mistake. INVENTION OF ANIMALS. J. R. I could cite an hundred instances which would prove that animals have invention, independent of the instinct handed down from generation to generation. I will, however, content myself with one instance of superior invention in the elephant, which occurred at Ceylon. Parties were employed felling timber in the forests of Candia, and this timber, after having been squared, was dragged to the depot by a large party of elephants, who, with their keepers, were sent there for that purpose. This work was so tedious, that a large truck was made, capable of receiving a very heavy load of timber, which might be transported at once. This truck was dragged out by the elephants, and it was to be loaded. I should here observe, that when elephants work in a body, there is always one who, as it were by common consent, takes the lead, and directs the others, who never refuse to obey him. The keepers of the elephants and the natives gave their orders, and the elephants obeyed. But the timber was so large, and the truck so high on its wheels, that the elephants could not put the timber in the truck, according to the directions given by the men. After several attempts, the natives gave up the point, and retired to the side of the road, as usual, squatted down, and held a consultation. In the mean time, the elephant who took the lead, summoned the others, made them drag two of the squared pieces to the side of the truck, laid them at right angles with it, lifting one end of each on the truck, and leaving the other on the ground, thus forming an inclined plane. The timber was then brought by the elephants, without any interference on the part of the keepers or natives, who remained looking on, was pushed by the elephants with their foreheads up the inclined plane, and the truck was loaded. Here then is an instance, in which the inventive instinct of the animal, if that term may be used, was superior to the humbler reasoning powers of the men who had charge of them.-Marryatt. | | OLD HUMPHREY ON THE GOING DOWN An hour ago, I was gazing on the set- Often have I gazed (who has not ?) on the declining sun, till my eyes have swam in tears, and my heart dissolved within me, in silent ecstacy at its overpowering magnificence; but in this instance it was delightful, unblinded by its beams, to watch its perceptible withdrawal from the world. As I stood rooted to the spot, the huge red orb entered a coal-black cloud that lay beneath it. A third of it was soon gone; a half of it disappeared, as if, severed by an Almighty hand, a moiety only being left to illuminate the skies. Still lower it descended, till the rim of it alone was visible; and then rushed upon me the arresting thought, which had before occurred, that the united power of men and angels, could not, for an instant, arrest its course. Had a moment been wanting, in which to offer an effectual prayer for the pardon of individual transgression, or the eternal welfare of a sinful world, it could not have been obtained. How invaluable to me did even a moment of that time appear, which, by hours, and days, and months, and years, we are wasting as a thing of nought! We toil and spend our lives for trifles vain, Accustomed as I am, when opportunity allows, to watch, with an intensity of interest, the sun going down in the skies, it would be hard for me to impart to you my emotions, when it was made known to me that an aged New Zealand chief had cried out in his own emphatic language, when the probability of sending out missionaries to New Zealand had been intimated to him, "Make haste! my sun is fast going down." I saw in my fancy, the fierce, the treacherous, the man-devouring savage; the igno rant, the implacable and cruel cannibal, whom God had made willing, in the day |