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Some to the holly-hedge
Nestling repair, and to the thicket some;
Some to the rude protection of the thorn
Commit their feeble offspring: the cleft tree
Offers its kind concealment to a few,

Their food its insects, and its moss their nests.
Others apart, far in the grassy dale,

Or roughening waste, their humble texture weave.
But most in woodland solitudes delight,
In unfrequented glooms, or shaggy banks,
Steep, and divided by a babbling brook,
Whose murmurs soothe them all the live-long day,
When by kind duty fixed. Among the roots
Of hazel, pendant o'er the plaintive stream,
They frame the first foundation of their domes;
Dry sprigs of trees, in artful fabric laid,

And bound with clay together. Now 'tis nought
But restless hurry thro' the busy air,

Beat by unnumbered wings. The swallow sweeps
The slimy pool, to build his hanging house
Intent. And often, from the careless back
Of herds and flocks, a thousand tugging bills
Pluck hair and wool; and oft, when unobserved,
Steal from the barn a straw: till soft and warm,
Clean and complete, their habitation grows.

About the middle of this month, the bittern (ardea stellaris)

booms along the sounding marsh,

Mixt with the cries of Heron and Mallard harsh.

This hollow booming noise is made during the night in the breeding season, from its swampy retreats. Towards the end of the month, the black-cap (motacilla atricapilla) begins its song. This bird has usually, says Mr. White, a full, sweet, deep, loud, and wild pipe; yet the strain is of short continuance, and its motions desultory. In Norfolk the black-cap is termed the mock-nightingale.

The progress of vegetation is general and rapid in this month. The blossoms of trees present to the eye a most agreeable spectacle, particularly in those counties which abound with orchards. The blackthorn (prunus spinosa) is the first that puts forth

its flowers; a host of others follow, among which
may be named the ash (fraxinus excelsior), ground-
ivy (glecoma hedaracea), the box-tree (buxus semper-
virens), the pear-tree (pyrus communis), the apricot,
the peach, nectarine, the wild and garden cherry, and
the plum; gooseberry and currant trees; the haw-
thorn (crataegus oxycantha), the apple-tree (pyrus-
malus sativus), and the sycamore (acer pseudo-pla-
tanus.) These elegant blossoms, while they yield the
most exquisite delight to the fervent admirer of the
beauties of nature, afford to the moralist a never-
failing source of the most pleasing reflections :-
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree,
Why do you fall so fast?
Your date is not so past,
But you may stay yet here awhile,
To blush and gently smile;
And go at last.

What! were you born to be
An hour or two's delight;
And so to bid good night?
'Twas pity Nature brought you forth
Merely to show your worth,
And lose you quite.

But you are lovely Leaves, where we
May read how soon things have
Their end, though ne'er so brave:
And after they have shown their pride,
Like you awhile they glide

Into the grave.

HERRICK.

The elm (ulmus campestris), the beech (fagus sylvatica), and the larch (pinus-larix rubra), are now in full leaf. Many and lovely are the flowers which are showered, in profusion, from the lap of April:

The jonquil loads with potent breath the air,
And rich in golden glory nods; there too,
Child of the wind, anemoné delights;
Or, in its scarlet robe of various dies,
Ranunculus, reflecting every ray;
The polyanthus, and with prudent head
The crown-imperial, ever bent on earth,
Favouring her secret rites and pearly sweets.
N

BIDLAKE,

Other flowers which adorn our fields, at this time, are the checquered daffodil (fritillaria meleagris); the primrose; the cowslip (primula veris); the cuckoo flower (cardamine pratensis); and the harebell (hyacinthus non scriptus). The yellow star of Bethlehem (ornithogalum luteum) in woods; the vernal squill (scilla verna) among maritime rocks; and the wood sorrel (oxalis acetosella), are now in full flower.

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Various kinds of insects are seen sporting in the sun-beams,' and living their little hour.' Spiders' webs are observed on the surface of the ground; the iulus terrestris appears, and the death-watch (termes pulsatorius) beats early in the month. About this time the wood-ant (formica herculeand) begins to construct its large conical nest, frequently two feet or more in height, and formed chiefly of firleaves and other dry vegetable fragments. The nest is internally distributed into several paths or tubes, converging towards the central part, and opening externally in the middle or centre reside the young, or larvæ, which are nursed by the neutral ants, and are occasionally brought to the surface, in order to be more within the influence of the air and sunshine for a certain time, after which they are again conveyed.

1 This diminutive insect, which occasions so much alarm to the superstitious, is of a whitish colour, and is found, during the summer months, in houses, particularly where the wainscot is in any way decayed. The long-continued sound, which it makes, exactly resembles the ticking of a watch, and is considered by Mr. Derham to be analogous to the call of birds to their mates during the breeding season,

Then woe be to those in the house who are sick,
For, sure as a gun, they will give up the ghost,
If the maggot cries click, when it scratches the post:
But a kettle of scalding-hot water injected,
Infallibly cures the timber affected;

The omen is broken, the danger is over,
The maggot will die, and the sick will recover.

SWIFT.

to the bottom or centre. When full-grown, they envelop themselves in oval, white, silken cases, in which they undergo their change into chrysalis, and at length emerge in their complete form. The males and females are winged, and the females are much larger than the males. A curious circumstance is recorded by Mr. Bingley, of the horse-emmet or great hill-ant, which be supposes to be the same with the species just mentioned. A gentleman of Cambridge one day remarked an ant dragging along what, with respect to its strength, might be denominated a piece of timber. Others were severally employed, each in its own way. Presently this little creature came to an ascent, where the weight of the wood seemed for a while to overpower him: he did not remain long perplexed with it; for three or four others, observing his dilemma, came behind and pushed it up. soon, however, as he had got it on level ground, they left it to his care, and went to their own work. The piece he was drawing happened to be considerably thicker at one end than the other. This soon threw the poor fellow into a fresh difficulty: he unluckily dragged it between two bits of wood. After several fruitless efforts, finding it would not go through, he adopted the only mode that even a reasonable being, in similar circumstances, could have taken; he came behind it, pulled it back again, and turned it on its edge; when, running again to the other end, it passed through without the least difficulty.'

The shell-snail comes out in troops; the stingingfly (conops calcitrans) and the red-ant (formica rubra) appear. The mole-cricket (gryllus gryllotalpa) is the most remarkable of the insect tribe seen about this time. It measures more than two inches in length, and burrows under ground in the manner of a mole; its fore legs are excessively strong, and its broad feet are divided into several sharp claw-shaped segments. The mole-cricket emerges from its subterraneous retreats only by night, and feeds on vege

tables; devouring the young roots of grasses, corn, and various esculent plants, and committing great devastation in gardens. The black slug (limax ater) abounds at this season. The blue flesh-fly (musca vomitoria), the cabbage butterfly (papilio brassica), and the dragon-fly (libellula), are frequently observed towards the end of the month. The great variegated libellula (libellula varia of Shaw), which appears, principally, towards the decline of summer, is an animal of singular beauty: its general length is about three inches from head to tail, and the wings, when expanded, measure nearly four inches from tip to tip. Fish, in quest of food, leave their winter retreats, and again become the prey of the angler:

Beneath a willow long forsook,

The fisher seeks his customed nook ;
And bursting through the crackling sedge,
That crowns the current's caverned edge,
He startles from the bordering wood
The bashful wild-duck's early brood.

Dry weather is still acceptable to the farmer, who is employed in sowing various kinds of grain, and seeds for fodder, as buck-wheat, lucerne, saintfoin, clover, &c. The young corn and springing grass, however, are materially benefited by occasional showers. What a charming picture of rustic employments, at this season, has Bloomfield given us in his SPRING!' Giles's morning walk to his accustomed labours is thus beautifully described :

His own shrill matin joined the various notes
Of nature's music, from a thousand throats:
The blackbird strove with emulation sweet,
And Echo answered from her close retreat;

The sporting white-throat, on some twig's-end borne,
Poured hymns to freedom, and the rising morn;
Stopt in her song, perchance, the starting thrush
Shook a white shower from the black-thorn bush,
Where dew-drops thick as early blossoms hung,
And trembled as the minstrel sweetly sung.
Across his path, in either grove to hide,
The timid rabbit scouted by his side;
Or pheasant boldly stalked along the road,
Whose gold and purple tints alternate glowed.

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