FLOWERS.

OH! they looked upward in every place
Through this beautiful world of ours,
And dear as a smile on an old friend's face
Is the smile of the bright, bright flowers!
They tell us of wanderings by woods and streams;
They tell us of lanes and trees;

But the children of showers and sunny beams

Have lovelier tales than these

The bright, bright flowers!

They tell of a season when men were not,
When earth was by angels trod,

And leaves and flowers in every spot
Burst forth at the call of God;

When spirits, singing their hymns at even,

Wandered by wood and glade,

And the Lord looked down from the highest heaven, And blessed what he had made

The bright, bright flowers!

That blessing remaineth upon them still,
Though often the storm-cloud lowers,
And frequent tempests may soil and chill
The gayest of earth's flowers.

When Sin and Death, with their sister Grief,
Made a home in the hearts of men,
The blessing of God on each tender leaf
Preserved in their beauty then-

The bright, bright flowers!

The lily is lovely as when it slept

On the waters of Eden's lake;

The woodbine breathes sweetly as when it crept

In Eden from brake to brake.

They were left as the proof of the loveliness
Of Adam and Eve's first home:

They are here as a type of the joys that bless
The just in the world to come-

The bright, bright flowers!

THE study of botany is one of the most interesting and delightful pursuits, in the whole range of science; presenting to the contemplation of the pupil, a constant succession of sweet and charming forms, and affording him, in all seasons, an elevating and refined amusement. To him-on hill and dalein every grove-by every fount and rill - wherever he goes - he finds a friend - with smiling face and balmy breaththat whispers a sweet lesson as he bends above it -a lesson of the wondrous power and love and wisdom of Him who "clothed the lilies of the field."

In spring, the crocus lifts its golden crown to lay it at his feet, and the blue-eyed violet blesses him with its fragrant sigh :—

Why better than the lady-rose

Love I this little flower?

Because its fragrant leaves are those

I loved in childhood's hour.

Let Nature spread her loveliest,
By spring or summer nursed;
Yet still I love the violet best,
Because I loved it first!

In summer the rose

"the lady rose” — the rich, the radiant - lavishes upon him its wealth of bloom and its inimitable odour; and in autumn the lovely snowdrop;–

Thou beautiful new-comer,

With white and maiden brow,
Thou fairy gift from summer!
Why art thou blooming now?
No sweet companion pledges
Thy health as dewdrops pass;

No rose is on the hedges,

No violet in the grass;

Thou art watching, and thou only,
Above the earth's snow-tomb;

Thus lovely and thus lonely,

I bless thee for thy bloom.

Even winter has its gifts for him. He will find in the woods, among other treasures, the bramble-rose, the "tears of Job," and the snow-white delicate blossoms of the "fairy's thimble:"

"What, the thimble of a fairy! and can a fairy sew?"
Inquired a little, wondering girl-"oh! tell me if you know!
Does she stitch together violet-leaves, to make her fragrant gown,
And wad her cloak, to keep her warm, with flying thistle-down?"

We now present to our readers a short chapter on botany on the Linnæan system.

Every plant is either phenogamus or cryptogamous. Phenogamous plants have their stamens and pistils sufficiently manifest for examination. Cryptogamous plants either lose their staminate organs before they become manifest, or they are too minute for inspection.

The classes, orders, and genera, of the Linnæan system, are

founded wholly on the seven elementary organs of fructification. These are:

1. Calyx. The outer or lower part of the flower, generally green, or not coloured.

2. Corol. The coloured blossom, within or above the calyx.

3. Stamens.-The mealy or glutinous knobs in the flower, with or without filaments.

4. Pistil. — The central organ of the flower, whose base becomes the pericarp and seed.

5. Pericarp. The covering of the seed, whether pod, shell, bag, or pulpy substance.

6. Seed. The essential part, containing the rudiment of a new plant.

7. Receptacle.-The base which sustains the other six parts, being at the end of the flower-stem.

Every calyx is either monophyllous, consisting of one leaf, or polyphyllous, consisting of more than one leaf. They are farther subdivided into—1. Perianth. — That calyx which adjoins and surrounds the other parts of the flower, as seen in the apple, rose, &c. About two thirds of all plants have perianths. 2. Involucre. That calyx which comes out at some distance below the flower, and never encloses it. Involucres are either universal, as in caraway, lovage, &c.; or partial, as in coriander; or proper, placed beneath a single flower. 3. Spathe. — A kind of membrane, which at first encloses the flower, and after it expands, is left at a distance below it, as daffodil, onion, and Indian turnip. 4. Glume. That kind of calyx which is composed of one, two, or three valves or scales, commonly transparent at margin, and often terminated by a long awn or beard. All grasses have glume calyxes. 5. Ament. An assemblage of flower-bearing scales, arranged on a slender thread or receptacle, each scale generally containing the lateral calyx of a flower, as in the willow, chestnut, pine, &c. 6. Calyptre. — The cap or hood of pistillate mosses, resembling, in form and position, an extinguisher set on a candle. Conspicuous in the common haircap-moss. 7. Volva.-The ring or wrapper at first

enclosing the pileus or head of a fungus; and which, after the plant has arrived at maturity, contracts and remains on the stem, or at the root.

Every corol is either monopetalous, consisting of one petal or flower-leaf, or polypetalous, consisting of more than one. The monopetalous corols are divided into-1. Bellform.— Hollowed out within the base, as gentian, Canterbury-bells, &c. 2.Funnelform.—With a tubular base and the border opening gradually like a tunnel, as in the thorn-apple and morning-glory. 3. Salverform. — Having a flat spreading limb or border, proceeding from the top of a tube, as lilac, trailing arbutus, &c. 4. Wheelform. Having a spreading border without a tube, or with an exceeding short one, as borage and laurel. 5. Labiate. It is divided into two general parts, somewhat resembling the lips of a horse or other animal. Labiate corols are either personate (with the throat muffled), as snapdragon; or ringent (with the throat open), as mint, motherwort, and catnip. Polypetalous corols are divided into-1. Cruciform. -- Consisting of four equal petals spreading out in the form of a cross, as radish, cabbage, mustard, &c. 2. Caryaphyllous. -- Having five single petals, each terminating in a long claw, enclosed in a tubular calyx, as pink, catchfly, cockle, &c. 3. Liliaceous.—A corol with six petals, spreading gradually from the base, so as altogether to exhibit a bellform appearance, as tulip, lily, &c. 4. Rosaceous. A corol formed of roundish spreading petals without claws, or with very short ones, as rose, apple, strawberry, &c. 5. Papilionaceous. A flower which consists of a banner, two wings, and a keel, as pea, clover, &c. If a corol agrees with none of the above descriptions, it is called anomalous.

The stamen is divided into—1. Anther. -The knob of the stamen, which contains the pollen; very conspicuous in the lily, &c. Never wanting. 2. Pollen.-The dusty or mealy substance contained in the anthers. Never wanting. 3. Fila ment.—The part of the stamen which connects the anther with the receptacle, calyx, or pistil. Often wanting.

The pistil is divided into-1. terminates the pistil; is very

Stigma. -The organ which conspicuous in the lily, and