BOTANY.-No. IV. CAPRIFOLIACEÆ. THE plants collected under this general term, are within the reach of all readers, and may be gathered in summer to exercise the curious in the use of botanical language. The honey-suckle, elder, snowberry, and guelder-tree, are always at hand, and recommend themselves by their beauty, scent, or usefulness. The honeysuckle perfumes the neat dwelling of the cottager; the guelder-tree adorns our shrubberries with its fair clustering flowers; theelder yields the careful housewife berries for making her winter store of wine; and the snowberry ornaments our gardens at the fall of the year with its snowy fruit. The botanical inquirer will not gather the honey-suckle merely to smell its fragrance, or taste the honey lodged in the flower, but also to investigate the structure of the blossom and fruit, and compare its lineaments with our general character. The instructed eye observes fresh beauties, and realizes new gratifications in the most familiar plants and shrubs. It is said, that the master has a hundred eyes, but the servant only a pair: with the same practical truth it may be said, that the botanist has a hundred eyes, the common observer only two. The aim of all botanical details is to cherish habits of attention; to methodise our notions; and to quicken the perception by directing the judgment. Calyx, consisting of five, rarely four, segments, but united into a tube and growing to the germen; the limb or border divided into four or five lobes, and forming a crown upon the top of the fruit. Corolla, inserted into, or, to speak more correctly, originating from the calyx, having its five petals adhering by their edges so as to form a tube; from this circumstance it is called a corolla gamopetala. The petals, however, are not united at the top, but assume the character of lobes or segments, which are alternate with the divisions of the calyx, or stand opposite to the points of division. These lobes are sometimes irregular, as in the honey-suckle. In æstivation, or budding, the segments of the corolla have their edges touching each other, but not overlapping; under such circumstances, the aestivation is said to be valvular, that is, resembling valvæ, or fold- | ing doors, the edges of which approach and touch, but do not lie one upon the other when shut. Stamens, proceeding from the calyx, but adhering to the corolla. Five in number, to correspond with the lobes of the calyx, AnGermen grow ! and severally opposite thereto. Sometimes Styles united into one. If we assume, with Mr. R. Brown, that each cell of the germen is in all cases furnished with its appropriate style or tube for conveying the pollen to the seed, as in this instance we find three cells in a nascent germen, so we ought to find three styles. Now, petals unite and form a tube, and in the same way do styles unite and form one style. Hence, we may say that there are three styles, but united into one. In confirmation of this, we might observe, that each stigma is the termination of a style; and since, therefore, we meet with three stigmata, we infer that there are virtually three styles. Berry covered with the border of the calyx, frequently pulpy, as in the honey-suckle and snowberry, rarely dry, and juiceless. Seeds one or more in each cell. Spermodermium or outer covering of the seed crustaceous, albumen fleshy. Leaves without stipulæ, or minute leafy appendages at the base of the foot-stalk; in some instances, however, a pair of small ones is met with, as in the dwarf elder. EXAMPLES. Sambucus.-Calyx border small, divided into five segments. Corolla wheel-shaped, that is, having its five segments flat, and spread out like the spokes of a wheel. Segment or lobes blunt. Stamens five. Styles very short, so that the three stigmata alone are discernible. Berry nearly round in maturity, with only one cell, the partitions which separated them having disappeared. Seeds three, attached by a thread to the axle or central column of the berry; this column is formed by the meeting together of the partitions. Sambucus ebulus, dwarf elder, walwort or danewort. Cymes or clusters of flowers, three parted. Stipula or leafy appendages present. Stem herbaceous, about three feet high. Flowers of a dull flesh colour. The reddish appearance of this herb gave rise to the fable, that it sprang from the blood of the Danes, whence it got the name of danewort, that is, dane-herb. Found by road-sides, borders of fields, and in burying-grounds. S. nigra, Common Elder.-Cymes, five parted. Leaves ovate or egg-shaped, serrate or toothed, like a saw, at their edges. Stem arboreous, very much branched. As the elder is familiar to all, the reader may easily find an opportunity of gaining an idea of what Linnæus and his followers call a cyme. "A cyme," says the late Sir James E. Smith, who was a pupil of that distinguished naturalist, consists of several stalks, springing from one common centre, like an umbel, but subdivided in an irregular, somewhat alternate mode, and forming a nearly level, or mostly convex surface of flowers." In the ebulus, the principal rays diverging from the first point of separation are three; in the nigra five, constituting a specific difference easy of enunciation, independent of other distinctions which may be gathered from the stem and foliage. Viburnum.-Calyx with five teeth, persistent or continuing with the fruit after the other parts of the flower have fallen. Corolla bell-shaped, or campanulate, as the term is; divided into five segments. Styles of no perceptible division, the three stigmata, therefore, appear to be seated upon the top of the germen: in this condition they are said to he sessile. Berry crowned with the calyx, with only one seed, the other two disappearing. Seed compressed or flattened. V. Lantana, pliant mealy-tree or wayfaring tree. Leaves heart-shaped, serrated or toothed like a saw, well marked with veins, tomentous or cottony underneath. Flowers in cymes, white. Berry black and mealy. In clayey soils. The twigs of the wayfaring-tree are limber, downy, with a hoary pubescence, and, unable to support their own weight in an upright position, present themselves in a bending direction. Bird-lime may be obtained from the bark which covers the root. L. Periclymenum, common honeysuckle. L. Caprifolium, flowers in whorls, and terminal. Leaves deciduous, falling off betimes: the upper pairs grow together, so that the stem passes through them; from this circumstance it is said to be perfoliate. Symphoricarpos. Calyx, a globular tube, border with four or five teeth. Corolla with four or five lobes. Stamens, five appearing above the corolla. This genus was first established by Dillenius in his Hortus Elthamensis, p. 371, and so denominated from the clustering nature of its fruit, which is densely collected together. S.vulgaris.-Common snowberry. This shrub is familiar to the eye of every one who has looked into our gardens, and easily distinguished by the snowy whiteness of its clustering berries. Linnaea.-Stamens didynamous, or two longer than the other two. Berry dry, with three cells, severally with three seeds in each. Styles collected into one, which is terminated by a globular stigma. Linnea borealis.-This little plant is a native of the northern regions. It was first found in Sweden, and named after that illustrious naturalist, Linnæus; it has since been found in England, and was collected by the writer about the shores of Kotzebue Sound. Its root is perennial, and produces somewhat woody stems, thin and creeping, about a foot in length, furnished with evergreen leaves, of a roundish, oval form, placed opposite to each other in pairs. Its flowers are white, or slightly empurpled, of a sweet smell, and nodding. The involucre met with in the other members of this order, appears in the form of a secondary calyx. This is owing to the simple circumstance of the umbel having but one flower instead of several. L. ON THE HEART AND CIRCULATION OF THE heart, as we have seen, is the centre of the circulation, the fount whence the vital fluid is distributed, and to which it is returned. We have observed, that it consists of two auricles and two ventricles, and that their contractions and dilatations are the modus operandi, by which the blood is admitted and propelled. In following the course of the blood, we have alluded to the contraction of each separately; but our readers must not suppose that such is the case in reality, for the auricles contract and dilate together, and the ventricles do the same; and while the auricles are dilating to receive the blood flowing in from the veins, the ventricles contract to expel the blood which they have just received from the auricles; and vice versa, while the auricles contract, the ventricles dilate: as, however, it is the action of the ventricles which is alone perceptible, it is to that, when speaking in general terms of the pulsation of the heart, that the allusion refers. The dilatation is termed diastole; the contraction systole. "How keenly sensitive must be the heart," is a common opinion, and is naturally the impression its actions and energies are calculated to make. We see it for three score years and ten, labouring at its task; unwearied, unsubdued, till death paralyzes its efforts; and even then, it yields the last to the power of the destroyer. to see the youth, and examine his heart. "When," says Harvey, "I had paid my respects to this young nobleman, and conveyed to him the king's request, he made no concealment, but exposed the left side of his breast, when I saw a cavity, into which I could introduce my fingers and thumbs. Astonished with the novelty, again and again I explored the wound, and first marvelling at the extraordinary nature of the cure, I set about the examination of the heart. Taking it in one hand, and placing the finger of the other on the pulse of the wrist, I satisfied myself that it was indeed the heart which I grasped. I then brought him to the king, that he might behold and touch so extraordinary a thing, and that he might perceive, as I did, that unless when we touched the outer skin, or when he saw our fingers in the cavity, this young nobleman knew not that we touched his heart." Other observations confirm this great authority; and the heart is declared insensible. And yet the opinions of mankind must not be lightly condemned. Not only does every emotion of the mind affect the heart, but every change in the condition of "the body is attended with a corresponding change in the heart: motion during health, the influence of disease, every passing thought will influence it. Here is the distinction manifested. The sensibility of the surface of the eye is for a purpose, and so is the sensibility of the heart. While that of the eye guards it against injury from without, the heart, insensible to touch, is yet alive to every variation in the circulation, subject to change from every alteration of posture, or of exertion, and is in sympathy of the strictest kind with the constitutional powers. Thus would it appear that "the sensibilities of the living frame are appropriate endowments, not qualities necessarily arising from life, still less the consequences of delicacy of texture." The general muscles of the body are soon fatigued, and require repose and rest; not so the heart: while we sleep, or while we are awake, its energies are still in operation. But we must not thence conclude, that it is endowed with exquisite sensibility; nor yet, because, as we all know it to be influenced by the passions and affections of the mind, are we to imagine that it is feelingly sensitive itself. It is, in truth, gifted with that peculiar modification of sensation, by which it is qualified for its work. Sir Charles Bell, speaking on this subject, instances the following case, related by the celebrated Harvey : A noble youth of the first family of Montgomery, from a fall, and consequent abscess on the side of the chest, had the interior marvellously exposed, so that after his cure on his return from his travels, the heart and lungs were still visible, and could be handled; which when it was communicated to Charles I., he expressed a desire that Harvey should be permitted We shall next consider more particularly the arteries and veins. M. INSECTS. No. XXXV. Ir is usual for us to regard the human species as having what is called a particular character, yet it is as certainly possessed by inferior creatures. They have their respective peculiarities, and the permanent differences between the cat and the dog, the sheep and the wolf, the cameleopard | and the tiger, or others equally obvious, need not be described. It might, there fore, be inferred from analogy, that similar varieties appeared among insects, and that they do, is fully demonstrated by observation. This will yet be illustrated by many examples, though here it must suffice to remark, that between the males and females of the same species, a great dissimilarity is apparent. In general the males are more fitted for locomotion, and more locomotive; and the females, on the con- | trary, are necessarily more stationary. And this for an obvious reason: the law is, that the male shall seek the female, and there- | fore he is peculiarly gifted for this purpose. Hence, while his partner in many cases has very simple antennæ, he has very complex ones; and while she has either no wings, or only rudiments of them, he is amply provided with them. work; or, if a partner be not at hand, the wasp thus employed cuts off the head of the dead insect, and so effects its purpose. These creatures, in consequence, unlike the male bees, share the general lot of the community, and while the latter are at a certain period destroyed, the former are suffered to survive till the cold cuts off them and the workers together. As to age, there is less diversity in the duration of the lives of insects in their perfect, than in their larva or pupa state. Some live only a few hours, like several species of ephemera. These emerge by myriads of millions at a certain season of the year, from some of the rivers in France; and of these a few particulars cannot fail to be interesting. These insects, in their first and intermediate state, are aquatic : they either live in holes on the banks of rivers or brooks, below the water, so that it enters Amongst the insects that suck the blood into their habitations, which they seldom of man or beast, such as gnats or horse- quit; or they swim about and walk on the flies, it is the female alone that is blood- bed of the stream, or conceal themselves thirsty, the males contenting themselves under stones, or on pieces of stick. Though with the nectar of flowers. But the differ- their life, when they assume the perfect ence of characters in the sexes has been state, is usually extremely short, some bemore noticed in those that live in societies, ing disclosed after sun-set, laying their eggs and is quite the reverse of what takes place and dying before sun-rise; and many not in the human species. While the females living more than three hours; yet in their and workers are laborious and active, dili- preparatory state their existence is much gent and skilful, wise and prudent, coura- | longer ; in some one, in others two, in others geous and warlike; the males, on the con- even three years. trary, have no such qualities. Though till a certain period they are supported at the expense of the community, they take no part in its labours, either in collecting and forming the public stores, or in feeding and attending the young. They are idle, cowardly, and inactive; have neither art nor skill of any kind, and are unprovided with the usual offensive weapons of their species. These observations, in their full force, apply particularly to the hive-bee, and partially to the other social insects; though there are, it must be admitted, some exceptions to this slothful character in the males. Reaumur states that the male humble-bees are not an idle race, but work in concert with the rest to repair any damage or derangement that may befall the common habitation; and the male wasps are, in a certain way, very industrious. They do not, indeed, assist in building the nest, and in the care of the young brood; but they are the scavengers of the community; for they sweep the passages and streets, and carry off all the filth. They also remove the bodies of the dead, which are sometimes heavy burdens for them; in which case two | unite their strength to accomplish the # | | The different species assume the imago, or reach the perfect state, at different times of the year; but the same species appears regularly at nearly the same period annually, and, for a certain number of days, fill the air in the neighbourhood of the rivers, emerging also from the waters at a certain hour of the day. Swammerdam observed some which began to fly about at six o'clock in the evening, or about two hours before sun-set; but the great body of those noticed by Reaumur, did not appear till after that time; so that the season of different harvests is not better known to the farmer than the time in which the ephemera of a particular river are to emerge, is to the fisherman. Yet a greater degree of heat or cold, the rise or fall of the water, and other circumstances we are not aware of, may accelerate or retard their appearance. Between the 10th and 15th of August is the time when those of the Seine and Marne, which Reaumur described, are expected by the fishermen, who call them manna: and when their season is come, they say, manna began to appear, the manna fell abundantly, such a night;" alluding, either to the astonishing quantity of food ،، the which the ephemeræ afford the fish, or to the But the scene round the tub was nothing to be compared with the wonderful spectacle exhibited on the banks of the river. The exclamations of his gardener drew the illustrious naturalist thither: and such a sight he had never witnessed, and could scarcely find words to describe. "The myriads of ephemeræ," says he, "which filled the air over the current of the river, and over the bank on which I stood, are neither to be expressed nor conceived. When the snow falls with the largest flakes, and with the least interval between them, the air is not so full of them as that which surrounded us was of ephemera. Scarcely had I remained in one place a few minutes, when the step on which I stood was quite concealed with a layer of them, from two to four inches in depth. Near the lowest step, a surface of water, of five or six feet dimensions every way, was entirely and thickly covered by them, and what the current carried off was continually replaced. Many times I was obliged to abandon my station, not being able to bear the shower of ephemere, which falling with an obliquity less constant than that of an ordinary shower, struck continually, and in a manner extremely uncomfortable; every part of my face, eyes, mouth, and nostrils, were filled with them." Before ten o'clock, this interesting spectacle had vanished. It was renewed for some nights afterwards, but the flies were never in such prodigious numbers. The fishermen allow only three successive days for the great fall of the manna; but a few flies appear both before and after, their number increasing in one case, in the other diminishing. Whatever be the temperature of the atmosphere, whether it be cold or hot, these flies invariably appear at the same hour in the evening, that is, between a quarter and half-past eight; towards nine they begin to fill the air; in the following half-hour they are in the greatest numbers, and at ten there are scarcely any to be seen. So that in less than two hours, this infinite host of flies emerge from their parent stream, fill the air, perform their appointed work, and vanish. A very large proportion of them falls into the river, when the fish have their grand festival, and the fishermen a good harvest. (To be continued.) HUMANITY. HUMANITY is a healthy susceptibility of mind, that prevents us from inflicting unnecessary pain, not a morbid squeamishness of disposition which sighs with affected sympathy over cases of imaginary or doubtful suffering. In the constitution of this beautiful world, peopled as it is with human beings, animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects, there is much that we cannot comprehend. That the existence of one part of the creation should be preserved by the destruction of the other, is one of the many mysteries which He only whose " ways are not as our ways," can fully explain. We have all, however, our several duties to perform, and if, in discharging them, we, of necessity, trespass |