make long visits to them; nor sit too near them; nor inhale their breath ;-if there is any kind of bad smell in the room, they should not go in until it has disappeared;— they may shake hands with the patients, but should not kiss their lips. If a window is open, they should sit between it and the patient's bed; if not, between the door and the bed, that the air may be carried from them towards the patient, rather than from the patient towards them.

No clothes that have been used by the patient should be put into drawers with the clothes of other persons: all the dirty linen, sheets, &c., when taken out of the room, should be put at once into water out of the house, and then hung up in a free current of air.

The best thing that can be done by way of fumigation is to use the chloride of lime, and its use is very simple and easy. It may be procured at any druggist's shop, and is not very dear; a pound of it, which may be had for sixpence, is sufficient for a gallon of water, in which it should be dissolved. Some of this water should be sprinkled over the bed-room twice a day or oftener; not in great quantity at a time, because it is too stimulating to the lungs of a sick person. The stairs and passages may be sprinkled also. The vessel or jar in which the chloride of lime in water is kept, should have a cover.

In case of death all the bed-clothes and linen worn by the patient, should be purified in the same way, then put in water, and dried in the open air: the bedstead and bed-room, and all the articles of furniture, should be scoured, and the room thoroughly ventilated, and, if possible, white-washed before being slept in again. The drying of the room will be best promoted by keeping a fire in it, and having the windows and door open.

It must, however, never be forgotten that neither the chloride of lime, nor any kind of fumigation whatever, will destroy infection, or make it safe to go near persons sick of any description of fever, without fresh air and constant cleanliness. But if all these things are observed, the danger of fevers spreading would become very small indeed. The Physician.

THE WINTER SNOW-DROP.

LIKE pendant flakes of vegetating snow,
The early herald of the infant year;
Ere yet the adventurous crocus dares to blow,
Beneath the orchard boughs thy buds appear.

While still the cold north-east ungenial lowers,
And scarce the hazel in the leafless copse
Or sallows show their downy powder'd flowers,
The grass is spangled with thy silver drops.

Yet when those pallid blossoms shall give place
To countless tribes of richer hue and scent,
Summer's gay blossoms, and Autumn's yellow race,
I shall thy inodorous bells lament.

So journeying onward in life's varying track,
Even while warm youth its bright illusion lends,
Fond memory often with regret looks back
To childhood's pleasures and to infant friends.
Mrs. Charlotte Smith.

THE MAHOGANY TREE.

THIS tree is one of the most elegant, if not the largest of the country in which it is found, and frequently grows in the crevices of rocks, and other places of the same description. The appearance of so large a vegetable production in such a situation is extremely curious and picturesque, and is to be accounted for from the construction of the seed, which is like that of the thistle, winged, or capable of being borne along by the action of the air, and in that manner deposited in holes and fissures in the rocks, where it speedily vegetates and springs up. As long as the plant remains young, the place in which it is found is sufficiently large for its growth, but as it increases in size, the roots gradually but irresistibly force asunder the walls of their rocky prisons, and throw off large portions of stone, thus by degrees penetrating into the very

heart of the rock. It is not always, however, found in these situations, the largest timber being produced in some of the flat and marshy spots on the coasts of America; of this description is that known by the name of Honduras mahogany, which is much looser in texture, and of less value than that from the mountainous districts of Cuba and Hayti. This last kind is known in commerce as Spanish mahogany, and is chiefly purchased for the purpose of being cut into veneers.

The introduction of this wood into England took place about the end of the seventeenth century, in the following manner. A London physician of the name of Gibbon, had a brother, the captain of a West India ship. On his return to England he had several logs of mahogany on board his vessel for the purpose of ballast, and, as his brother was at the time employed in a building project, he made him a present of the wood, supposing it might be useful; his carpenter, however, cast it aside, observing that it was of too hard a nature to be worked. Some time after, Mrs. Gibbon being in want of a box to hold candles, the cabinet-maker was directed to make it of this same wood; he, in his turn, made the same objection as the carpenter, and declared that it destroyed his tools. Being urged, however, to make another trial, he at length succeeded; and when the box was polished, the beautiful colour of its grain was so apparent and novel, that it became an object of great curiosity, and attracted the notice, among others, of the Duchess of Buckingham, for whom a bureau was made of the same material.

Before this time it had been used partially in the West Indies for ship-building; but this new discovery of its beauty soon brought it into general use in the making of furniture. The chief supply, at the time we speak of, came from the island of Jamaica, and the wood it exported was of the finest description; but since then the constant demand has nearly exhausted the island, and it is now, as we have already said, chiefly brought from the Spanish main, and several of the larger West India islands. There is a species of mahogany in the East Indies, which grows to a much larger size than the American tree, it is also much heavier, but the colour of the wood is of a dirty red.-Saturday Magazine.

PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURES OF ENGLAND.

THE staple manufacture of this country is woollen cloth. England abounds in fine pastures and extensive downs, which feed great numbers of sheep; hence our wool has ever been a valuable article of trade; but we did not always know how to work it. We used to sell it to the Flemish or Lombards, who wrought it into cloth; till in the year 1326, Edward III. invited some Flemish weavers over to teach us the art: but there was not much made in England till the reign of Henry VII.

Manchester and Birmingham are towns which have arisen to great consequence from small beginnings, almost within the memory of man; the first for cotton and muslin goods, the second for cutlery and hardware, in which England excels all Europe.

Of late years, too, fine and beautiful carpets have been fabricated in this country. Our clocks and watches are also greatly esteemed.

The earthenware plates and dishes in general use, with the more elegant and ornamental sets for the dinner and tea-tables of the wealthy, come from a very extensive manufactory, the seat of which is at Burslem, in Staffordshire. The principal potteries there, were established by Wedgwood, who has made our clay more valuable than the finest porcelain of China; he has moulded it into all the forms of grace and beauty that are to be met with in the precious remains of the Greek artists. In the more common articles he has pencilled it with the most elegant designs, shaped it into shells and leaves, twisted it into wicker-work, and trailed the ductile foliage round the light basket; he has filled our cabinets and chimneypieces with urns, lamps, and vases, on which are traced the fine forms and floating draperies of antiquity. There is a great demand abroad for this elegant manufacture. Aikin.

HUMAN LIFE.

I WALKED the fields at morning's prime,
The grass was ripe for mowing,

The sky-lark sang his matin chime,
And all was brightly glowing.

"And thus," I cried, "the ardent boy,
His pulse with rapture beating,
Thinks life's inheritance is joy—
The future proudly greeting."

I wander'd forth at noon :-alas!
On earth's maternal bosom,

The scythe had left the withering grass,
And stretched the fading blossom.

And thus, I thought, with many a sigh,
The hopes we fondly cherish,
Like flowers which blossom but to die,
Seem only born to perish.

Once more, at eve, abroad I stray'd,
Through lonely hay-fields musing;
While every breeze that round me play'd
Rich fragrance was diffusing.

The perfumed air, the hush of eve,
To purer hopes appealing,

O'er thoughts perchance too prone to grieve,
Scatter'd the balm of healing.

For thus "the actions of the just,"

When memory hath enshrined them,

E'en from the dark and silent dust

Their odour leave behind them.-B. Barton.

DUTIES OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

IT is the duty of brothers and sisters to delight in eac other's society, and readily to share their comforts with each other. In other companions, treachery may lurk under the smile of complaisance, and speak in the compliments of flattery, but you will assuredly find sincerity in domestic intercourse. The kindness of the heart beams in a sister's smile, and speaks in a brother's praise. Your hearts must be sadly corrupted, if ever the remembrance of the scenes that passed under a father's roof ceases to interest you, and you find no pleasure in the sights of objects which recall these to your thoughts. When you are tempted to envy a brother or sister, be