the nettle stings. But even these stings are made of use to man. There are certain diseases which require sharp remedies. You have had occasion to know this; for once you were in pain, the doctor thought it necessary to put a blister on the part, and you got relief. Well, the poor cannot always get a blister, so they frequently use nettles. They strike the part that is in pain, and the points entering the skin, it presses on the little bags at the bottom; the juice is then forced up and comes out at the point; and wherever it is left it makes a little blister, which gives relief to the pain. But when there is no occasion to use nettles in this way, and you accidentally sting your hand, you find a plant beside them, and the mild juice of the one immediately corrects the sharp pain of the other; so that you see how good Providence is.

M. Is the stalk of any use, father?

F. You saw how very tough the fibres or strings of the bark were; they are for that reason often used in place of hemp or flax. There is a plant called hempnettle, (not, however, a real nettle,) which the farmers of Yorkshire sow for the purpose. When ripe it is steeped in water, the stem decays, and the bark remains in strings; these are dressed like flax, and the farmers weave them into strong bags, frock coats, and other useful articles,

M. Well, I am sure, I never thought of such things when I have trampled on a nettle, and I am much obliged to you Father, for instructing me.

F. I would wish to instruct you a little more, my dear child, and on a still more important point. You were angry and impatient when the nettle stung you, and seemed to repine at that which God had made; but you see how good and perfect is the thing you despised. Every thing, when examined, is equally a proof of God's wisdom and goodness. He creates nothing in vain. God is every where, and his hand is in all things; you see Him in the sun, moon, and stars, which glitter in the sky, and you see Him in the humble nettle, which you despise and trample on.-Dr. Walsh.

TO A WILD FLOWER.

In what delightful land,

Sweet-scented flower! didst thou attain thy birth?
Thou art no offspring of the common earth,
By common breezes fanned.

But never did I see,

In mead or mountain, or domestic bower, 'Mong many a lovely and delicious flower, One half so fair as thee!

Thy beauty makes rejoice

My inmost heart.

I know not how 'tis so

Quick coming fancies thou dost make me know,
For fragrance is thy voice.

Thy home is in the wild,

'Mong sylvan shades, near music-haunted springs, Where peace dwells all apart from earthly things, Like some secluded child.

The beauty of the sky

The music of the woods, the love that stirs
Wherever Nature charms her worshippers,
Are all by thee brought nigh.

I shall not soon forget

What thou hast taught me in my solitude ;
My feelings have acquired a taste of good,
Sweet flower! since first we met.

Thou bring'st into the soul

A blessing and a peace, inspiring thought!
And dost the goodness and the power denote
Of HIM who formed the whole.-Anderson.

THE SUGAR CANE.

SUGAR is one of the most valuable vegetable substances with which civilised beings have become acquainted-so varied and extensive are its uses, and so greatly does it minister to the social gratifications of mankind.

The Sugar Cane must be considered as a native of China, since its cultivation was prosecuted in that empire for two thousand years before sugar was even known in Europe, and for a very long period before other eastern nations became acquainted with its use. For some time after this substance, in its crystalline form, had found its way to the westward, through India and Arabia, a singular degree of ignorance prevailed in regard to its nature and the mode of its production; and there is reason for believing that the Chinese, who have always evinced an unconquerable repugnance to foreign intercourse, purposely threw a veil of mystery over the subject.

cor

A knowledge of the origin of Cane Sugar was rectly revealed in the middle of the thirteenth century, by the celebrated traveller, Marco Polo; though it was partially known much earlier. The plant was soon conveyed to Arabia, Nubia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, where it became extensively cultivated. Early in the fifteenth century the sugar cane first appeared in Europe. Sicily took the lead in its cultivation; thence it passed to Spain, Madeira, and the Canary Islands; and shortly after the discovery of the new world, by Columbus, this plant was conveyed to Hayti and Brazil, from which latter country it gradually spread to the islands of the West Indies.

The canes have knotty stalks, and at each joint or knot a leaf is produced. The number of joints varies in different specimens, some having as many as eighty, and others not half that number. The sugar-cane varies exceedingly in its growth, depending upon the nature of the soil. In new and moist land it sometimes attains the height of twenty feet. It is always propagated from cuttings. The planting of canes does not require to be renewed annually.

The hoeing of a cane-field is a most laborious operation when performed, as it must be, under the rays of a tropical sun. Formerly this task was always effected by hand labour, but of late years, where the nature of the ground will admit of the employment of a plough, that instrument has been substituted, to the mutual advantage of the planter and his labourers.

When the canes are fully ripe they are cut close to the ground, and being then divided into convenient lengths,

are tied up in bundles and conveyed to the mill. The canes on being passed twice between the cylinders of this mill, have all their juice expressed. This is collected in a cistern, and must be immediately placed under process by heat to prevent its becoming acid. A certain quantity of lime in powder, is added at this time to promote the separation of the grosser matters contained in the juice; and these being, as far as possible, removed at a heat just sufficient to cause the impurities to collect on the surface, the cane liquor is then subjected to a very rapid boiling, in order to evaporate the watery particles, and bring the syrup to such a consistency that it will granulate on cooling. Upon an average, every five galions, imperial measure, of cane-juice, will yield six pounds of crystallized sugar, and will be obtained from about one hundred and ten well grown canes.

When the sugar is sufficiently cooled in shallow trays, it is put into the hogsheads, wherein it is shipped to Europe. These casks have their bottoms pierced with holes, and are placed upright over a large cistern, into which the molasses-which is the portion of saccharine matter that will not crystallize-drains away, leaving the raw sugar in the state we see it in our grocers' shops. The casks are then filled up, headed down and shipped.

The molasses which have drained from the sugar, together with all the scummings of the coppers, are collected, and, being first fermented, are distilled for the production of Rum.-Vegetable Substances.

THE HARE-BELL AND THE FOX-GLOVE.

In a valley obscure, on a bank of green shade,
A sweet little Harebell her dwelling had made;
Her roof was a woodbine, that tastefully spread
Its close-woven tendrils, o'erarching her head;
Her bed was of moss, that each morning made new;
She dined on a sunbeam, and supp'd on the dew;
Her neighbour, the nightingale, sung her to rest;
And care had ne'er planted a thorn in her breast.

One morning she saw, on the opposite side,
A Fox-glove displaying his colours of pride;

She gazed on his form that in stateliness grew,
And envied his height and his brilliant hue:

She mark'd how the flow'rets all gave way before him, While they press'd round her dwelling with far less decorum ;

Dissatisfied, jealous, and peevish she grows,

And the sight of the Fox-glove destroys her repose.

She tires of her vesture, and swelling with spleen,
Cries, "Ne'er such a dowdy blue mantle was seen!"
Nor keeps to herself any longer her pain,

But thus to a Primrose begins to complain :-
"I envy your mood, that can patient abide

The respect paid that Fox-glove, his airs and his pride;
There you sit, still the same, with your colourless cheek,
But you have no spirit, would I were as meek."

The Primrose, good-humour'd, replied, "If you knew
More about him-(remember I'm older than you,
And better instructed, can tell you his tale)—
You'd envy him least of all flowers in the vale ;
With all his fine airs, and his dazzling show,
No blossom more baneful and odious can blow;
And the reason that flow'rets before him give way
Is because they all hate him and shrink from his ray.

"To stay near him long would be fading or death,
For he scatters a pest with his venomous breath;
While the flowers that you fancy are crowding you there,
Spring round you, delighted your converse to share :
His flame-coloured robe, is imposing, 'tis true;
Yet, who likes it so well as your mantle of blue?
For we know that of innocence one is the vest,
The other, the cloak of a treacherous breast.

"I see your surprise-but I know him full well,
And have number'd his victims as fading they fell;
He blighted twin-violets, that under him lay,
And poison'd a sister of mine the same day."
The primrose was silent-the Harebell, 'tis said,
Inclin❜d for a moment, her beautiful head;
But quickly recover'd her spirits, and then
Declar'd that she ne'er should feel envy again.-Anon.