FOR SPRING AND SUMMER. Prognostics of Weather and Horologe unfolds them, so that the husbandman of Flora. can pretty clearly foretell tempests from it. It is also well known that the mounFrom the “ Perennial Calendar." tain ebony bauhinia, sensitive plants, Chickweed.—When the flower expands and cassia, observe the same rule. boldly and fully, no rain will happen for Besides affording prognostics, many four hours or upwards : if it continues in plants also fold themselves up at partithat open state, no rain will disturb the cular hours, with such regularity, as to summer's day: when it half conceals its have acquired particular names from this miniature flower, the day is generally property. The following are among the showery; but if it entirely shuts up, or more remarkable plants of this descripveils the white flower with its green tion:mantle, let the traveller put on his great Goatsbeard. The flowers of both coat, and the ploughman, with his beasts species of tragopogon open in the mornof drought, expect rest from their labour. ing at the approach of the sun, and with: Siberian sowthistle.—If the flowers of out regard to the state of the weather this plant keep open all night, rain will regularly shut about noon. Hence it is certainly fall the next day. generally known in the country by the Trefoil.—The different species of tre- name of go to bed at noon. foil always contract their leaves at the The princesses' leaf, or four o'clock approach of a storm : hence these plants flower, in the Malay Islands, is au elegant have been termed the husbandman's shrub so called by the natives, because barometer. their ladies are fond of the grateful odour African marygold.-If this plant opens of its white leaves. It takes its generic not its flowers in the morning about seven name from its quality of opening its o'clock, you may be sure it will rain that flowers at four in the evening, and not day, unless it thunders. closing them in the morning till the same The convolvulus also, and the pim hour returns, when they again expand pernel anagalis arvensis, fold up their in the evening at the same hour. Many leaves on the approach of rain : the last people transplant them from the woods in particular is termed the poor man's into their gardens, and use them as a dial weather-glass. or a clock, especially in cloudy weather. White thorns and dog-rose bushes. The evening primrose is well known Wet summers are generally attended from its remarkable properties of regularly with an uncommon quantity of seed on shutting with a loud popping noise, about these shrubs; whence their unusual fruit- sunset in the evening, and opening at fulness is a sign of a severe winter. sunrise in the morning. After six o'clock, Besides the above, there are several these flowers regularly report the approach plants, especially those with compound of night. yellow flowers, which nod, and during The tamarind tree parkinsonia, the the whole day turn their flowers towards nipplewort lapsana communis, the water the sun: viz. to the east in the morning, lily nymphaea, the marygolds calenduto the south at noon, and to the west lae, the bastard sensitive plant aeschytowards evening; this is very observable nomcne, and several others of the in the sowthistle sonchus arvensis : and diadelphia class, in serene weather, exit is a well-known fact, that a great part pand their leaves in the daytime, and of the plants in a serene sky expand contract them during the night. Accordtheir flowers, and as it were with cheerful ing to some botanists, the tamarind-tree looks behold the light of the sun; but enfolds within its leaves the flowers or before rain they shut them up, as the fruit every night, in order to guard them tulip. from cold or rain. The flowers of the alpine whitlow The flower of the garden lettuce, grass draba alpina, the bastard fever- which is in a vertical plane, opens at few parthenium, and the wintergreen seven o'clock, and shuts at ten. trientalis, hang down in the night as if A species of serpentine aloe, without the plants were asleep, lest rain or the prickles, whose large and beautiful mioist air should injure the fertilizing dust. Howers exhale a strong odour of the One species of woodsorrel shuts up or vanilla during the time of its expansion, doubles its leaves before storms and tem- which is very short, is cultivated in the pests, but in a serene sky expands or imperial garden at Paris. It does not blow till towards the month of July, and Till the bright Daystar to the west about five o'clock in the evening, at Declines, in Ocean's surge to lave : which time it gradually opens its petals, Then, folded in her modest vest, expands them, droops, and dies. By ten She slumbers on the rocking wave. o'clock the same night, it is totally See Hieracium's various tribe, withered, to the great astonishment of Of plumy seed and radiate flowers, And wake or sleep appointed hours. The Goatsbeard spreads its golden rays, fragrant odour, for a few hours in the Retreating from the noontide blaze. night, and then closes to open no more. The flower is nearly a foot in diameter; Pale as a pensive cloistered nun, the inside of the calyx, of a splendid yel The Bethlem Star her face unveils, low; and the numerous petals are of a When o'er the mountain peers the Sun, But shades it from the vesper gales, pure white. It begins to open about seven or eight o'clock in the evening, Among the loose and arid sands and closes before sunrise in the morning. The humble Arenaria creeps; The flower of the dandelion possesses Slowly the Purple Star expands, very peculiar means of sheltering itself Bui soon within its calyx sleeps. from the heat of the sun, as it closes en And those small bells so lightly rayed tirely whenever the heat becomes excessive. It has been observed to open, in Are to the noontide Sun displayed, With young Aurora's rosy hue, summer, at half an hour after five in the But shut their plaits against the dew, morning, and to collect its petals towards the centre about nine o'clock. On upland slopes the shepherds mark Linnæus has enumerated forty-six The hour, when, as the dial true, Cichorium to the towering Lark flowers, which possess this kind of sen Lifts her soft eyes serenely blue. sibility: he divides them into three classes.-1. Meteoric flowers, which less And thou, “Wee crimson tipped flower," accurately observe the hour of folding, Gatherest thy fringed mantle round but are expanded sooner or later accord- Thy bosom, at the closing hour, ing to the cloudiness, moisture, or pres When nightdrops bathe the turfy ground. sure of the atmosphere. 2. Tropical close before evening every day, but the But when the evening crescent shines, flowers, that open in the morning and Unlike Silene, who declines The garish noontide's blazing light; hour of their expanding becomes earlier Gives all her sweetness to the night. How fast their winged moments fly. close of this month, the cat's ear hypoUnveiled to the observant eye, charis radicata is in flower every where; Are faithful monitors, who tell its first appearance is about the 18th day. How pass the hours and seasons by. This plant, as well as the rough dandeThe green-robed children of the Spring lion, continues to flower till after Midsumwill mark the periods as they pass, The lilac, the barberry tree, the Mingle with leaves Time's feathered wing, maple, and other trees and shrubs, are And bind with flowers his silent glass. also in flower. The meadow grasses are Mark where transparent waters glide, full grown and flowering. The flowers Soft flowing o'er their tranquil bed ; of the garden rose, in early and warm There, cradled on the dimpling tide, years, begin to open. Nymphæa rests her lovely head. But conscious of the earliest beam, On a Young Rosebud in May, from the She rises from her humid nest, German of Goethe. And sees reflected in the stream A kose, that bloomed the roadside by, The virgin whiteness of her breast. Caught a young vagrant's wanton eye ; mer. are The child was gay, the morn was clear, sible, and that this herbage should be The child would see the rosebud near : agreeable and nutritious to the animals She saw the blooming flow'r. which are fed with its crop. Every My liule Rose, my Rosebud dear' plant of crowfoot therefore ought, if pracMy Rose that blooms the roadside near ! ticable, to be extirpated, for, so far from The child exelaimed, “ My bands shall dare, being grateful and nourishing to any kind Thee, Rose, from off thy stem to tear :" of cattle, it is notorious, that in its fresh The Rose replied, “ If I have need, state nothing will touch it. The same My thorns shall make thy fingers bleed may be said of the hemlock, kex, and Tby rash design give o'er.' other umbelliferous plants which are My little Rose, my Rosebud dear! common in most fields, and which have My Rose that blooms the roadside near ! entirely overrun others; for these when Regardless of its thorny spray, fresh are not only noxious to the animals The child would tear the Rose away; that are fed upon hay, but from their The Rose bewailed with sob and sigh, rank and straggling manner of growth But all in vain, no help was nigh occupy a very large proportion of the To quell the urchin's pow's. ground. Many other plants that are My little Rose, my Rosebud dear! commonly found in meadows may upon My Rose that bloomed the roadside near ! the same principles be objected to; and New Monthly Magazine. though the present generation of farmers has done much, yet still more remains From Dr. Aikin's “ Natural History of for their successors to perform. the Year," the ensuing passages regard The gardens now yield an agreeable ing the season will be found agreeable though immature product in the young and useful. gooseberries and currants, which On hedge-hanks the wild germander of highly acceptable to our tables, now a fine azure blue is conspicuous, and the almost exhausted of their store of prewhole surface of meadows is often covered served fruits. by the yellow crowfoot. These flowers, Early in the month the latest species also called buttercups, are erroneously of the summer birds of passage arrive, supposed to communicate to the butter generally in the following order: fernat this season its rich yellow tinge, as owl or goat-sucker, fly-catcher, and sedgethe cows will not touch it on account of bird. its acrid biting quality; this is strikingly This is also the principal time in which visible in pastures, where, though all the birds hatch and rear their young. The grass is cropped to the very roots, the assiduity and patience of the female durnumerous tufts of this weed spring up, ing the task of sitting are admirable, as flower, and shed their seeds in perfect well as the conjugal affection of the male, security, and the most absolute freedom who sings to his mate, and often supplies from molestation by the cattle; they are her place; and nothing can exceed the indeed cut down and made into hay to- parental tenderness of both when the gether with the rest of the rubbish that young are brought to light. usually occupies a large proportion of Several species of insects are this every meadow; and in this state are month added to those which have already eaten by cattle, partly because they are been enumerated ; the chief of which are incapable of separating them, and partly the great white cabbage butterfly, capilio because, by dying, their acrimony is con- brassicæ ; the may-chaffer, the favourite siderably subdued; but there can be no food of the fern-owl; the horse-fly, or doubt of their place being much better forest-fly, so great a plague to horses and supplied by any sort of real grass. In cattle ; and several kinds of moths and the present age of agricultural improve. butterflies. ment the subject of grass lands among Towards the end of May the bee-hives others has been a good deal attended to, send forth their earlier swarms. These but much yet remains to be done, and colonies consist of the young progeny, the tracts of the ingenious Stillingfleet, and some old ones, now grown too nuand of Mr. Curtis, on this important di- merous to remain in their present habitavision of rural economy, are well deserv- tion, and sufficiently strong and vigorous ing the notice of every liberal farmer. to provide for themselves. One queen The excellence of a meadow consists in bee is necessary to form each colony; its producing as much herbage as pos- and wherever she flies they follow. När man FLORAL DIRECTORY. ture directs them to march in a body, in barberry, laburnum, horse-chestnut, lilac, quest of a new settlement, which, if left mountain ash, and Guelder rose ; of the to their choice, would generally be some more humble plants the most remarkable hollow trunk of a tree. But man, who are the lily of the valley, and woodroof in converts the labours and instincts of so woods, the male orchis in meadows, and many animals to his own use, provides the lychnis, or cuckoo flower, on hedgethem with a dwelling, and repays him- banks. self with their honey. The early swarms This month is not a very busy season are generally the most valuable, as they for the farmer. Some sowing remains have time enough to lay in a plentiful to be done in late years; and in forward store of honey for their subsistence through ones, the weeds, which spring up abunthe winter. dantly in fields and gardens, require to be About the same time the glow-worm kept under. The husbandman now looks shines. Of this species of insect the fe- forward with anxious hope to the reward maies are without wings and luminous, of his industry :the males are furnished with wings, Be gracious, Heaven ! for now laborious but are not luminous; it is probable, therefore, that this light rray serve to Has done his part. Ye fost'ring breezes, direct the male to the haunts of the fe blow! male, as Hero of Sestos is said to have Ye soft'ning dews, ye tender show'rs dedisplayed a torch from the top of a high scend; tower to guide her venturous lover Le And temper all, thou world-receiving sun, ander in his dangerous passage across Into the perfect year! Thomson. the Hellespont : You (i. e. the Sylphs) Warm on her mossy couch the radiant worm, The Horse-chestnut. Æschylus HippoGuard from cold dews her lore-illumined castanum. form, Dedicated to St. Barnardine of Sienna. From leaf to leaf conduct the virgin light, Star of the earth, and diamond of the night. Darwin. Map 21. These little animals are found to ex Holiday at the Public Offices. tinguish their lamps between eleven and St. Felix of Cantalicio. A. D. 1587. St. twelve at night. Godrick, Hermit, A. D. 1170. St. Old May-day is the usual time for Hospitius, A. D. 681. turning out cattle into the pastures, though frequently then very bare of grass. The milk soon becomes more copious, and of finer quality, from the juices of Ragged Robin. Lychnis flos cuculi. Dedicated to St. Felix, the young grass; and it is in this month that the making of cheese is usually begun in the dairies. Cheshire, Wiltshire, and the low parts of Gloucestershire, are the tracts in England most celebrated for St. Yvo, A. D. 1303. St. Basiliscus, Bp. the best cheese. A. D. 312. Sts. Castus and Æmilius, Many trees and shrubs flower in May, A. D. 250. St. Bobo, A. D. 983. St. such as the oak, beech, maple, sycamcre, Conall, Abbot. When first the soul of Love is sent abroad, FLORAL DIRECTORY Map 22. FLORAL DIRECTORY. Deep tangled, tree irregular, and bush Thomson. Hebrews; and a breakfast composed of Yellow Star of Bethlehem. Tragopogon cake, bread, and a liquor made by hot pratensis. water poured on wheaten bran. The Dedicated to St. Yvo. Whitson Ales were derived from the Agapai, or love- feasts of the early May 23. Christians, and were so denominated from the churchwardens buying, and lay. St. Julia, 5th Cent. St. Desiderius, Bp. ing in from presents also, a large quan of Langres, 7th Cent. St. Desiderius, tity of malt, which they brewed into beer, Bp. of Vienne, A. D. 612. and sold out in the church or elsewhere. Whitsuntide. The profits, as well as those from sundry games, there being no poor rates, were Mr. Fosbroke remarks that this feast given to the poor, for whom this was one was celebrated in Spain with representa- mode of provision, according to the tions of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and of christian rule that all festivities should thunder from engines, which did much be rendered innocent by alms. Aubrey damage. Wafers, or cakes, preceded by thus describes a Whitson Ale. water, oak-leaves, or burning torches, parish was a church-house, to which bewere thrown down from the church roof; fonged spits, crocks, and other utensils small birds, with cakes tied to their legs, for dressing provisions. Here the houseand pigeons were let loose; sometimes keepers met. The young people were there were tame white ones tied with there too, and had dancing, bowling, strings, or one of wood suspended. A long shooting at butts, &c. the ancients sitting censer was also swung up and down. In gravely by, and looking on.” It seems an old Computus, anno 1509, of St. Pa too that a tree was erected by the church trick's, Dublin, we have ivó, viid. paid to door, where a banner was placed, and those playing with the great and little maidens stood gathering contributions. angel and the dragon; ii'. paid for little An arbour, called Robin Hood's Bower, cords employed about the Holy Ghost; was also put up in the church-yard. The ivo. vid. for making the angel (thurificantis) modern Whitson Ale consists of a lord censing, and iii. iid. for cords of it—all on and lady of the ale, a steward, swordthe feast of Pentecost. On the day before bearer, purse-bearer, mace-bearer, trainWhitsuntide, in some places, men and bearer, or page, fool, and pipe and tabor boys rolled themselves, after drinking, &c. man, with a company of young men and in the mud in the streets. The Irish kept women, who dance in a barn, the feast with milk food, as among the “ In every |