The Work Of Nature In The Months.

might prove deadly in ignorant , hands ; it jiiay often be found about churchyards , and has a branched stem , with hairy leaves , and flowers of a dingy yellowish white , beautifully veined with a deep purple . This gloomy tinge on these plants obtained

for them from Linnaeus ,, the name of " Luridce , " as he imagined that then- dark look was an accurate index of their deadly narcotic-acrid properties . This same susp icious appearance may be noted in the white-flowered but dark leaved Thornapple , which is often smoked , like tobacco , for the alleviation of asthma . Another of

those dangerous plants , very common everywhere , is Fool ' s-parsley ; of the same family as this last are many water-plants , such as the Water-parsnep and the Waterhemlock ; then there are the Drop-worts , with two or three others of a similar nature , both as to their family connexions

and their undesirable qualifications as to wholesomeness . The Pepper Saxifrage , the Cow-parsnep , and the Wild Carrot all belong to the same group , although they are denizens of the shore and not the stream .

Another yellow flower , without one 01 other of whose varieties no localit y is complete , now claims a word , we mean the ¦ Sow-Thistle , so well known to our youn <* friends as the no less fully relished than easily found sustenance of their tame rabbits

; the young leaves of this common weed are by some preferred to Spinach , a thing that we can easily believe . This brings us to the Thistles proper , the Common , or real Scotch Thistle , the Mary ' s or Milk Thistle , the Flume Thistles

, the Cotton Thistle , and last , but perhaps most striking , the Star Thistle , so-? p ,. ' "which is in reality not really a f histle but a Centuary ; of this last there is a yellow variety caUed the St . Barnab y ' s Uustle . Of these lantsColesin his

p , , -Introduction to the knowledge of plants , " % s " If the down flyeth off Coltsfoot , dandelion , and Thistle , when there is no jviiide , it is a sign of rain . " During the latter part of this month , this down , * 'nch is the winged seed is far

, puffed ' « ia wide by every breath of air . Of it ,-Tb . e schoolboy's clock in every town " — 0 ur poet says-

" Then did we question of the down balls , blowing " To know if some slight wish would come to pass ; " If storms we fear'd , we sought where there was blowing Some meadow flower , which was our weather glass . "

We must by no means omit to mention here the varied usefulness of this humble and often despised flower ; its leaves form an excellent adjunct to our salad , for which purpose on the continent they are extensively sold ; on one occasion , when a

swarm of locusts had ravaged the fields in Minorca , the inhabitants of that island existed fox a while almost entirely on socalled weeds , and of these the Dandelion afforded a great proportion ; nor must we pass over the valuable medicinal qualities

of the extract of this plant , which is a far more wholesome remedy than , and withal quite as effectual an one as , Mercury . The Common Burdock , Hur-biirr , Clotburr , or Great-burr next claims our attention , as it is considered by villagers to be a cure

for rheumatism ; we should be sorry to deny its efficacy , for when its leaves have been applied to the affected part , the disease has sometimes disappeared , whether by the agency of the Burdock or no , however , certainly requires proof . Some physicians

consider it not inferior to Sarsaparilla , which , too , may very well be the case . Its young shoots are sometimes eaten as salad , and sometimes cooked like Asparagus , to which they may be equal , or even superior , at least in the estimation of those who are

of that opinion . As the yellow heads of the Ploughman ' s Spikenard , and the lilac blossoms of the Michaelmas Daisy warn us by their propinquity to the coast , ( of the wonders of which we hope to say somewhat

in our next ) , that . our walk is drawing to a close , we must turn our attention , ' ere we "turn in , " to certain objects of others of Nature ' s Kingdoms . During the early part of this month , the Whame , or Burrel-Fly , is most troublesome

on the coats of our equine companions , laying its eggs thereon or therein . Some of our most beautifid friends , the butterflies and moths , make their appearance during this month , such as the Camberwell Beaut y , Scarlet Admiral , Painted Lady , and the little varied coloured Hair-Streaks , amongst E