FEBRUARY. 



77 



speedily, or even now, exhibiting a show of rich fra- 

 grant flowers in their white, or green, or purple glasses, 

 and "Ma" is surprised to see the sun, and "Pa" 

 throws up the window for a moment, and young heads 

 and- hearts begin to fidget, and flutter, and beat ! In 

 short all the "gloomy weather" of almanack makers is 

 at once forgotten, and while the sun shines, nothing but 

 walks and rides, and visits, and balls, and last, " not 

 least," new dresses to replace the dowdy ones of 

 winter, can be talked or thought of; and thus it must 

 and ever will be so when spring gives signs of its 

 awakening. Another short slumber, and the winds of 

 March will shake it wide awake ! 



It frequently happens at this season of the year, if 

 wefc weather prevail, (for on the average of years the 

 month will not bely its name of " February fill-dike,") 

 that various coloured gelatinous substances present 

 themselves on sticks, posts, rotten branches of trees, 

 &c., as if jellies had been sportively thrown about, or 

 had dropt from the sky. Various opinions formerly 

 prevailed as to their origin ; and it was vulgarly sup- 

 posed they were relics of fallen stars ! It is now well 

 understood that these curious substances belong to 

 that division of the vegetable kingdom denominated 

 fungi., and have sporidia immersed in their mass, from 

 whence fresh plants are produced, although unable to 

 luxuriate except in an atmosphere saturated with 

 moisture. Hence, under the influence of the sun 

 they dry up and entirely disappear. Some of these 

 vegetable jellies have very rich colours, and trembling 

 as they lie swelled out with moisture, have taken the 

 name of tremellini. The tremella deliqiiescens, fre- 

 quently seen on old posts and decayed stems of annual 



