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ditches will furnish them with many beautiful forms of a higher 
vegetable life, opening up a new field of wonder and delight ; 
leading them on, by a species of fascination, to seek more 
and more to look into their structures, growth, and habits ; to 
marvel with mute admiration at the wisdom of the Creator, 
Who has lavished such infinite variety of form, colour, and 
beauty on the myriad individuals of the invisible things of 
His kingdom, though the question may arise in our minds, 
whether the portion of His Divine intellect, which He.has 
been pleased to bestow on man, is not to be marvelled at still 
more, enabling man, as it does, to construct an instrument 
like the Microscope, without which the wonders of that 
kingdom would have remained for ever invisible to us. 
The following paper on Locat Botany was written last 
year by Mrs. FitzGerald: 
It was the roth of February. I was very tired of the cold 
weather and lack of flowers, moreover, I thought I knew a 
sunny spot, at the foot of the hills beyond Cesar’s Camp, 
where I might, perchance, find some early violets. It was 
cold, snow lying in the ridges of the ploughed fields ; but the 
sun shone, ‘af was something, so I walked on bravely, daring 
the cold and the hill, and as a reward for my courage, found 
my violet bank, near Czsar’s Camp, so sweetly full of flowers. 
It was sheltered from the winds—no snow there. I flew at 
my flowers and soon had a bunch of great variety, for on this 
same bank, dark blue, pure white, the dingy dark red, and the 
lovely light mauve flourish altogether. I came to one espe- 
cially fine bunch and prepared to gather them, but was startled 
very considerably, at seeing a large adder coiled up asleep on 
a branch of Sloe bush, which hung just above the coveted 
treasures, a most luxurious reptile to choose such a spot to 
repose in; the noise I made startled it away, but I could 
not venture on those particular flowers. I followed a little 
brooklet on my return and found the little Adoxa moschattellina 
in another sheltered corner, and two or three Primroses, and 
' very delighted I was with my morning’s ramble. It was some 
days later than this, that in another walk I found Snowdrops 
(Galanthus nivalis). I had surmounted the same hill, fol- 
G 
