54 



for it is properly in this manner that on f j thread 

 of a feather is fastened to the other. 



This admirable structure of the feather, \vhi ch 

 it is easy to see with the microscope, succeeds 

 perfectly for the use to which nature has de- 

 signed it; which use was, not only that the 

 laminae might be united, but that, when one 

 thread or lamina has been separated from ano- 

 ther by some external violence, it might be re- 

 clasped with sufficient facility and expedition. 



SINGULAR PROPERTY IN CHICKWEED. 

 The common Chickweed affords a notable in- 

 stance of what is called the sleep of plants; for 

 every night the leaves approach in pairs, so as 

 to include within their upper surfaces the tender 

 rudiments of the new shoots; and the upper- 

 most pair but one at the end of the stalk are 

 furnished with longer leaf-stalks than the others ; 

 so that they can close upon the terminating pair, 

 and protect the end of the branch. 



REMARKABLE INSECT THAT SUBSISTS ON THE 

 NECTAR OF PLANTS. 



Many insects are provided with a long and 

 pliant proboscis for the purpose of acquiring 



