Per] AND SYMBOLS. 269 



superior authority constrains us to continue at the work, though 

 we well know the inducement is a selfish sham, and our labour is 

 the tax an extortioner is exacting. In the hands of these plausible 

 fellows, we resemble a certain bird which is used in an interest- 

 ing mode of fishing much practised in China. The clever 

 fishermen employ a black bird called the loo-soo, which is as 

 large as a duck and has a neck as long as a goose. A fisherman 

 takes them in his boat, and when he sets them at liberty they 

 swim upon the water, and at the sight of a fish they dive and 

 secure it in their beaks. A ring is put upon their necks, which 

 will allow them to swallow the smaller fish but not the larger. 

 When the fisherman perceives that their throats are filled with 

 fish, he thrusts into the water a long pole, upon which these 

 birds have been trained to climb and return into the boat ; he 

 then squeezes their throats to make them disgorge their prey, 

 and every time this is done he obtains about two handfuls of 

 fish. The greater the number of these birds a fisherman pos- 

 sesses the richer is he considered to be, for like the persons 

 whom others selfishly use for their purposes, they cost but very 

 little to keep. ME. 



The Law of Periodicity. 



Certain plants appear, in an inexplicable manner, to be in- 

 fluenced by the law of periodicity as well as by light. Dr. 

 Balfour, when referring to this subject, observes that a plant 

 accustomed to flower in daylight at a certain time will continue 

 to expand its flowers at the wonted time even when kept in a 

 dark room. De Candolle made a series of experiments on the 

 flowering of plants kept in darkness, and in a cellar lighted by 

 lamps. He found that the law of periodicity continued to 

 operate for a considerable time, and that in artificial light, some 

 flowers opened, while others, such as species of convolvulus, still 

 followed the clock hours in their opening and closing. I. L. 



Perpetual Change a Law of Nature. 



In material Nature there is no such thing as rest. It is a 

 fact of which the very first principles of geology assure us, that 



