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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



mark of a nation's attainment of the highest state 

 of civilisation. Of all the organs of sense, the one 

 whose nervous mechanism appears to be most 

 easily deadened by excessive action is that of 

 smelling. The most delightful odors can only be 

 enjoyed occasionally, and for short intervals. 

 The scent of the rose, or still more delicate odor 

 of the magnolia, can be but fleeting pleasures, 

 and are destined only for occasional enjoyment. 

 He who lives in the garden cannot smell the rose, 

 and the wood-cutter in the southern forests of 

 America is insensible to the odor of the magnolia. 

 Persons who indulge in artificial scents soon 

 cease to be conscious of their presence, and can 

 only stimulate their jaded organs by continually 

 changing the objects of their enjoyment. — These 

 observations are perfectly just, and are well 

 worthy our notice. — Jane L. 



The Joys of Winter. — Awed by the progress of 

 time, winter, ushered into existence by the howling 

 of storms and the rushing of impetuous torrents, 

 and contemplating with the satisfaction of a giant 

 the ruins of the year, still affords ample food for 

 enjoyments which the vulgar never dream of, if 

 sympathy and association diffuse their attractive 

 spells around us. In the bosom of retirement, 

 how delightful is it to feel exempt from the mean 

 intrigues, the endless difficulties and tumults 

 which active life ensures ; and which retirement 

 enables us so well to contemplate through the 

 telescope of recollection ! When seated by the 

 cheerful fire among friends, loving and beloved, 

 our hopes, our wishes, and our pleasures are con- 

 centrated ; the soul seems imparadised in an 

 enchanted circle ; and the world — vain, idle, and 

 offensive as it is — presents nothing to the 

 judgment, and little to the imagination, that can 

 induce the enlightened or good to regret that the 

 knowledge they possess of it is chiefly from the 

 report of others, or from the tumultuous murmur 

 which, from a distance, invades the tranquillity of 

 their retreat, and operates as a discord in a soft 

 sonata. These are the moments which affect us 

 more than all the harmony of Italy or all the melody 

 of Scotland. — Bucke. 



Spring Flowers in the North of China. — In 

 the north of China there are a number of plants, 

 says Mr. Fortune, which have their flower-buds 

 very prominently developed in autumn ; so much so, 

 that they are ready to burst into bloom before the 

 winter has quite passed by, or, at all events, 

 on the first dawn of spring. Amongst these, 

 Jasminum nudijhrum occupies a prominent 

 position. Its yellow blossoms, which it produces 

 in great abundance, may be seen not unfrequently 

 peeping out from amongst the snow ; and remind 

 the stranger in these remote regions, of the 

 beautiful Primroses and Cowslips which grow on 

 the shaded banks of his own land. Nearly as 

 early as this, the pretty daisy-like Spircea pruni- 

 folia^ the yellow Forsythia viridissima, the lilac 

 Daphne Fortunei, and the pink Judas tree, 

 become covered with blossoms, and make our 

 northern Chinese gardens extremely gay. There 

 are also some good Camellias which flower at this 

 time, but they are generally grown in pots under 

 such shelter as mat sheds and other buildings of a 

 like kind can afford. The double-blossomed 



Peach, of which there are three very distinct 

 varieties now in England, are perhaps the 

 gayest of all things which flower in early spring. 

 Fancy, if you can, trees fully as large as our 

 Almond, literally loaded with rich-colored blos- 

 soms, nearly as large and double as Roses, and 

 you will have some idea of the effect produced by 

 these fine trees in this part of the world. On the 

 south-west side of Shanghae, there are numerous 

 Peach gardens studded over the country. These 

 are well worth a visit in the month of April ; as 

 the trees are then in full bloom, and have a 

 charming effect upon the landscape. It is in this 

 part of the country that the celebrated Shanghae 

 Peach is largely cultivated. On the graves, which 

 are here scattered over all the fields and appear 

 like huge mounds of earth, I observed many 

 pretty Violets in flower, both white and purple ; 

 but all nearly scentless. A little later in the 

 season, that is from the 20th April to the begin- 

 ning of May, another race of flowering shrubs and 

 herbaceous plants succeed those I have already 

 named. The most conspicuous amongst them are 

 Viburnum, macrocephalum and dilatatum, with 

 their large heads of snow-white flowers ; Spircea 

 Beevesiana, and the double variety, which is more 

 beautiful than the original species ; Weigela rosea, 

 now well known in Europe ; Moutans of various 

 hues of color ; Azaleas, particularly the lovely 

 little *' Amaznaf Kerria japonica, the lilac and 

 white Glycines, Roses, Dieh/tra spectabilis, and 

 Primula cortusoides. It will easily be believed 

 that with such a host of Flora's beauties these 

 Chinese gardens must be gay indeed. But perhaps 

 the most beautiful sight of all is the Glycine 

 sinensis, climbing upon and hanging down from 

 other trees. Magnificent are the effects produced 

 by this climber when in such situations. I have 

 again observed numerous examples this spring, and 

 cannot help drawing attention once more to the 

 subject. The fine plant of this species upon the 

 Chiswick garden wall, is much and justly admired; 

 but if you will imagine a plant equally large, or in 

 some instances much larger, attaching itself to a 

 tree, or even a group of trees, entwining itself 

 round the stems, running up every branch, and 

 weighing down every branchlet ; and; in the end 

 of April, or beginning of May, covered with 

 flowers — some faint idea may be formed of the fine 

 effects produced by the Glycine in its native 

 country. I believe it would not succeed if man- 

 aged in this way near London, or anywhere in the 

 north ; but the experiment would be worth a trial 

 in some parts of Europe, where the summers are 

 warmer than they are in England. Many of our 

 northern Chinese plants succeed admirably in 

 America. China and America are both situated 

 on the eastern side of large continents. They are 

 equally liable to extremes of heat and cold; conse- 

 quently, the shrubs and trees of one country are 

 almost certain to succeed as well in the other, — 

 provided they are reared in the same latitudes, 

 and grown in the same kind of soil. — Lector. 



English and Foreign Flowers. — Pick out the 

 loveliest spots where the most gorgeous flowers of 

 the tropics expand their glowing petals ; and for 

 every scene of this kind, we may find another at 

 home of equal beauty, and with an equal amount 

 of brilliant colors. Look at a field of buttercups 



