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KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



me for some hempseed, first prepared it by crush- 

 ing it, and then fed the invalid with it, most 

 affectionately. It has continued the same kind 

 offices ever since. — H. B. 



Husky Sky-lark. — I have a very fine lark, in 

 his fifth year. His notes this spring have become 

 thick and husk} r . How can I cure him?— -J. S., 

 Cower,, I. W. 



[Give him boiled milk for three days (fresh 

 every morning), instead of water, and keep him 

 from all draughts. Do not attempt to hang him 

 up, out of doors, till the weather is settled. 

 Wait a little for the receipt to make German 

 paste. It is under consideration. If you want a 

 practical work on "British Song Birds," take 

 this Journal by all means. In one single 

 twelvemonth, it will be a complete .Encyclo- 

 paedia.] 



FLOWEES AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. 



There are at the very least, two advan- 

 tages in a taste for flowers. The first is 

 produced by the culture of them, which, 

 since it excludes all wilfulness, haste, and 

 impatience, quiets the mind, cheers it by 

 ever -cherished hope, and, since this seldom 

 deceives, gladdens it with quiet joy. But 

 the second and chief advantage consists in 

 this — that every flower is in miniature the 

 image of entire nature, and contains all its 

 security, order, peace, and beauty. The 

 flower unfolds itself silently according to 

 necessary laws, and under necessary con- 

 ditions ; and, if those fail, it cannot flourish. 

 Like a child upon the mother's bosom, so it 

 hangs upon and sucks the sun and air, the 

 earth and water ; it is but a part of the great 

 whole of nature, from which it cannot live 

 separated. It is fairest in blossom, but in 

 every stage of development it has peculiar 

 charms. 



How fair the tender plant which creeps 

 forth to the light ! how lovely the juicy 

 green ! how mysterious and full of intima- 

 tions the swelling bud ! Some flowers are 

 fairer than others, and none without some 

 property. And how manifold their beauty! 

 Thereby they are the truest image of nature, 

 which spreads itself before our view in in- 

 finite variety, and thus unveils the unfathom- 

 able riches of the Creator. Partial florists 

 may prefer the fragrant hyacinth, or the 

 showy auricula, or the rich carnation, or any 

 others ; but who can say which is fairer than 

 the other? and what feeling friend of nature 

 will not love even the less fair? All are the 

 lovely children of nature ; and ,as a mother 

 fondly presses all her offspring to her heart, 

 because she discovers in all the beloved fea- 

 tures of the father — so the true lover of 

 nature fondly embraces all she brings forth, 

 because her life is exhibited in all, however 

 diverse. 



Who can say what color of the rainbow is 

 the fairest, since all are born from the same 

 ray of light ? As nature is without evil, 

 so are flowers the image of innocence and 

 harmlessness, and the sight of them soothes 

 and calms, like the countenance of a consci- 

 entious man who is without reserve and guile. 

 The abode of the first man, in his innocence, 

 was a garden ; in a garden, among the lovely 

 children of spring, we again find paradise ; 

 here we dream of the bliss of innocence, 

 here soothe tumultuous desires, and a gentle 

 longing fills the heart. The lake-rose swims 

 and bathes in the moist element, which, fer- 

 tilising, pervades the earth, and lifts up its 

 crown to the sun, like a clear, calm eye. 

 Who thus can swim in the fullness of uni- 

 versal life, washed pure from all selfishness, 

 and thus look up, unshrinking, with pure 

 eye ? 



Lovely, bright, radiant flowers ! are ye 

 not like stars, which the Creator has scat- 

 tered to illumine and adorn the dark earth ? 

 Are ye not as heavenly messengers, who 

 have come down upon the sunbeams, to 

 bring us tidings of a world in which all 

 blooms in beauty, rapture, peace ? There- 

 fore is it that the children, who too have 

 come from heaven, and still retain their in- 

 nocence, play with you so like sisters ; 

 therefore is it that Woman loves you, who 

 bears in her feeling heart intimations of 

 heaven ; therefore we deck with you the 

 graves of the beloved, because you point 

 upward when they have gone to rest.— 

 P. B. S. 



THE GARDEN,— GREENHOUSE. 



Succulent Plants. — No. III. 



If two plants only are placed in a window, 

 they ought to be a " pair ;" that is, of the 

 same size and general outline. If three 

 plants, the tallest should be placed in the 

 centre, and the other two (which ought to 

 form a " pair " by themselves) one on each 

 side. If five plants, the tallest in the 

 centre ; two of uniform size next ; gnd the 

 smallest size outside, and so on. If you 

 have them two or three deep, the tallest 

 plants should be at the back, arranged as 

 above ; the smaller in front, so placed that 

 the pots in one row should alternate witli 

 those in the next. By this arrangement, 

 more light is secured, which is very im- 

 portant. The group should resemble in 

 outline the quarter of a sphere ; the circular 

 part being in the front, facing the glass. 

 This being a matter of taste only, some may 

 think otherwise ; but however arranged they 

 may be, let them have as much light as 

 possible. 



Epiphyllum Ackermanu Minor is an in- 



