REFLECTIONS ON THE APPROACH OP SPRING. 



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that the gloom of winter had almost driven from our memory. Among the many 

 pleasing forms that meet our view on a bright sunny morning in March or April, 

 none is more graceful or more simple than the pretty " Draba verna. 11 This 

 little plant is often, when in full flower, not more than half an inch high, and yet 

 as perfectly symmetrical in structure as the most gaudy exotic. The lover of 

 plants, indeed, who is accustomed to notice the first productions of spring, never 

 fails to welcome the appearance of this simple flower with more than ordinary 

 interest. 



For even in this early season of the year, when nature has unfolded but a 

 small portion of her charms, unnumbered objects in the vegetable world present 

 themselves to our notice, and claim the admiration of every reflecting mind. The 

 swelling bud informs us that the tree is no longer dormant — that the sap has 

 begun to flow preparatory to the expansion of the leaves — that the roots are in a 

 state of activity, imbibing from the soil such substances as may be suitable to 

 their economy, and conveying them upwards for the purposes of nutrition. The 

 process of vegetation being once commenced, a continual supply of sap is 

 demanded and carried to the extremity of every branch and every leaf, till the 

 periodical increase is completed. 



The early period at which some trees put on their mantle of inflorescence, is 

 a circumstance of peculiar interest ; the nut and the poplar are now adorned with 

 their catkins, elegantly pendulous, before a single leaf has started from its 

 bud. The earliest of the willow tribe are also decorated in a similar manner 

 with their catkins, which emerging from their silky coverings, unfold their golden 

 stamens to the breeze. 



Among the trees whose inflorescence is displayed in more attractive colours, 

 one of the earliest is the almond-tree, which forms one of the most lovely orna- 

 ments of the shrubbery, the branches being covered with their blushing blossoms 

 before any leaves make their appearance. 



These early beauties cannot but furnish the lover of nature with ample sources 

 of the purest delight. 



But should the spirit of gladness be the only one which animates our thoughts t 

 Should there not be a deeper, a holier feeling, when we view the young flowers 

 springing again into life, amid fallen stems and scattered leaves — the desolation 

 of death \ Oh ! yes, we should indeed remember that by the same hand which 

 felled the flowers in their appointed seasons, we also must meet our doom ; and 

 that as the voice of spring raises them again unto life and beauty, we also may 

 hope to be raised from the dark sleep of the grave, and welcomed by the voice of 

 Divine Love into the realms of eternal life ! There is, indeed, in the whole 

 volume of nature, one glorious display of infinite wisdom. The smallest, the 

 most insignificant of flowers bears upon it the impress of the Almighty hand, and 

 must excite in every heart emotions of gratitude and admiration. Who can 

 gaze upon the green pastures of our native land, studded with the wild flowers of 



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