literary COlorlb. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
[All books announced in this Department can be 
procured at the Rmt Nriv-Yohker office.] 
Gray)* llotnnicol Series .—Of this series we 
have before us, from Ivison, Blakcnian, Taylor 
& Co., New York, “How Plants Grow—a Simple 
Introduction to Structural Botany” — a broad 
I2mo. of 233 pages, with 500 illustrations, (price 
$1.12;; u Graff's ttclus.il and Field Tiocih of Ttai- 
any"— 12mo.. 386 pages, Illustrated, (price $2.50;) 
“Manual of Botany of the Northern Stales”— 
with twenty plates illustrating the Sedges, 
Grasses, Ferns, &c.—>over 700 12mo. pages, (price 
$2.25;) *• Inin hI net ion la Structural and System¬ 
atic Botany and Vegetable Physiology "—a hand¬ 
some 12iuo. of 555 pages, vf it It over 1,300 illus¬ 
trations, (price $3.50.) 
The knowledge that people have concerning 
the vegetable kingdom, and the life and growth 
and reproduction of plants when properly classi¬ 
fied and arranged, constitutes the science of 
boiany; and it la easy to see that such a sci¬ 
ence must bo of great service, directly or indi¬ 
rectly, to tho3ewho are engaged in rural pur¬ 
suits and whose constant aim is to get from the 
eartli certain vegetable products for food, orna¬ 
ment. clothing, &c. Botany luts to do not only 
with flowers and the flower garden, without 
which no farm is complete, but with every 
species of vegetable growth — with the grasses, 
the grains, the roots, the fruits, mid tho trees, 
about which every farmer’s mind is exorcised; 
and no season in the year is so suggestive of this 
science and Us various applications as the one 
approaching. No author given us so full, so 
accurate orsutsimploa series of books on Botany 
as Prof. Asa O-hay of Harvard University, who 
is now among Hie most, accomplished botanists 
living. Ilia works bear evidence on c .cry page 
of being written by one who is master of liis 
subject. He writes in a style singularly clear 
and attractive, and evidently tells what lie him¬ 
self knows, and not merely what he has found 
in other men’s books. The admirable illustra¬ 
tions with which these volumes are profusely 
supplied arc all original, and drawn from nature. 
The several volumes are complete in themselves, 
and are so arranged as to consult the pupil’s 
economy by presenting in one book till that is 
needed at any particular stage of study. The 
first volume of the series is one of the most at¬ 
tractive of elementary books; Indeed, it would 
be impossible to find a series of books so ad¬ 
mirably realizing the true ideal of what a popu¬ 
lar scientific sm-ics should be. The style of Dr. 
Okay Isa model of scientific precision. His ex¬ 
planations of the technical terms of the science 
have never been surpassed for conciseness and 
point. The descriptive portions of his works 
are entirely free from repetition or any other 
form of verbiage, and possess the beauty of ap¬ 
propriateness and condensation. 
«/,/ Sonic and JVtw. By MARGARET J. Pres¬ 
ton. (Philadelphia: J. IJ. I.ippincott Sc Co.; 312 
pages, fine-toned paper. Price $2.) This book 
was published last year, and the edition ought 
to bo well-nigh exhausted by this time. The 
writer very modestly calls her poems, “ Wayside 
Wails Sweet. Brier and Violet;” but the lover 
of genuine poetry will find them more than 
these. In her Old Song is the stately tread of 
tho Hebrew, with its antique quaint ness and 
deep, pious expression, on such strong topics as 
Rn-ni in the Land of Moab; The Daughter of 
Jepiithnh ; The Grief of Bathshehu, ole. In tier 
Songs from Greek Story, wo have almost the 
thrilling power of Walter Savage L ardor, 
lit up by a woman’s liner fancy, of which Alcy¬ 
one is a notable example, in the Ballads, which 
comprise the larger portion of tho volume, wo 
have the high tone of the age of chivalry puri¬ 
fied of Its grossness and brutality, 03 in Tho 
Lady Hiidegarde’s wedding, and Thu Legend of 
Atbeiney; and in tho New Song there are 
touches of nature and humanity as true to the 
life as Buskin, and as tender as Charles Dick¬ 
ers. Altogether, we look upon this as among 
tho best books of poems from tho American 
press during the year. 
The Practical +1 inert can vltllhcrlght and 
duller, by David Chaik, Millwright. (Phila¬ 
delphia; Henry Carey Baird. Price, $5.)—This 
work treats of the elementary principles of 
mechanics, mechanism and motive power; hy¬ 
draulics and hydraulic motors; mllldams, saw¬ 
mills, grist milis, the oat meal mill, wool-card¬ 
ing, cloth-pulling and dressing, windmills, steam 
power, &o. We have read this work carefully, 
and, so far as we aro competent to Judge, it is 
reliable and valuable. Tho whole subject is 
treated in detail, elaborately but simply. There 
ate no intricate algebraic tormulas, no abstract 
rules hard to remember, because the calcula¬ 
tions on which they are based are not under¬ 
stood, but almost every contingency likely to 
occur in tho construction of a mill for any pur¬ 
pose is considered, the way to obtain all the 
measurements show'n, and full directions as to 
materials given. It would be well if there were 
more books Uke this, giving the result of long 
practical experience. 
Poems, by Ij ucy Hamilton Uooprr. With a 
Portrait of the Authoress. Philadelphia: J. li. 
Lippincott & Co. 196 pages, heavy, fine tinted 
paper. Price $1.75,)—Mrs. Hooper- or, as her 
literary friends ohoose to call her, Lucy Hooper 
-isa resident of Philadelphia, a lady, as berpor- 
ti iit shows, who has come to the maturity of 
thought aud good living, and who writes for the 
amusement of leisure hours. Her poems aro 
rather of talent than of genius—are uniformly 
good, in both composition and sentiment. She 
seems quite at home in tho anatomy of human 
passions of the tender sort,—rather more given 
to sadness than sunshine in her piotures of 
human life. Her writings evince a large ac¬ 
quaintance with the world, and her translations 
worn the German are a happy rendering of the 
originate. 
The Tone .If aster*—Bach and Beethoven, bv 
^m LES , U arna “ d - (NowYtak: Lee, Shepard 
~ Dillingham,)—This is the third volume of a 
musicai series for young people. No youth, 
witu musical tastes and culture, can fail to be 
both interested and profited by a perusal of this 
senes. Instruction seems to be quite as much 
t ] le author as pleasure; but both are 
It is a “ plea for the oppressed," made with all 
the eloquence which startling facts furnish. 
Those of us w'ho have studied life as it exists in 
large cities aud among manufacturing popula¬ 
tion, cannot believe the statements this book 
contains exaggerated. And it would be well if 
the young men and women who dream, in their 
quiet country homes, of the delights of town 
life, aud all who arc restless away from the 
"centers of civilization " should read these pic¬ 
tures of life as It actually exists. 
Poems by hncretia •florin Itacldnon. (New 
York: Hurd & Houghton. Price, $2.50.)—Miss 
I once carefully dissected the head of a 
large snake called, with us, the stump-tailed 
or liigh-laud moccasin. It was about four 
feet long and large in proportion. From one 
side of its head and neck I cut otT the fang 
bone, and cut out the sac. The sac was 
about three inches long, and contained a 
bluish liquid. With the point of my pen¬ 
knife I raised the fang up through, a slit iu 
> Q 
Ijt ffiraltfltr. 
ABOUT NORWAY AND SWEDEN. 
The Storthing (Legislature) of Norway 
assembles on the first of February. The 
Constitution is so democratic that the Btor- 
. . .o r O- --I WMWV.WV...W*. WV VIVIUUVIHVIV til CL v tuu I.HUI 
the sac, Lliat shut closely after it. I then | thing consists of but one Ilottse. There arc 
cut the fang bones out of both sacs. I found I 111 members, consisting of 42 peasants, 25 
Davidson’s poems (she died forty-five years cut the fang bones out of both sacs. I found til members, Consisting of 42 peasants, 25 
ngo) are re-published in good style (illustrated on each a full grown fang, about half an inch Government officials, 21 other officials, 14 
!s' l>y A u'arry'gr \v ®?e ‘ntroduction long, covered like a cat’s paw. They were merchants, 5 lawyers, 15 manufacturers, and 
more of promise as the productfon'Tf n °gii l of llollow '> w ' Ul !m opening at the root, and a 1 artisan. The Norwegian telegraph is com- 
less tbau seventeen years, than of fruitage. But £ roove at tlic point. Just under each grown plctcd to North Cape. Of 37 vessels the past 
, - 
■ 
' 
• . 
there is enoutrli that is thoughtful, original, 
piling and poetic embodied therein to attract 
and Interest every lover of poetry and every 
one attracted by poetic minds. 
The ttoeion »T Taehlntet, (Now York: .John 
Wiley & Son.) This little volume includes 84 
lessons, beginning with “The Apprentice's First 
null ending with “A Few Words to 
Master Mouhanie.s.” It. Is evidently tho work of 
a practical man, and is thcrei'oro intensely In¬ 
teresting to practical men, whether machinists 
or not. Jt certainly will lie found useful to the 
apprentice in a machine Shop, and is, we judge 
agQod hand-book for master mechanics to put 
into the bunds of such. 
• t Jttanual of el nr lent History, from the 
earliest, titties to the fall of the Western Empire, 
by Gk* roe Hawlinson. (New York: Harper 
& Biot ers.)—This volume comprises the history 
of Chaldrea, Assyria, Media, Babylonia, Lydia. 
Phoenicia, Syria, Judea, Egypt, Carthage, Per¬ 
sia, Greece, Macedonia, Parthea and Rome. All 
students of history will find it full of interest, 
and to embrace a very eoncise compeml of his¬ 
torical events. 
The Poetical W'orfc* of . Itfred Tennynon . 
Illustrated. (New York: Harper & Brothers.)— 
We need not tell any of our readers who Tenny¬ 
son is, nor what his poems arc. Those who de¬ 
sire to get them complete and cheaply, and fine¬ 
ly illustrated, will send for this edition. 
ffilit gattmtltsl 
CHA.KLS8 DICKEISrS 5 R.-A.VEISr, “ 
original, as- tang, 1 found another nearly as large, but, season, tlia 
y and'r vr'ry 80 ^ nclu llic ' root i under this another, hard fishery, (J w 
about, half way from the point; under this 852 walrusi 
York: .John 8 ^ another, hard at the point, and under reindeers, c 
includes 84 this several others, quite soft, and diminish- specie dolls 
mtioe’s First ing in size and length. and shark I 
The work of examination ci«,«$P.ied nto in the During the 
intensely in- fact Uurt I have often heard staled, that a wegian vesi 
■ machinists snake sheds his fangs as often as lie does bis ' vas 272; n 
metul to i he skin. This fang bone is only found in poi- States, 347. 
unics to put 80Q0Uf} serpents, and for this reason they in 1800, 24 
always have broader heads than other ser- 17 million £ 
,, from the P ente ' l™ 1 ' 18 are « 
era Empire, While oil the subject of snakes, I wish to :uul luml,cr 
irk: Harper add my testimony to the fact that snakes ber of Svvef 
onia Lydia” llis8 ‘ A11 P°> son serpents, when preparing Stat ® 8 (nnt ' 
rthngc, Per- themselves for battle, tiatten themselves, “ umljc !' do 
Rome. All some more aud some less, and in doing so from 
°t interest, they force out the air from their lungs, tl>013,000; 
am o ns.- w ] )jcll exleil( j f ar t i owu their bodies, and States, $200 
Tennynon. tllU3 ,T >ake tlle hissing sound that is heard. Sweden, $3. 
Brothers.)- Bellevue, La. F. M. F. T,le a SS r6 i 
THAT RATTLE SNAKE. 
In the Ritual New-Yorker of Feb. 11, 
Dr. Hageman says, speaking of the rattle¬ 
snake :—“This snake carries a small sac or 
poujh, containing this poison, immediately 
under his tongue, and when angry, and the 
opportunity to use its weapon is given, a 
small quantity vs thrown against the tongue, 
and as it pierces the flesh the virus is left in 
the wound, whence it is soon drawn into the 
circulation, contaminating the whole sys- 
AMERI0AN SALM0NID2E. 
The American Fish Culturists’ Associa¬ 
tion (Livingston Stone, Secretary, Charles¬ 
ton, N. II, announces that Prof. Agassiz is 
preparing an illustrated work of the Ameri¬ 
can Salmontda?, including all the trout, sal 
moil and wliiteflsh of this country, and asks 
for him live specimens of every variety of 
trout, salmon and while fish found on this 
continent—especially samples of Witminisli, 
Land Locked salmon, and the rarer kinds of 
lake aud sea trout. Specimens should be 
season, that engaged in the walrus and seal 
fishery, (J were wrecked , dm remainder took 
852 walruses, 2,240 seals, 08 polar bears, 873 
reindeers, of the aggregate value of 25,073 
specie dollars. Tlic yield of the small whale 
and shark fishery was 28,209 specie dollars. 
During the year 1800, the number of Nor¬ 
wegian vessels arriving in the United States 
was 372; number departing from the United 
States, 347. Value of imports into Norway 
in 1800, 24 million specie dollars; of exports, 
17 million specie dollars. The principal im¬ 
ports are cereals; the principal exports, fish 
and lumber. During the same year the num¬ 
ber of Swedish vessels arriving in the United 
States (not including California) was 43; 
number departing, 40. Value of exports 
from Sweden to the United States, (direct,) 
$1,013,000; of direct imports from the United 
States, $200,000. Total value of Imports into 
Sweden, $35,000,000; of ex ports, $32,000,000. 
The aggregate population of Sweden and 
Norway is about six millions. The cereal 
crops have been good the past two seasons 
iu both kingdoms, and the emigration to the 
United States during 1870, was only about 
25,000—half of what il was in 18G9. The 
railroad between Christiana and Stockholm 
will be completed in .May. There are over 
1,000 miles of railroad in operation in Sweden, 
and nearly 500 in Norway. 
-- 
SWITZERLAND IN WAR TIME. 
Switzerland swarms no longer with 
tourists of every nation under the suu, but 
with refugees from tlift one nation for which 
directed to “Prof. Agassiz Museum of V , V , 
..-y.,,. _ ’J_ " aIonc s,ie no " r wen* to cave or think; 
Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass.,” 
and should be labeled with the name in full 
of the exact locality from which they are 
Switzerland, with refugees filling her rail¬ 
way carriages and platforms, crowding her 
streets, cramming her houses, occupying—at 
_ r» <• * ,, , " . strains, oiamining mu houses, occupying—at 
taken. Prot. Agassiz adds to the foreirohiir i • , , ’ . b , 
„,, luocguiug, her expense, mind you, not their own—the 
GAiiceminrr liia rlociro n.r. r„it,. . ‘ J ' 
When I read the above cool assertion, I 
thought the learned Doctor was a mere 
book-worm, who got his information from 
the ancient poets; but on reading farther 
he says he has experimented with the virus. 
He, therefore, seems to write from experi¬ 
ence. The salivary glauds of all serpents 
lie under their tongues; and as they thor¬ 
oughly lubricate their food before swallow¬ 
ing, these glands must necessarily be very 
large. If the Doctor obtained his virus from 
under the snake’s tongue, then he was ex¬ 
perimenting with the saliva only. 
I have examined the mouths and fangs of 
many snakes, the rattlesnake among them. 
I have invariably found the fangs lying in a 
sac attached to the upper jaw, and extend¬ 
ing back two or three inches. A bone grows 
concerning bis desire, the following; 
A single specimen of any fish of this family, 
even the common brook trout, from any locali¬ 
ty, with label attached, mentioning (tie name of 
tin- place, would be very aocvptahle, as indi¬ 
cating tho ruriKe of distribution. Of the rarer 
varieties, several specimens me desirable. Be¬ 
sides the specimens that rosy bo thus brought 
!orwura, I would lilcn an opportunity to criti* 
cally study the specific oh a met ers of all the dif¬ 
ferent species of Lhe family found upon tills 
continent. 
l o this effect I should have a large number of 
spool mens of each species, in every staee of 
growth, collected in the same locality, so that, 
there could be no doubt of its IioIuk the same 
B'Hd ot fish, and yet a chance be afforded of 
studying all the variations of ago,flex, season, 
xc. kor the salmons, fur instance, it would be 
necessary In have vary young ones, others two, 
threes lour* five I lichen, &c. f to full-grown oiwjg, 
trum one place, where the true salmon alone is 
round; then the same for the Lund Locked sal¬ 
mon; then the same ajLcain for tho Sel)a*ro sal¬ 
tiest rooms of her best hotels ; Switzerland, 
wliich we have been somewhat used to look 
upon as the land of extortion and hard deal¬ 
ing, but which shows herself now the land 
of high and generous sentiments, the land of 
a plain, practical, warm-hearted charity, 
such as this century at least lias very rarely 
seen. Frenchmen—Alsatians especially— 
with whom I have conversed on the subject, 
lift their hats at the mere name of Switzer¬ 
land. She is worth seeing just now, even 
when the heavy snow covers not only her 
mountains but her smallest hills, and the 
thick mist shuts out from your view even 
such beauties of scenery as remain. View¬ 
ing her only in her holiday summer garb, 
.,1.1 1...MA III. I.. .I/ 
i. piciwtuc j uui uuiiI are 11114 ujack iwo or T iroo lnninq a mno •** duiwmbh, qiukiu 
f ul C eXaSon. t0 volume a delight- out at a right angle from the’upper Jaw |Ta 
'Zf* <->«cy. (Boston: Lee&Sbep- Sna ! te ’ Sl,J ° Ut a f ^ alUir of au incL lon S- ^itVou see tbat^^will* nwe? f »l“tS mZmpi 
ard.) Tins volume, bv Jennie Cm r.iv* .•on &UU terminates in the trout end of the sac ot rv '" a die species from specimens gather- 
Ti " fc ^viru., and on the end of this bone the fangs 
0 men aud women of New England, are attached. auno rcg on-independently of the study of ths 
distribution of species. 
nmn; then tho same again fur tho Sebago sui- ‘ y . 1,1 uc * su nuiei- garo, 
umn. mis would settle tho question whether would have some little difficulty ill 
we have cmo. i wn or three speck® of salmon, recognizing hernow ; would admit probably, 
Sro^ , {h ,r , , { 1 , ; when ^cognize her, that you hud 
Luke trout, the Brook trout, the Gniyling. a'nd never reall .y appreciated her before. 8he 
the different kinds of Wliiteflsh. Single spool- is like, a gay woman of the world turned 
sks sa its 8 ud<,e " | i r shier or a***. 
Y French Indy, on her arrival in this country, 
was careful to cut, only such dishes as sh© was 
acquainted with, and being on one occasion 
pressed to partake of a disli new to her, she po¬ 
litely replied:—'“ No, I thauk you; I eat only my 
acquaintances,” 
ALIENI TEMPORIS FLORES. 
uv it ester a. her edict. 
IIusu. hush ! They arc fiend to me never. 
The blossoms l loved lu the Fast! 
In my soul I shall fold them forever,— 
Shall have, and shall hold them wherever 
The lot of my soul may Lie east. 
Though It wa,udor where daytime or night Is, 
O'er mosses that culm or that kill; 
Through forests where death or delight Is.— 
With pulso liku the white Aphrodite's, 
My spirit will cling lo them still. 
Though its ery from tho bare breast of sorrow. 
For Joy that will cotuu nevermore, 
Cry low from the black breast of sorrow. 
For t he Joy and tho peace of a morrow 
God kaoweth will oomo uevermoro! 
Though it. hunger for sweetness of loving, 
Low-lying With dreams that are dead. 
With days and with dreams Mint, aro dead ; 
Though it counteth—with lips fullof loathing, 
Tho years that may come lu tlicir stead, 
Sad years with funereal tread; 
Still, still, all the balm and thu beauty. 
That lived iu tho blossoms of old. 
Live yet in the highway of duty, 
The cleanly-swept highway of duty— 
And fragrant are marble and mold. 
So, hush! You can never take from mo 
My blooms of the beautiful Past! 
With your lures and your lies you have won me, 
And the tempest of death is upon me. 
But. my spirit -defying thn blast - 
My high, haughty soul, that will brook not 
The clauk of a curb or a chain, 
Leans to gladness! for lie who forsook not 
When doubt of Ills lovo was the pain 
Burned deepest Into luy bruin, 
Into my heart aud my brain. 
lie hears all tho languid, low beating 
Of thu soul lie alone understands; 
Sees the sad eyes too solemn for weeping. 
The lips not. a whisper repeating: 
Secs the want, seus the woo never sleeping, 
And the loneliest, reaches of hands 
Which aro fair with the fairest, of (lores 
That blossomed in vales of the Fast, 
In all the green groves of the Past. 
Sweet sweets! that are dead to mo—never I— 
That my sad soul will cling to forever, 
Will clasp and will cling to wherever 
Tho lot, of my soul may be cast, 
Till II llftetli glad eyes where a shore Is, 
And will be, as shores of the Past, 
Only fairer than shores of tho Past— 
And evermore out of the blast. 
tics for 
THE SEASONS; 
OR, AUNT DEL’S TALK WITH HER LITTLE PETS, 
A STORY FOR YOUNG FOLKS. 
Oh, what a glorious morning is this! 
Surely the Frost King has been busy all 
night painting a picture more exquisitely 
beautiful than any mortal could do. Como 
here, my darlings, and see Jiow the rays of 
lhe sun have changed the snow-white frost¬ 
ing on every branch and twig iuto sparkling 
diamonds, for you and for me. Ah 1 litis 
world is very, very beautiful, is it not? 
Every season has its own peculiar charm. 
Now, Willie and Harry, Bessie and 
Daisy, which do you like best of all ? You 
don’t know ? Must Auntie tell you why all 
are lovely ? Spring, dear children, is the 
resurrection of life after the long, cold sleep 
of winter. Every tree aud shrub puts on a 
beautiful new garment, and the earth is 
covered with a soft, green carpet. Flowers 
spring up everywhere, and soon the air is 
filled with the sweet song of birds; glad are 
they to com© home again after the long win¬ 
ter is over. Did you ever see my little browu 
birdie, the sweetest, singer of them all ? Ho 
is just like some little children I know—not 
very pretty to look at, but bis voice is so full 
of music lie looks lovely to mo. To enjoy 
the summer, little ones, wc must go into the 
country. Here is a large, pleasant-looking 
farm-house, in a charming grove of grand 
old trees, and just on the banks of a lovely 
hike in which the water is clear as crystal. 
Oh 1 look at. the shining fish! Are they not 
quite as beautiful as the gold and silver ones 
you see in the city ponds? Here is a nice 
row-boat. Come, little chicks, lot us have a 
row; get in, but be careful lest you tip jt. 
over. Now for the Island; it looks like a 
gentleman’s park, with its large, old trees. 
Dow is this? There are some gnarled apple 
trees, planted hero by the Indians, long years 
since, when all through the country there 
was nothing but the wild woods; and this 
was their hunting ground, and over the 
clear waters of the lake they glided iu their 
light bark canoes, much faster Ilian we can 
row across. They were very fond of fish, 
and here they found them in great abund¬ 
ance, blit the white man has driven them to 
the Far West, to find new hunting grounds. 
Now, little ones, we will return to the 
house and go into the harvest field, where 
the men are cutting the grass. IIow would 
you like to take a ride ou a load of hay ? 
Oh, here is one just going to the barn. The 
farmer is very kind ; lie will give you a ride, 
I am sure. I would like to be a child again, 
just to take a ride on the sweet, new-mown 
bay. But Auntie will walk along and see 
you safely landed on the hay mow. Now, 
Willie, don’t Jump too fur; one, two, three, 
and away you go! Why, here is a bird’s 
nest, full of little birds just ready to fly ? 
They are not very pretty, are they?—but I 
think it is pleasant to see them flying about, 
even if they are nothing but little bam 
swallows. 
Come here, little ones, and see the dear 
little lambs ; how contented and happy they 
