December 10. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
213 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
D 
D ' 
Weatheb near London in 
1863. 
Clock Day of 
af. Sun. Year. 
M 
w 
DECEMBER 19—25, 1854. 
Barometer. 
Thermo. Wind. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
Rises. 
Sets. 
u. & s. 
Age. 
19 
To 
Engis humeralis. 
29.605—29.483 
35—28 E. 
— 
5 a 8 
50 a 3 
sets. 
@ 
2 42 353 
20 
w 
Ember Week. 
29.843—29724 
37—34 N.E. 
01 
6 
50 
4 a 4 
1 
2 12 354 
21 
Th 
St. Thomas. 
29.995—29.969 
36—33 N.E. 
01 
6 
51 
5 21 
2 
1 42 1 355 
22 
F 
Sun’s declination, 23° 28' s. 
30.005 — 29.075 
37—29 N.E. 
01 
7 
51 
6 47 
3 
1 12 | 356 
23 
S 
Engis ferruginea. 
29.921—29.793 
41—29 N. 
04 
7 
52 
8 20 
4 
0 41 357 
24 
Son 
4 Sunday in Advent, 
30.227—30.065 
38—24 , N.E. 
— 
7 
52 
9 46 
5 
0 11 358 
25 
m 
Christmas Day. 
30.201—30.199 
36—14 N.E. 
— 
8 
53 
11 9 
6 
bef. 19 1 359 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last twenty-seven years, the average highest and lowest tem- 
peraturcs of these days arc 44.3°, and 33.2°, respectively. The greatest heat, 57° 
24th, in 1830. During the period 112 days were fine, and on 77 rain fell. 
occurred on the 
14th, in 1827; and the lowest cold, 10°, on 
| No well-educated man of taste will ever make use of a 
; foreign word when he can express his meaning as fully 
by a word of his own native tongue. It is worse than 
j pedantry to do otherwise; for it renders obscure to 
some readers that which might have been intelligible, at 
first sight, to all, without any reference to a dictionary. 
We endeavour to use none but good old English words 
ourselves, and when a correspondent uses such words as 
“aridity,” we scratch it out, and replace it by “dryness.” 
We were propitiated, therefore, by the very title of the 
series now before us for notice ; for it falls in with our 
humour and judgment. We have had “ Cyclopedias,” 
and “ Encyclopaedias,” with all sorts of forerunning 
names, from “Chambers” down to “Metropolitana.” 
Yet, “ Cyclopaedia,” and “ Encyclopaedia,” mean neither 
more nor less than The Circle of the Sciences; aud, 
at last, we have one. so named in plain English—a 
name which the million can understand; and it is 
especially appropriate for a work which the million may 
buy, because it is publishing in twopenny numbers * 
Modern enterprise, aud modern steam-presses, have 
rendered the depreciatory use of the word “twopenny” 
quite obsolete; and, from the days of the “Peuny 
Magazine,” down to the three - halfpenny “ Home 
Companion,” some of our best literature has appeared 
in serials not rising even to the valuation of twopence. 
There is no marvel in this, for men, the very foremost 
in the staff of the arts and sciences, now strive for 
celebrity in the glorious effort to impart and render 
intelligible the best of knowledge to all. This is no 
easy task. A man of science can readily convey his 
meaning to one equally skilled; but, to impart his 
knowledge to the unlearned is so much more difficult, 
that very few can bring their language down to the 
comprehension ot the mere learner. Every craftsman 
will readily understand this when he reflects how much 
more easily he can render himself understood by one of 
his own trade than lie can by one of his best-educated 
customers. 
“ The Circle of the Sciences” is an attempt, and it is 
a very successful one, to impart, within a small compass, 
in popular language, and with explanatory accompani¬ 
ments, every department of Science. Good progress is 
made in Physical Geography, Geology, Comparative 
Anatomy, aud Mathematics ; all the treatises being by 
such men as Professor Owen, Sir William Jardine, 
* 0rr f 8 Circle of the Sciences . W. S. Orr and Co., Amen Corner, 
Loudon. 
Professors Austed, Young, and Tennant; with many 
others of high celebrity. 
We select for quotation, as most relative to our chief 
theme, “ Botany,” by Professor Smith; and never before 
was the microscopo brought to bear so luminously upon 
the structure of plants,—nor, before, were its revelations 
so brought before us by the engraver’s art. We will 
quote from a portiou of the least illustrated part:— 
“ The uses of woody fibre are very varied, and most 
important, and may be divided into two categories,—1st, 
such as benefit the plant; and 2nd, such as benefit man. 
“ 1st. Such as benefit the plant. 
“ It is the chief organ of the circulation in all wooded 
plants, and for this purpose pervades the plant from the 
root to the branches, and even to the minutest leaves and 
flowers. The current in this tissue is slow and uninterrupted, 
and is directed upwards from the shoot through the stems 
to the leaves, and downwards from the leaves through the 
bark to the root. Thus its current has a twofold direction; 
the ascending and chief one being for the purpose of taking 
the raw sap from the ground, to be digested in the leaves, 
and the descending being devoted to the removal from the 
leaves of the digested sap, to be applied to the purposes of 
the plant, and also of the refuse matter to be carried to the 
roots, and thence thrown out into the soil as a noxious 
material. These functions are carried on more vigorously 
during the spring and summer seasons ; but it is probable 
that even in the depths of winter it does not cease. 
Another function of woody fibre is to be the store-house 
of the perfected secretions. It is well known that as trees 
advance in life, the wood assumes a darker colour, and more 
particularly that lying near to the centre of the stem. 
This is due to the deposit of the perfected juices in the 
woody fibre at that point; aud when age has matured the 
tree, it is probable that the woody fibres so employed is no 
longer fitted for the circulation of the sap ; and also, that 
the perfected sap, when once deposited, does not again join 
in the general circulation. The dark colour of the heart of 
Oak, as contrasted with Oak of very recent growth, is an 
illustration of this fact, as is also the deep colour which is 
met with in ebony and rose wood. 
“ A third duty under this head is that of giving stability 
to the tree. It only requires a moment’s reflection to enable 
the mind to appreciate the vast power of resistance which 
is placed in forest trees. The Oaks of an English forest 
have stood a thousand years, notwithstanding the hurri¬ 
canes and storms to which they have been yearly subjected; 
and a familiar illustration of the most violent storms, of 
which w r e hear and read, is that of the tearing up by the 
roots of the large forest-trees. How mighty must be that 
power, which can withstand influences so terrific as those 
which each person must have occasionally witnessed ! This 
power is partly due to the mere mechanical hold which the. 
roots have of the soil; but the tenacity of that hold is 
almost entirely due to the woody tissue contained in the 
roots and stem. Again, it is no uncommon occurreuce 
in our old English parks to find branches of old trees which 
stretch from the trunk to the distance of fifty feet, and 
which in circumference are as large as trees of considerable 
growth. These do not stand perpendicularly from the 
ground, hut pass out of the stem at an angle, which is, 
in some instances, nearly a right angle, and must, therefore, 
No. CCCXXV. Vox,. XIH 
