The Work Of Nature In The Months.

Hardly a time in the April day that is not full of beauty and promise ; is it at early dawn ? Then , when—, " A wind comes up out of the sea , And says , ' 0 mists , make room for me !'" the Avatery curtains arc rolled back , and Nature ' s jewels are loft glittering in the earl y sunshine on every blade of grass .

"It says unti the forest : 'Shout ! Hang all your leafy banners out !'" and all Nature wakes to the glory of another day and the flowers unfold to greet the morn with beauties fresh-rcneAved .

" It touches the Avood-bird ' s folded wing , And says , ' 0 bird , awake and sing '" and forthwith the picture is complete , instinct with the touch of life , and myriads of birds raise the early song of thanksgiving to the God that gives them being . April , then , — ' * proud pied " April—is come , and with it the first time that Nature ' s lovely treasures seem to force themselves upon our notice . Hitherto Ave have been fain to seek them dEi

gently , UOAV we seem to be wellnigh bewildered Avith their profusion . Milton ' s "Bathe Primrose" first claims our attention , blossoming noAV in extreme luxuriance . One of the most singular features of the growth of this favourite fioAver is that , although its flowers seem to be scattered amongst its leaves , in reality they all spring from the centre of the tuft . Lengthen this point of junction somewhat , and diminish the size of the flowers , ancl you have the Oxlip . Increase still more the size of this stem , and make the flowers yet smaller , ancl there is our childhood ' s friend , the sweet CoAvslin . The

Polyanthus of the garden is merely another variety of the Primrose . The variation of colour in the garden variety need be no matter of Avonder , when Ave remember that , in Somerset , the ordinary Primrose is frequently found of different shades , until quite a marked red is reached . The ordinary colour , as Ave have before remarked , is not yelloAv , but a peculiar pale green ; this is rendered quite evident when a specimen is dried , for the blossom becomes completely of this latter hue . No domestic animal will eat either leaf or blossom

of this plant , except the pig ; strange to say , though , that we have latel y heard of a recipe for Primrose-Pudding . Can it be that Mend Darwin is right after all , and that there is some kinship in the nature as well as the habits of the gourmand and the animal that Ave have just mentioned ? There are two other species of Primrose than those Ave have already mentioned—the Bird ' s Eye Primrose , with blossoms of a pale lilac purple , sprinkled with a fine white poAvder—and the Scottish Primrose , of a similar appearance , but smaller and stouter in its habit . Both varieties , which fioAver later in the year , are confined to the Northern parts of Great Britain .

Companions of the Primrose" Gleaminglike amethysts in the dewy moss , " are the Violets , also already mentioned . Of these flowers , besides the varieties before named , the Sweet-scented , the White , and the Dog Violet—there are several kinds , —the Hairy "Violet , named after its appearance ; the Marsh Violet , a pretty transparent-looking plant ; the Yellow Violet , growing on moorland heaths ; and the Tricolor , or Wild Heart ' sease , the progenitor of our garden Pansies , in all their varieties

from—The shining Pansy , trimmed with golden lace , " to the deep dark purple ancl the brown . The name Pansy , which is a corruption of the French Pensee ( thought ) , was spelt by our old writers in a variety of ways : Ben Jonson calls it Pauns 6 : Milton , in his Comns , thus" The shepherds at their festivals Carol their good deeds loud in rustic lays , And throw sweet garland wreaths intn the stream Of Fancies , Pinks , and gaudy Daffodils . "