The Work Of Nature In The Months.

Celtic " Papa" the " pap or soft food of infants , it having been customary to take Poppy-seeds boiled to a soft consistency to induce sleep ; in Persia the seeds are still made into cakes and eaten with impunity , Avhilsfc the capsides which contain them abound -with the poisonous narcotic juice which , when dried , forms Opium , We have six wild species of Poppy in England — the common Red , called in country places " Corn-Rose " ; the Long Smooth-headed , frequent' amongst corn ; the

Round Rough-headed , a much rarer species , confined to chalky and sandy districts ; tho Yellow variety of Devon , Wales , and Ireland ; ancl the White , Avhich some -will not allow as a wild variety at all ; this denial , hoAvever , seems hardly Avaxranted , as tho plant is frequently met with in Norfolk , Cambridgeshire , and Kent . We must not close , our notice of this class of plants Avithout a passmg mention of the seaside A'ariety—the Horned Poppies—of Avhich the Yelloiv is most frequent .

The next plants that claim our attention are two of the " cruciform" order of floAvers , like the WallfloAver , the Yelloiv Rocket , and the Avhite-blossoming Jaek-by-thehedge ; the former of these has lyre-shaped and the latter heart-shaped leaves ; both resemble in many particulars the common Water-cress . There is a plant that seems to be dying , so drooping hangs its head even before it has blossomed ; this is not a sign of disease , but the habit of many of our " umbel " - bearing plants , such as Hemlock , Beaked Parsley , & c . ; this one , perhaps the most slender of them all , is called the Earth-nut from its tuber that lies deep in the soil .

Pull it up and there appears a slender white root , but as it is quite devoid of fibres , it is quite certain that it is not the root proper . No ! if you Avould have a complete specimen , you must do as Caliban offered to do to procure Trinculo ' s pig-nuts—dig ; only if you have your troivel you need not , unless very desirous of imitating the aforesaid Caliban , " dig with your nails . " Next Ave come to the Saxifrages ; the White Meadoiva really handsome plant with

, its kidney-shaped leaves , ancl the Bue-leai'ed , or Threefingered , a tiny plant rarely four inches high , Avhose little reddish-looking leaves are covered with sticky hairs . In company with this latter specimen Ave shall most likely meet with some of the Pearhvorts , little inconspicuous plants much resembling ChickAveed , which is , huAvever , a Stitch-Avort . One of the most notable of this last family is the Greater Stitchwort , earlier

called WhitefloAvered Grass , and still in country places known as Satin Ploiver and Adder ' s Meat . The entire plant is extremely brittle , ancl according to Gerarde is called " All-bones , " on the Incus a non lucendo principle , as he quaintly explains : — " It is called in Latin Tola ossa , in English , All-bones ; Avhereof I see no reason except it be by the figure Autonomics , as Avhen Ave say in English , He is an honest man , our meaning is that he is a knave ; for this is a tender hearbe , haA'ing no such bony substance . " Of this tribe there are many other A'arieties than this Greater Stitchwort and Chickweed , of Avhich we may just mention the Lesser , Marsh , Bog , Wood , Loivly Alpine , aud the rare Many-stalked StitcliAvort , found only on the borders of Loch Nevis , and on the hills beyond Dunkeld .

In brilliant contrast to the white of the StitcliAvort blossoms is the blue of those of the Cat's Eye , or Germander

Speedwell" The gone is yellow on the heath , The banks with Speedwell flowers are gay , The oak is budding , and beneath , The hawthorn soon will wear the wreath , The silver wreath of May . "

Of this pretty plant , sometimes eroneously called Forget-me-not , there are no less than eighteen English varieties , all having blue or flesh-coloured flowers . Of these are the Ivy-leaved , or Winter-Aveed , before described , the Procumbent , and the Brooklhne ; we have before described the uses and supposed qualities of this pretty fknver-group Another group , still more pretty perhaps , but certainly more treasured , are the Mouse-Ears or true Forget-me-nots ; of the little land variety of AA'hich there are two kinds , the Scorpion-grass and the Yelloiv and Blue ,