The Work Of Nature In The Months.

The next noticeable group of flowers is the Geranium family , amongst which the most prominent members are Herb Robert or Stinking Crane ' s-bill ; the brittle clearstemmed , pink-jointed , Lucid ; and the woodland variety , the Dusky Crane ' s-bill . Whilst in the woods AVC shall not fail to notice the Woodsorrel , that true Shamrock , which , singularly enough , the sons of Erin have discarded for plain creeping clover . Yet another woodland friend , most fragile but most beautiful of all , is that universal

favourite" Our England ' s lily of the May , Our lily of the Yale . " Like our old English " May " -Lily the Germans call it May-blume ; this plant , though not common to all Ai'oods , yet covers large expanses of ground Avhere it does groiv ; the Woods of Asply Guise , in Bedfordshire , are noted for it . Its mode of growth is prettily described by Clare : —

" The blue-bells too that thickly bloom Where man was never known to come ; And stooping Lilies' of the Valley , That love Avith shades and dews to dally , And bending droop on slender threads AVith broad hood-leaves above their heads , Like white-robed maids in summer hours Beneath umbrellas shunning showers . "

These said " broad hood-leaves " spring from the root which is creeping ; the pretty flower hells are succeeded in autumn by rich red berries as large as a small cherry . The delicate scent of the Lily of the Valley flies the dried specimen , but is as readily imparted , together Avith a bitter flavour , to Avater and spirit ; the famous Aqua Aurea , Avhich was thought a valuable preservative against contagion , was distilled from it ; and in Germany a wine is made of the flowers . Geravde says that a decoction "is good against the gout and comforteth the heart . " The reason of flowers blooming " where man Avas never knoAvn to come" is thus beautifully given by Mary Howitt : —

Springing in valleys green and low , And on the mountains high , Aud iu the silent wilderness Where no man passeth by : " Our outward life requires them not ; Then wherefore had they birth ; To minister delight to man ,

To beautify the earth . " To comfort man , to whisper hope AVhene'er his faith is dim ; For AVho so careth for the flowers , Will care much more for him . " Many other plants arc JloAvering nowbut we not stay to mention themhut as

, may ; most of them will still be blooming next month , Ave must take notice of them then . Leaving now the floAvers , after a parting glance at the lovely Buck-bean , that handsome denizen of stream and moss alike , and turning to the shrubs , Ave find blooming the SAveet Gale or Dutch Myrtle , which is the badge of the Scottish clan Campbell . This p lant is also called the Candleberiy Myrtle , because if its berries be boiled in water , a kind of Avax -will exude and float at the top , of which candles may he made . The Yellow Berberry , again , will be in flower

, Avhose blossoms are as irritable upon being- touched as the Sensitive Plant itself . Mountain Ash , Pyrus , Wild Service , and Crabs arc all blossoming , as too are the Primus species , so too is the shrubby common Maple , with its curious cork-like bark . Nor must Ave omit Hie Sloe or Blackthorn , Avhich is so often mistaken for the Hawthorn or true " May . " Would we could linger awhile to recount the sports sacred to this p lant and month , but the opportunity , like the sports themselves , have passed away . 2 it