The Work Of Nature In The Months.

leaves crowned with the yellow star of the common Flea-bane—its name , more expressive , perhaps , than elegant , is derived from the notion that country-people have , that , if burned , its smoke will drive away all those lively insects , whose attentions ,

though perhaps profitable to themselves , are decidedly a nuisance to us ; besides this very problematical virtue , the plant is supposed to possess some medicinal properties , although what they are it is somewhat difficult to get at ; the only tiling

that we can learn as a certainty is that it possesses a saltish pungent taste , and that , whdst an infusion of it by the addition of sulp hate of iron turns black , a decoction of it becomes fireen . This said

decoction , by the way , is very acid in the throat when swallowed , but to what purpose to put this knowledge further than to avoid swallowing it if possible , we do not really know . Once fairly in the meadow , our sight is gratified by another beautiful objectthe

, delicate lilac cup of the Meadow-Saffron , in whose reproduction Nature exhibits that marvellous foresight which renders eloquent even this her speechless kingdom . The flowers which have risen on long slender tubes in Augustdie away in

, October , without exhibiting any sign of fruit or seed ; this lies buried deep in the heart of the bidb all through the winter ' s frost and cold , which would destroy its vitality , until the Spring , fresh deckinghank and bough , calls up the broad green

leaves , together with which rises the seed on a footstalk , to ripen by Midsummer and fall in due time with the other stores of Nature ' s economy into the lap of mother earth . In this plant we have a widely recognised remedy for the most painful ailments of mortality—the grinding

rheumatism and the racking gout ; but the most extraordinary thing about the medicinal properties of this plant is that , although they act like a charm against the foes of which they are such potent adversaries , no one has ever yet discovered

the way in which they -work so great a resnlt . As we near the water ' s edge we shall be sure to tread upon the blue downy-looking flowers of the common Skullcap , and , maybe , its rarer relation , the smaller pinkish-blossomed kind . Close by is a plant with strongly-marked

characteristics , square fourwinged stems and clusters of deep blackish-purple , irregular flowers ; it is the Water Fig-wort . Still more surely to be found is the Common Fig-wort , with flowers like the last , only more tinged with green , and with stalks

square but wingless . And now we come to a plant whose blossom-clusters resemble in form those of the potato , only their purple and yellow colouring renders them , though smaller , more conspicuous . Talking of potato

blossoms , by the way , reminds us of the amusing perplexity we once caused in the mind of a fair friend by the insertion in a bunch of choice flowers of some bloom taken from potatoes of different kinds ; until the secret was dividged , and that was some few days , the rare flowers were considered a marvel of beauty , but when their name was made

knownwell , the usual result in this sapient world of ours of " too much familiarity ; " how energetically we seek for beauty far and wide , and know not that it so exists around us that we can hardly move a step without destroying some of it ; what an accurate

example of this kind of mental blindness is presented to us in Moliere ' s conception of " Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme , " who had been " talking ' prose' all his life without knowing it . " To return , however , to our friends the Nightshades , all of which

cannot be rendered , at least as vegetables , so useful as the protegee of Sir Walter Raleigh . The common Bitter-sweet is a well known climber , especially hi moist situations , whose purple and yellow clusters of flowers are succeeded by bright scarlet berries , which are very dangerous , if not absolutely fatal , in their effects when eaten . Should children have been thus

tempted , let plenty of warm water he administered until medical aid can be procured ; most animals , except the goat , refuse the stems and leaves of the Bittersweet , which are used by the Swedish peasantry to twine round their wooden pails . Another variety of this plant is

found in neglected corners , the Garden Nightshade ; this has white blossoms and black berries . The Deadly Nightshade is an entirely different plant , having for a flower , a deep purple bell . With this latter class must be reckoned the Henbane , which is as useful hi experienced , as it