along the shores of the North of Europe, while others are reckoned a luxury by the rich. The ashes of sea-weeds have been in great demand for the soda they contain, which is used in the manufacture of hard soap. Iodine, so useful as a medicine, being the only known cure for scrofula, and indispensable in taking daguerreotype or photographic pictures, is found in the kind called fucus,5 or sea-wort. 12. The sea-wort floating on the waves, or rolled up high along the shore, Ye counted useless and vile, heaping on it names of contempt: Yet hath it gloriously triumphed, and man been humbled in his ignorance, For health is in the freshness of its savor, and it cumbereth the beach with wealth; And by its humbler ashes enriching many proud. And herein, as thou walkest by the sea, shall weeds be a type and an earnest 13. Algæ are mostly of an olive-green, gray, or red color; and their little capsules or air-chambers often have the appearance of berries. Corals are sometimes found attached to them. It is an easy task for those who live near the seashore, especially in the New England States, to make beautiful collections of these "flowers of the ocean." Although they at first appear like little uninviting bits of red scum, they may often be spread out, by floating them in a basin of water, so as to show the expansion of the plant. A piece of paper may then be inserted under them, and when the plants have been carefully lifted up by it, dried, and pressed, they will present something like the annexed representation. These are accurate copies, of full size, of specimens of a beautiful red color, which were obtained at Nahant, near Boston. 14. A weary weed, tossed to and fro, Drearily drenched in the ocean brine, Lashed along without will of mine; Growth and grace in their place appear. 15. I bear round berries, gray and red, My spangled leaves, when nicely spread, 14 The Macrocystis pyrifera. C. G. FENNER. 6 SPÖÖм, foam; probably from spume. 1. Cy'cas revolu'ta, a Cycad, a plant intermediate in form between palm and ferns: it is cultivated in the E. Indies for its fruit, and also for the sago which is obtained from the pith. 2. Aphelan'dra crista'ta, an Acanthad. 3. Ech'mea ful'gens, a plant of the same family as the Pine-apple. 4. Littee'a geminiflo'ra, or Buonapar'tea jun'cea, an Amaryllid. 5. Loa'sa pentland'ica, a handsome annual, with yellow flowers. 1. By domestic flower-culture we mean the endeavor to grow rare and ornamental varieties of flowering and other plants in every available situation connected with our dwellings. Be it window-recess, balcony, staircase, porch, or tiny front plot, it matters not, provided there be sufficient exposure to light and sunshine. Some such place is at the disposal of almost every one who enjoys the shelter of a roof, whether he is an inhabitant of the open country or the crowded city, the tenant of a single apartment, or the proprietor of a lordly mansion. The culture thus alluded to forms one of the most delightful recreations in which the enlightened mind can engage; it is innocent and cheerful; can be cheaply obtained; and, like other rational pastimes, may lead to pursuits of a more profitable nature. 2. The beauty and variety of flowers, the fragrance and freshness which we are insensibly led to associate with them, have long been themes for the poet and naturalist, but really not more so than the subject deserves. The endless forms in which plants appear, their adaptations to certain situations, the peculiar properties which many species possess, though all grow on the same soil, the wonderful metamorphoses which they undergo from seed to plant, and from plant and flower to seed again, not to speak of the amenity1 and beauty with which they invest the landscape, or of the utility they confer as articles of food, medicine, and clothing, are all subjects of never-failing interest to a reflective mind. 3. But every one has not the opportunity of enjoying this contemplation in the field; and even if he had, the produce of one climate differs so widely from that of another, that his own district would furnish him with a mere fraction of the numerous vegetable families. Knowledge, however, has overcome this difficulty; for, by the aid of the sheltered garden, the conservatory, and hot-house, the genera of any country can be brought within the compass of a few superficial acres. What can be thus accomplished by the scientific gardener may be imitated on a small scale by domestic culture, and with comparatively less expense, as our apartments yield that shelter and temperature which it costs the gardener so much to obtain. 4. The individual therefore who can rear in his window-recess, in his lobby, or around his porch, the shrubs and flowers of other lands, has always a subject of contemplation before him; something to engage the attention, and to preserve the mind from the listlessness of ennui,2 or from positively pernicious pursuits. Any member of a family who has a little stand of plants to water, to clean, and prune, has always a pleasant daily recreation before him; his love and care increase with these objects; the simple duty becomes necessary to his existence, and he has what so many are miserable for the want of, something to occupy hours of listlessness or leisure.3 5. Again, plants are objects of beauty and ornament. Why is yonder lowly cottage more lovely and inviting than the large farm-house on the other side of the river? Simply because its walls are trellised with the rose and honeysuckle, and its porch with the clambering hop, whose dark green contrasts so finely with the whitewashed front; while the latter is as cold and uninviting as bare stone walls can make it. So it is with any apartment, however humble. The little stand of flowers in the window-recess, with their green leaves and brilliant blossoms, adds a charm and freshness to the place; and we will answer for it, that wherever these are, the furniture, though mean, will be clean and neatly arranged. 6. The individual who prides himself on the favorite plants that blossom on his window-sill, will see that that window be in such order as shall show them off to advantage; and the taste that leads to the establishment of neatness in one corner, will not be long in spreading to the most secret nook of the apartment. Moreover, the individual who cherishes his little array of flowers in his window will often repair to the hills and river sides in search of new favorites; he will insensibly acquire a love for nature, and find his enjoyment in studying her mysteries and admiring her beauties, whether in garden, field, or forest, instead of spending his time in the haunts of idleness and dissipation. 7. The in-door cultivation of plants is also intimately connected with the sanitary condition of our dwellings. The oxygen of the atmosphere is indispensable to the respiration of animals; it purifies their blood, and affords them internal heat; and, united with certain elements, it is expired in the form of carbonic acid gas, a compound of oxygen and carbon.* This gas, which is deleterious to animal life, constitutes the main nourishment of plants, which absorb it, appropriate its carbon, and restore its oxygen to the atmosphere, again to be breathed in purity by men and animals. b 8. It is true that pure air is necessary alike to the life of plants and animals; but the amount of oxygen absorbed by the former is by no means equal to that which they restore; and thus, through their agency, the atmosphere is kept in healthy equilibrium. It was long thought that plants absorbed carbonic acid during the day only, and under the influence of light, and that it was given off by them during the night season, thus vitiating the air in apartments in which they were kept; but this is now believed to be an error. It is confidently asserted that carbonic acid is never disengaged by them during the healthy condition of the leaf, and that the fluid which they so abundantly exhale is pure water. If this be the case, growing plants can not, under any condition, impair the purity of the atmosphere, but rather the reverse, unless the odor which they emit be too powerful to be agreeable. A-MEN'-I-TY, pleasantness. 2 EN-NUÏ' (ün-we', French), languor arising from lack of occupation. 3 LEIS'-URE (le'-zhur), freedom from occupation. CHAMBERS' Miscellany. 14 TREL-LISED, furnished with a trellis or wooden frame. 5 SAN'-I-TA-RY, pertaining to or designed to secure health. a See Lesson XIII., p. 112; also Fourth Reader, pp. 50, 53-4. |