Here, though the immediate cause of the motion is mechanical, yet the mode in which the effect shows itself, results from the vitality of the plant. Travellers describe the effect of walking through underwood composed of this plant as very singular, the plants seem to wither at their approach, and to shrink from their presence; for an injury so great as being trod on causes the whole leaf, which in their native woods is very large, to droop at once. The Dionæa, a North American plant, has leaves which can close together, by turning on the midrib as a hinge, and are covered with stiff, prickly hairs. No sooner does an insect alight on these, than the two halves fold together, and kill it. This plant is hence called Venus's flytrap.* The leaves of the sundew, so common on moist heaths in England, possess the same property in a less degree, but small flies may be often seen dead in them. The leaves of many plants are also affected by the application of noxious vapours, or by mineral and other poisons, which is a further proof of irritability. But though there are few plants which manifest irritability in so great a degree as those abovementioned, yet all have the power of turning their leaves, to seek the light which is necessary to their growth, if placed in too shady a situation. The leaves of those placed in a dark room, or in a cellar, will not only turn their upper sides towards the window, but their stalks will grow longer than they ordinarily do, in order to approach as near as possible to it. This has been observed by every one, of common geraniums, in such situations. The leaves of all trees and shrubs, after a certain time, fall off and are again renewed. In cold climates this "fall of the leaf" generally takes place on the approach of winter, and as, during the rigour of that season, the plant is in a torpid state, the new leaves do not appear till the return of warmth with the spring. Those plants, the leaves of which do not die off all together, but are being successively renewed, so that they are never leafless, are called evergreens; Ex.: juniper, laurel, fir, &c. Many plants are evergreens in warmer climates, that shed their leaves with us in winter; as the orange, the oleander, and others. It is found that here, those alone are evergreens which have particular fluids formed in their bark or skin, which defend them from the effects of cold; as firs, pines, larches, &c. Y the Ram. 8 the Bull. II the Twins. the Crab. the Lion. my the Virgin. the Balance. m the Scorpion. ↑ the Archer. VS the Goat. ww the Water-bearer, the Fishes. 12. Pisces Besides these constellations in the Zodiack, the stars in every other part of the heavens are reduced into constellations of some figure to which it is supposed each set of stars bears some resemblance. În the northern regions are 35 constellations, and in the southern 47; making in the whole, 94 constellations.t Besides the stars mentioned in the several constellations, there are a great number not included in any constellation, and therefore are called unformed stars. The total number of stars in the Zodiack is 1,016, in the whole of the constellations, 3,478. The characters of the signs seem to be imperfect hieroglyphical outlines of the creatures whose name they bear. Thus : is a sketch of the horns of the ram; 8 is the forepart of a bull's head; I is a union of the heads of two kids; denotes the two foreclaws of a crab; represents the head and tail of a lion, with his back rising into a kind of arch, as it is said to do when he is preparing to spring upon his prey; *The term Zodiack is derived from the Greek word Zodian, an It is, therefore, most probable that severity of weather is the cause of the general shedding of their foliage among our forest trees and shrubs; but animal, because most of the constellations in it are the figures of all trees, in every climate, lose their leaves and renew them. When the first grow, leaves are continuous, or in one piece with the stem; but an articulation is generally formed at their junction, and when this is completed, the leaf decays and falls. MAXIMS. Every man is the architect of his own fortune. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Friendship once injured is forever lost. animals. + The ancients divided the Zodiack into the above 12 constellations in the following manner. They took a vessel with a small hole in the bottom, and having filled it with water, suffered the same to distil drop by drop, into another vessel set beneath to receive it; beginning at the moment when some star rose, and continuing until it rose the following night. The water fallen down into the receiver they divided into 12 equal parts; and having two other small vessels in readiness, each of them fit to contain one part, they again poured all the water into the upper vessel, and observing the rising of some star in the Zodiack, they, at the same time, suffered the water to drop into one of the small vessels; and as soon as it was full they shifted it, and set an empty one in its place; when each vessel was full, they took notice what star of the Zodiack rose, and though this could not be done in one night, yet in many they observed the rising of 12 stars FERGUSON. *There is a figure of this plant in the righthand corner of the or points, by which they divided the Zodiack into 12 parts.--engraving on p. 180. use for measuring time, except the alternate succession of day and night. But, as twelve lunations are a few days shorter than the solar year, and as mankind were inclinable, from habit, to have the year, after its length was more accurately ascertained, still divided as before into twelve months, they were obliged to observe the sun's annual path through the heavens, and divide it as nearly as possible into twelve equal parts, by noticing the most remarkable stars which were either in or near these parts. Hence came the twelve signs, the several names of which are explained above. Of these signs, the first six are called northern, from their lying on the north side of the equator; the last six are called southern, from their being situated on the south side of the equator, The signs As the Ecliptick and Zodiack are by many considered one and the same thing, it is proper to distinguish the one from the other. The Ecliptick is that circle in the heavens through which the earth makes its revolution round the sun, being the earth's orbit or path; hence this (imaginary) line properly belongs to the heavens. Capricornus to Gemini are called ascending, the sun | the Balance, is displayed in September, to signify, approaching, or rising to the north pole, while it that in that month the sun enters the autumnal equipasses through them; and the signs from Cancer to nox, and dispenses an equal portion of day and night Sagittarius are called descending, the sun, as it to every part of the globe. SCORPIO, the Scorpion, moves through them, receding or descending from was adopted as the emblem of October, on account the north pole. of the venomous diseases which then afflict the earth. SAGITTARIUS, the Archer, distinguishes November as the proper season for hunting. CAPRICORNUS, the Goat, for its activity in climbing the steepest mountains, became the hieroglyphick of December; when the sun, after having passed the winter solstice, ascends again towards the equinoctial. AQUARIUS, the Water-bearer, with his heavy urn, represented January, on account of the rains, which were then most frequent; and lastly, PISCES, the Fishes, were very pertinent emblems of the fishing-season, which began in the Nile during the month of February, when the river, after overflowing the country, had returned to its natural channel. To gratify the curiosity of our readers, as far as our plan will permit, it may not be amiss to observe, that according to the opinion of many astronomers, the obliquity of the ecliptick to the equator has been always gradually decreasing, and their respective planes continually approaching to a coincidence. This opinion is not only supported by a comparison of ancient and modern observations, but by the consideration of the figure of the earth; for as the earth, as before observed, is flattened towards the poles, like an orange, the sun, being always in the plane of the ecliptick, may casily be conceived to exert its attractive power upon the protuberant parts of the equator, so as to be continually drawing the plane of it to a coincidence with that of the ecliptick, and thus diminishing the angle between them. The Geographical Ecliptick is an imaginary great circle drawn on the terrestrial globe, answering to, and falling upon, the celestial ecliptick, in the middle of the Zodiack; and whether we call it the terrestrial or celestial ecliptick, or the path of the earth or sun, it at all times signifies the path or way of the earth round the sun, in the space of twelve months, or a year. The ecliptick on the terrestrial globe, or map, is that graduated circle which crosses the equator obliquely, forming with it an angle of 23° 28'. The points where this circle crosses the equator are called the equinoctial points--the one is at the beginning of Aries, the other at the beginning of Libra: and when the sun is at either of these points, the days and nights are equal throughout the world. The commencement of Cancer and Capricorn are called the solstitial points; they are so called, because, at those times, the sun does not appear to alter his distance from the equator for several days: The time when the sun enters the northern solstitial point is called the summer solstice, because it is then the middle of our summer; and the time when he enters the southern is called the winter solstice, because it is then the middle of our winter. But in the southern hemisphere the solstices will be inverted, because it is our winter when it is their summer, and our summer when it is their winter. The signs of the Zodiack are counted from west to east, beginning with Aries, which is in the vernal equinoctial point; so that Cancer will be in the summer solstitial point, Libra in the point of the autumnal equinox, and Capricorn in that of the winter solstice. We have already observed, that the plane of the ecliptick makes an angle of 23° 28' with that of the equator, or equinoctial; as their axes, therefore, intersect each other in their respective centres, they must form the same angles; so that the poles of the ecliptick will be 23° 28' from the poles of the earth. The direct distance of the sun from the equinoctial, in his course through the ecliptick, is called his declination; which is said to be either north or south The sun is eight days longer in the northern half declination, according as he is on the north or south of the ecliptick than in the southern; and, conseside of the equinoctial. The same term is also ap-quently, the summer half year is eight days longer plied to any of the stars, or planets, and with the than the winter half. To conceive the reason of same meaning. this, it will be sufficient to remark, that the orbit of the earth is elliptical; that the sun is placed in one of the foci of the ellipsis; and the earth is nearest to that focus, and consequently, to the sun, at the latter end of December, (or in the eighth degree of Capricorn,) and farthest from it at the latter end of June (or in the eighth degree of Cancer), as is evident from the diameter of the sun appearing to be largest at the former of those times, and smallest at the latter. It having, therefore, been discovered that the velocity of any planet which moves round the sun, will always increase as its distance from the sun decreases, and vice versa, it will follow that the motion of the earth in its annual orbit will be swifter in the winter than in summer, and, consequently, that the sun will appear longer in the northern half of the ecliptick than in the southern. The names and characters of the twelve signs are supposed to have been first introduced by the ancient Egyptians, who were remarkable for their skill in astronomy, and for the use of hieroglyphical, or symbolical characters. The months of March, April, and May, being the spring quarter of the year, when lambs, calves, and kids (which are usually twins) are brought forth; their corresponding signs were therefore called ARIES, TAURUS, and GEMINI, that is, the Ram, the Bull, and the Twins, CANCER, the Crab, as moving sideways, or obliquely, represents the oblique motion of the sun in June, when he recedes from the summer solstice. VIRGO, the gleaning Virgin, with an ear of corn in her hand, is a proper emblem of August, the usual time of harvest. LIBRA, As none of the orbits or eclipticks of the planets make an angle of above eight degrees with that of the earth, it has given rise to that imaginary belt or zone round the celestial globe which is formed by • Foci, the plural; focus, singular; point of concentration, describing on each side of the ecliptick a parallel circle at the distance of eight degrees broad, called the Zodiack, as described above. OF THE EQUINOXES AND SOLSTICES. 1.-EQUINOXES, There are two equinoxes, the Vernal and the Autumnal. The VERNAL EQUINOX is when the sun enters Aries, which commonly happens about the 21st of March. The sun then rises due east at six in the morning, and sets due west at six in the evening, all over the world, the Frigid zones excepted; consequently, the day and night are of an equal length; namely, twelve hours each. The AUTUMNAL EQUINOX is when the sun enters Libra, generally on the 23d of September. The time of the sun's rising and setting, and the length of the day and night, are then the same as at the Vernal Equinox. 2. OF THE SOLSTICES. are so active as serpents, or can transport themselves from place to place with equal agility. Whether to seize its prey, or escape from danger, the serpent moves with the velocity of an arrow, and surpasses several species of birds in the ease and rapidity with which it gains the summits of the highest trees, twisting and untwisting its flexible body around their trunks and branches with such celerity, that the quickest eye can scarcely follow its rapid motion. Their size greatly varies; some are but a few inches long, while others are forty or even fifty feet in length. All are covered with scales, or scaly tubercles. Their brain case is weak and shallow; and hence serpents are easily killed by a blow on the The formation and conjunction of the vertebra are well adapted for mobility. head. All parts of their body have great force, agility, and elasticity. They are most abundant in warm and temperate regions; but increase in size and numbers, in proportion to the heat and moisture, and to the freedom of their range. They have less The SUMMER SOLSTICE is when the sun enters interiour activity of system. They are more animablood than quadrupeds, a lower animal heat, and less Cancer, generally on the 22d of June. The inhabited in times of tempest and hurricane, when the tants of the Northern Hemisphere have then their longest days and shortest nights; but those of the Southern Hemisphere the contrary. The WINTER SOLSTICE is when the sun enters Capricorn, generally on the 22d of December. The inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere have then their longest days and shortest nights; but those of the Northern Hemisphere the contrary. Obs. The term Solstice is derived from the Latin word solstitium, it being that time when the sun is at the greatest distance from the equator, and is thus called, because the sun then appears to stand still, and not to change his distance from the equator for some time, an appearance owing to the obliquity of our sphere, and to which those living under the equator are strangers. The serpent tribes are distinguished from all other animals by a peculiar character, in which their figure, motion, and habits, so repulsive and disgusting, form a striking contrast to the beautiful and variegated colours with which their skin is studded, adding, if possible, to their subtle and venomous appearance; while their crawling motion strikingly exemplifies the decree of the Creator, made after the temptation and fall of man:-"Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and every bird of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust thou shalt eat all the days of thy life." electricity of the atmosphere is in the greatest per- softer or stronger according to the exciting cause. Serpents have great strength from the peculiar construction of their body. They are very tenacious of life. They have been, from all antiquity, and in most countries, celebrated for their great cunning and sagacity; which is chiefly displayed in their mode of evading their enemies, or of obtaining their prey. Some serpents are eminently noted for their brilliant colours, of which several display fine iridescent changes. It is a curious distinction of those animals, which has lately been made by M. de la Borde, of Cayenne, that all the species of serpents of which the young are hatched within the mother, and which are therefore born alive, are venomous. Many of the serpents are totally harmless. They only offer to our consideration agile movements, elegant and light proportions, and soft and brilliant colours. They are an addition to the ornaments of the fields; and help, with the other animated beings, to embellish the vast and magnificent theatre of vernal nature. Of the others, the enormous and deadly boa twists itself round calves, and sheep, and goats, to crush The tribes are very numerous, and have been di-their bones; and then poisoning them with its fangs, 'vided by La Cepede into eight genera, each of which are subdivided, and contain many species. The genera comprise the Boas, containing 11 species; the Rattlesnake, 6 species; the Vipers, 196 species; the Snakes, 24 species; the Amphisbona, 5 species; Langrata, 1; Cœcilia, 2; and Acrochord, 1. Although destitute of feet and wings, few animals swallows them whole. It has been seen to overcome the buffalo, and even the tiger, in this way, though not till after a desperate struggle, (see engraving). The rattlesnake, cerastes, viper, &c., are all of the same destructive habits.f * Tasteful-palatable. + See Turner's Sacred History of the Earth. The poison fangs of serpents are two teeth, fixed charged into the poison-bag. This consists of mus in the upper jaw, which answer to the canine teeth cular fibres, both longitudinal and circular, by which of quadrupeds. Their form and functions were first it contracts when the fangs are erected, and by this demonstrated by Dr. Mead, in his work on Poisons. contraction the poison is pressed into the hole at the He says, "They are manifestly hollow from their root of the tooth, and forced out at the aperture near root, a considerable way, not to the very apex, or the point. point (which is solid and sharp, the better to pierce The poison itself is an acid with many saline in the skin), but to a small distance from it, as is plainly gredients, which rapidly crystallize on exposure to seen by splitting the tooth through the middle. This the atmosphere. It exists only in small quantities. tubular cavity ends at the front of the tooth in a but a very small drop is sufficient to produce death. small slit, which is the emissary, or outlet, of the In the engraving, a full grown boa constrictor is poison." represented destroying a tiger. Its mode of proceGalen has given us a considerable hint of this dure is as follows:-The serpent lies coiled in the make of the tooth: for "the mountebanks," he says, top of some lofty tree, where, hid from observation, "used to suffer themselves to be bit by vipers, hav-it securely watches every thing that passes beneath. ing first with some paste stopped the holes of their Should an animal, a tiger for example, approach the teeth, that the venom being kept in, the spectators spot, and the appetite of the serpent be strong, it might think they did, by their antidotes, secure them-cautiously descends to within a proper distance, selves from its dangerous effects." fastens its tail by several folds to a branch, and thus The poison tooth is connected with a very beau- fixed, throws its whole length upon the astonished tiful chain of bones, which, by the assistance of ap-animal, coils with inconceivable rapidity round his propriate muscles, raise it for inflicting the bite. body, and striking his fangs deep into the flesh, instils Before and after that, it lies folded back in the the "cruel venom." Convulsions, sickness, and mouth. death follow. The serpent then coils itself round The poison is secreted in two conglobate glands, the body of its victim, and by a tremendous exertion which lie one on each side of the head; and is car- of muscular power, crushes the bones, and reduces ried by ducts to the root of the fangs, where it is dis-the whole to a cylindrical form, and then covering |