membraneous moss called nostoch: it is an irregular substance of a pale green colour, and somewhat transparent: it trembles upon the slightest touch, and easily breaks. It can only be seen after rain, and is then found in many places, particularly in uncultivated soils and sandy roads.

It exists in all seasons, even in winter; but is never so abundant as after rain in summer. The most remarkable circumstance about it is its speedy growth, being formed almost instantaneously; for sometimes if we walk in the garden in summer, not a trace of it is seen; when a sudden shower of rain falling, if the same place is visited in an hour, the walks are entirely covered with it. The nostoch was long supposed to have descended from the sky; but it is now known to be a leaf, which attracts and imbibes water with great avidity. This leaf, to which no root appears to belong is in its natural state when impregnated with water; but a strong wind or great heat soon dissipating the water, the leaf contracts, and loses its colour and transparency; hence it appears to grow so suddenly, and to be so miraculously produced by a shower of rain; for when the rain falls upon it in its dried and imperceptible state, it becomes reanimated, and appears a fresh production.

We might readily enlarge the list of plants which bear a resemblance to animals; but there are other peculiarities in vegetables which solicit our attention. The whole atmosphere is pregnant with plants and invisible seeds, and even the largest grains are dispersed by the wind over the earth and as soon as they are transported to the places proper for them to germinate in, they become plants, and often so little soil is necessary for this purpose, that we can scarcely conceive whence they derive the necessary degree of nourishment. There are plants, and even trees, which take root and grow in the clefts of rocks without any soil whatever.

Vegetation is sometimes very rapid; of which we have instances in mushrooms, and the common cresses, the seed of which put in a wet cloth, will be fit for a salad in twentyfour hours. There are plants that exist with scarcely any

perceptible vitality. We often see willows, which are not only hollow and decayed within, but their external bark is so much injured that very little of it remains; yet from these seemingly sapless trunks buds sprout in the spring, and they are crowned with leaves and branches. It is truly wonderful that plants should not only imbibe nutriment by their roots, but that their leaves also should assist in this important function, by inspiring air; and an inverted tree will flourish, as well as when in its proper situation, for the branches will grow in the earth and become roots.

The advanced age that some trees attain to, is also very remarkable. Some apple trees are above a thousand years old; and if we calculate the amount of the annual produce of such a tree for the above space of time, we shall find that a single pippin might supply all Europe with trees and fruit. So extensive is this subject, that to follow it through all its ramifications would lead us on much too far for our present limits. All nature teems with wonders; every thing leads to an infinitely perfect Being, whose power, united to boundless wisdom and goodness, is continually acting for our benefit, and daily giving us fresh cause for gratitude and admiration.

How great and magnificent are Thy works, O Lord! What wonders crowd upon my mind! I view them with rapture, and am lost in the contemplation; they surpass my comprehension, I cannot fathom them. At thy command the grass shoots forth its green blade, and the woods are clothed with verdure the flowers adorn the fields and beautify the gardens with their glowing colours; the tree lifts its tall head to the clouds, and the mountain cedar declares Thy glory! Wherever I turn my view, new wonders delight me: the meadows, the mountains and the valleys, the rivers, the seas, and all, from the least atom to the distant spheres in the heavens, declare Thy goodness and display Thy glory!

JUNE XII.

Means of Happiness derived from Nature.

WE have only to consider the bond and connection existing between man and all natural productions to be convinced that every thing throughout nature tends to his utility. For though there are many bodies whose use with respect to man we do not readily perceive, it is not reasonable to conclude that we derive no advantage from them. Many things, which in the days of our forefathers were considered as useless, are now regarded as benefits; and we may justly presume that our posterity will discover many things to be useful, of whose nature we are now ignorant.. In this we may acknowledge the Divine wisdom, which has concealed from us the true use of many creatures, that we may be more humble by feeling the limits of our knowledge, and that our faculties may be continually exercised and improved by contemplating the works of the creation. Many productions of nature are only indirectly useful; for as some animals serve for nourishment to man, consequently whatever tends to their support must be useful to us. We find that many creatnres are conducive to the nourishment of others; small fish are the food of larger; many birds feed on worms and insects; and there are many species which live entirely by prey. Here again the Divine wisdom is manifested; for if the produce of the fields formed the sole nourishment of animals, there would not be a sufficiency left for the support of man.

There are some animals, as those of a venomous nature, which certainly are hurtful to man; and there are some poisons so powerful as instantaneously to kill; on which accounts, many creatures are regarded in a very disadvantageous light; yet, if we consider them more attentively, we shall discover traces of the goodness of God, and have cause to admire his wisdom. Physicians make use of many excellent remedies, in the composition of which are substances of a poisonous nature. And can we suppose that man would be more happy if there were no venomous animals upon the

earth? The poison that they bear is in part derived from malignant vapours, which man could not have respired without injury; and, in short, we may say with confidence, that there is nothing upon earth really injurious to him, unless he makes an improper use of it.

But if in the formation of the globe God had our happiness in view, are we not inexcusable in counteracting his gracious designs, by putting obstacles to our own felicity, instead of contributing to promote it by our most earnest endeavours? God's designs towards us are merciful, but we often render them ineffectual by a mode of conduct which necessarily makes us unhappy. Let us henceforth be wiser, and better profit by those various means of happiness with which it has pleased a gracious God to supply us so abundantly in the kingdom of nature; and as our desires are not completely satisfied by any thing this world can afford, let us look up to Heaven, the source of all good, and we shall feel our minds enlarged by the influence of a pure religion, which will teach us things of which we were before ignorant, and point out the true path to endless felicity!

JUNE XIII.

The Magnet.

Or all the bodies in the mineral kingdom the magnet, or loadstone, has the most striking properties. It is an iron ore of a dark grey colour, and has the property of attracting iron. This power of attraction resides chiefly in the two extremities of the magnet which are termed its poles; and when it is free and suspended by a string, it constantly directs one pole to the north and the other to the south. This effect is invariably produced, however the stone may be removed, if it is at last left to itself.

This constant and uniform direction of the magnet, which only varies in some particular parts of the globe, has given rise to that extremity of which points to the south being called the south pole, and the opposite extremity the north

pole, of the loadstone. It communicates to iron polarity, and the power of attracting steel. This discovery introduced the magnetic needle, so necessary to navigators: hence we find that many things which at first seemed to be of no importance, may become highly useful to the world; and the more we extend our knowledge of nature and study the magnificence of the creation, the more will our intelligence be amplified, our understanding enlarged, and our means of felicity increased.

These virtues of the magnet induced naturalists to examine it more closely, that they might be enabled to penetrate into the cause of such surprising effects, as well as discover new properties in the stone; in which last endeavour they were more fortunate than in the former. They found that the magnet did not always, nor in all places, point alike to the north; but that it inclines one while towards the east, and at another towards the west: they also remarked, that its attractive power acted as strongly when they interposed any other body between it and the iron. All metals, irons excepted, wood, glass, fire, water, and animal bodies, give a free passage to the magnetic fluid, and do not prevent its acting upon iron. They discovered that the north pole of one magnet attracts the south pole of the other, and that the north pole of one repels the north pole of the other, and the south poles applied together also repel each other. It was supposed that the attractive power resides in the iron as well as in the magnet, since the attraction seems to be mutual. To prove this, we have only to suspend a magnet at one end of the beam of a balance, and attach to the other extremity a weight equal to that of the magnet; when the balance is made perfectly equal, place a piece of iron beneath it, and the magnet, attracted by the iron, will descend. The same thing will happen if the iron is attached to the beam, and the magnet is placed beneath.

However singular these phenomena may appear, there is another circumstance respecting the magnet not less deserving our attention: which is, that all the skill, the sagacity, and efforts of philosophers, have not succeeded in discovering