shines in all its splendour, lighting up this gorgeous scene with brilliant hues ; while we ourselves are sheltered from its scorching rays by the umbrageous branches of oaks and elms which overhang the pathway. Here we may rest and meditate on the lovely scene, until the setting sun sheds his rays horizontally upon the table-tops of the loftier hills, and gilds the fleecy clouds which float around his fiery car. And look you upon that steep hill side, clothed with copsewood, interspersed with oak trees; how rich the tints which rest upon the foliage, their beauty increased by neighbouring hills concealed in their lengthening shadow. See how slowly the river passes on! The breath of evening is calm and peaceful. The surface of the stream is placid, and seems to flow onward to the mighty ocean sleepily and unconsciously. And hark you at the rich, deep tone of the nightingale, Surely that is a joyous note. That conveys no melancholy sound to our peaceful breast. Tis sweetest melody. Twilight ensues: now we hear the quick, sharp chirp of the field-cricket. That is a pleasing sound. But did you say the chirp of one? Why, there must be hundreds! What a merry noise they make! Ah! and there we see the beautiful little glow-worm! How brightly it shines! One would fancy it were a large oval emerald, the colour of which was lost in the sparkling light reflected from its surface. Mark the rich golden green which bounds it! Wonderful, indeed, are the beauties of creation! Admire we may, but understand them we cannot. Is it surprising that, amid scenes like this, we should look with delight upon every flower we see? Here we may find all our choice favourites, and amongst them the Common Broom, which is a shrubby plant, growing some three or four feet high, and spreading forth its many branches, which are long and straight, tough and pliant, and clothed with a dark green bark. The leaves, growing together in threes, are scattered upon the angular stems. They are stalked, and those growing towards the extremity of the branches are generally simple, and, when young, covered with soft silky hairs. The leaflets are equal, of a round eggshaped form, their edges being uncut. The flowers grow from the axil of the leaves either singly or in pairs, and are numerous at the tops of the branches. The flower cup consists of two obtuse lips, the upper one being entire, the lower one thrice indented, and those at the sides converging inwards. The corolla is large and handsome, of a bright golden yellow, occasionally tinged with orange; the keel, or carina, broad and blunt; the vexillum, or upper petal, large, eggshaped, and the wings spreading. The seed pod is large, compressed, of a dark brown hue; the sides are nearly smooth, and the margins are fringed with rough hairs. This plant, with its beautiful papilionaceous flowers, was greatly esteemed by the ancients, who regarded it as a favourite shrub with bees. Aristomachus, a Greek writer on agriculture or domestic economy, declares that wherever this plant grew bees would not forsake their hives. Pliny appears to have regarded this writer as good authority: he frequently quotes from his works, and states that he was so fond of the honey bee that he spent fifty-eight years of his life in raising swarms of them. Modern observers confirm the statement that bees love the flowers of the Broom. Thus the White and Yellow Broom, planted in shrubberies, not only give an added beauty to the grounds in which they stand, by the feather-like curving of their long light branches, thickly covered with flowers; but afford much booty to the bee in early spring. The White Broom may be seen literally swarming with these industrious insects, when a hive stands in the immediate neighbourhood. Various medical properties are ascribed to the twigs and leaves of the Broom; and the unexpanded flower buds are said to be pickled by some people for use, instead of capers. The plant is sometimes cultivated in gardens, but it seems alien to such places; it is seen to greater advantage in its native wilds. It blooms in greatest beauty during the sweet months of May and June, in "—that delightful season when the Broom, Full flowered and visible in every steep, Along the copses runs in veins of gold.” WORDSWORTH. The Common Broom (Spartium scoparium) is in the Linnæan class Diadelphia, and order Decandria; and in the order Papilionacea of the Natural system. It is common on sandy hills, groves and thickets, and bushy places. DOG'S VIOLET. Viola canina; W. "The violet in her greenwood bower, Where birchen boughs with hazels mingle, In glen, or copse, or forest dingle. Though fair her gems of azure hue, Beneath the dew-drop's weight reclining, I've seen an eye of lovelier blue, More sweet through watery lustre shining. The summer sun that dew shall dry, Ere yet the day be past its morrow; Remained the tear of parting sorrow." SIR W. SCOTT. As we were strolling about in a beautiful part of Surrey, in the lovely month of May, some few years ago, we entered one of the many lanes which are there deeply cut through the precipitous hills in that locality. The lane was bounded on either side by banks rising nearly perpendicularly to the summit of the hill through which it had been driven, except where the loose sandy soil had been gradually washed away by successive torrents of rain. These had formed here and there a series of inclined planes, rising at various angles, and tending in different directions, by means of which the top of the bank might be attained. Rich as was the vegetation which clad the banks on our right and left hand, as we passed along the lane, we could not resist the temptation to mount the bank by one of these devious paths. There we hoped to discover something that was hid from the eyes of other mortals who were content to pursue their way by the common road. True, there they could see thousands of knotted primroses, spreading their sulphur-coloured petals to cheer the eyes of every wayfarer, and inhale the rich air filled with their delicious perfume: there they could see the delicate blossoms of the wood strawberry, and not seldom meet with a violet, adding its odours to those of the primrose; and more than these, there they could see an abundance of the wild hyacinth. But we wished to see what riches were concealed beneath the hazel boughs; and to climb the heights, that we might survey the varied scenes which the undulations of hill and dale so well supply. As we moved upward from plane to plane, we were delighted by the richness of the spot; and, coming suddenly upon a bed thickly clad with tufts of primroses, we were not a little pleased to see them abundantly interspersed with the deep purple flowers of the Dog's Violet. The contrast formed by the two colours was indeed beautiful: we had pictured to ourselves the effect of such a combination, in our mind's eye, but never before had we had the good fortune to see the picture realized. Often did we revisit that pleasing locality, and seldom without increased satisfaction, for there, as the season advanced, we found some of the rarer treasures of Flora's kingdom. The Dog's Violet may at once be known by bringing the flower in close proximity with the olfactory nerves : if it yield no grateful scent, then you may be sure it is not the sweet violet. The Dog's Violet has a ligneous or woody root, with long branching fibres; from this rise numerous stems (the sweet violet has no stem), |