"Though flowers may gladden our path to-day,
When to-morrow we come they have pass'd away;
And the cheerful smile and the rosy hue
From the cheek of beauty have faded to,
And our gentle whispers no more impart
A feeling of joy to her youthful heart,
"We but do the will of our Master here,
Our joy is found in a holier sphere;

We are born in Heaven,-can our purer breath
Pass mirthfully over the fields of Death?

For what is earth, with its transient bloom

And fleeting charms, but a flower-wreathed tomb ""

Insects of many species will now begin to make their appearance; therefore, to keep these intruders under, it is necessary to begin with their first appearance, and continue diligently to watch their progress during the season. Most of them only live for one another, but their powers of reproduction are so great, that no time should be lost in destroying them as they appear, or in removing all appearance of them in a yet imperfect state. That industrious naturalist Leuwenhoeck, by calculation discovered that two house-flies, a male and female, will in three month's time, produce no less than seven hundred thousand of its species. The insects most injurious to the productions of the garden are: the red spider, (Arcarus tellurius, of Linnæus,) (Aphis lanigera,) or American blight; the wasp (Vesha vulgaris, of Linn. :) the earwig, (Forficula auricularia;) the bug, (Cimex ;) the thrips, the chermes, the cabbage-moth, (Phalana oleracea ;) the gooseberry-moth, Phalane wavaria;) the currant-moth Phalenæ grossularia;) and the codlingmoth, very common on fruit-trees, (Phalænæ pomónelea;) the wood-louse, (Oniscus ;) the earth-worm, (Lumbricus;) the slug, (Limax ;) and the snail, (Helix;) the ant, (Formica ;) and caterpillars, (Papilio;) the aphides, or green-fly, and grubs, or

the larvæ of the beetle (Scarabaeus) tribe. The destruction of these insects ought now to occupy our attention, and will be no difficult matter if taken in time.-M'Intosh.

The most destructive of all insects, however, during the tender growth of seedlings, is the small greyish white slug, or shell-less snail. It is often so small, and inconspicuous, that it cannot be discovered, and as it feeds like its congeners, by night, valuable seedlings disappear as if by magic. We have found it an almost infallible trap for these depredators, to make small thimble holes, about an inch in depth, near the plants attacked; into these holes the slugs are certain to retreat during the day, where they may be destroyed, by sprinkling a little quick lime into the holes.

Toads will also be found of great utility in gardens. Practical men have long been aware that they live chiefly on insects, particularly beetles; some have even made it a point to place them on their hotbeds, for the purpose of destroying wood-lice, earwigs, &c.-A Mr. Reeve, who has long employed toads as guardians of his melon and cucumber frames, fully corroborates all that has been said respecting their usefulness in such situations, and is so attentive to them, that, when they have cleared his bed of insects, and he finds them uneasy in their confinement, he actually feeds them, in order to keep them there. He offers them the different insects which are considered noxious in gardens, all of which they devour; even slugs are eaten by them; and if so, this despised reptile must be a beneficial assistant to the gardener at times, and in a way he is at present but little acquainted with.

During this month, the wren; the cuckoo; the swallow; the martin; and other birds of passage arrive in this country, and charm us with their song.

Mr. Jennings in his Ornithologia, speaking of the migration of Birds, says:-" Attempts have been made to ascertain the exact time of the appearance and retreat of the various migratory birds; but, from a variety of circumstances, this will be found difficult, if not impossible: some birds appearing in certain places much sooner than in others; and some never appearing in many places, in certain seasons, at all. Thus it is said that the Nightingale is not to be found in England, farther from Dover, in any direction, than the distance of 150 miles. Perhaps, however, 200 miles might be nearer the truth. Huntspill, in Somersetshire, is considerably more than 150 miles from Dover; it is often heard there; I have also heard it on the banks of the Wye, between Chepstow and Monmouth. Notwithstanding the Nightingale is by no means an uncommon bird in Somersetshire, I remember very well that some years ago, while I resided at Huntspill, one or two summers passed without my hearing it at all; hence, I conclude it was not in the neighbourhood in those years.

Our migratory summer birds, such as the Cuckoo, Nightingale, Swallow, &c. do, however, generally make their appearance some time in April, according to the season, but usually towards the latter end of the month. The winter birds are more irregular still in their appearance. October and November are the usual months in which they arrive; the Ring-ouzel, it is said, soon after Michaelmas; the Royston or Hooded Crow, in October; Snipes, in November, &c. &c. By a table in the first part of the xvth volume of the Transactions of the Linnean Society, prepared by Messrs. SHEPPARD and WHITEAR, exhibiting the Times of Migration of Summer Birds of Passage, at Harleston, Norfolk, Offton in Suffolk, and Wrabness in Essex; the Swift is rarely seen till May; the Turtle Dove not

before the 12th of the same month: the Black-cap as early as the first of April, sometimes as late as the 22d of the same month; the Swallow on the 7th or 8th of April, sometimes as late as the 30th of the same month; the Yellow-wren sometimes as early as the 27th of March; the Nightingale the 14th of April, more commonly after the 20th of the same month; the Cuckoo on the 10th of April, more commonly after the 20th of the same month.

There is room for believing that some migratory birds return, again and again, to the same spot which they have visited in former years; of the Swallow, indeed, this occurrence is said to have been particularly observed.

We shall conclude this month with a few appropriate Poetical Pictures for the Season.

THE YOUNG BIRD OF PASSAGE.

BY WILLIAM HOWITT,

Oh, bird! oh, little bird,
Blithe is thy native spot!
This summer sky expands
Far, far o'er other lands,

But them thou knowest not.

Here hast thou woke to life;
Here only, life hast known;
Here, 'mid flowers, songs, green grass,
And streams that glittering pass,

Thy merry hours have flown.

And if to thee be given

The mystery of thought,
Here dost thou hope to dwell,
With things beloved so well,
That none beside are sought.

But soon! but soon shall dawn
Within thee strange desires,
Strange dreams of other skies,
Strange far-off melodies,

The sound of Indian choirs.

And thy first loves and joys,

Hushed, spell-bound in thy heart,
From woodland, field, and stream,
Like pleasures of a dream,

Shall they and thou depart!

Called,-urged, thou know'st not how,
Up, up thy soul shall spring,
Daring the ocean flood,
Daring Heaven's solitude,
With inexperienced wing.

Oh, bird! oh little bird,
Strange as thy lot may be,
Yet, in thy young delight,-
Yet, in thy coming flight,
Thou art a type of me.

For now, even now I feel,

Here, where my life first shone,

Some unseen world's control

Strong in my inmost soul,

And bidding me begone.

Voices of power are calling,

Sounds come from other spheres,
Visions float through my breast,
And thoughts that will not rest
But in the unreached years.

Vainly would earth detain me,
Her spring-tide spell is o'er;

Here have I dwelt in glee,
But soon I pass, like thee

And I return no more.

Winter's Wreath, 1830.

TO A RED-BREAST.

BY ROBERT ANDERSON.

The following song was occasioned by a red-breast visiting for five years my retired apartment, in the centre of Carlisle. He commonly gave me his first cheerful strain in the beginning of September; and sang his farewell to the noise and smoke of the town in April. So tame was the merry minstrel, that he frequently made a hearty repast within a few inches