were as troublesome to me as if I had been in Florida swamp.

66

The squatter returned, but he was chapfallen; nay I thought his visage had assumed a cadaverous hue. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he told me that his barrel of rum had been stolen by the eggers," or some fishermen! He said that he had been in the habit of hiding it in the bushes, to prevent its being carried away by those merciless thieves, who must have watched him in some of his frequent walks to the spot. "Now," said he, "I can expect none until next spring, and God knows what will become of me in the winter!"

a|which, (having rowed fourteen or fifteen miles that morning,) we helped ourselves in a manner that seemed satisfactory to all parties. Our host gave us newspapers from different parts of the world, and shewed us his small but choice collection of books. He inquired after the health of the amiable Captain Bayfield, of the royal navy, and the officers under him, and hoped they would give him a call.

Having refreshed ourselves, we walked out with him, when he pointed to a very small garden, where a few vegetables sprouted out, anxious to see the sun. Gazing on the desolate country around. I asked him how he had thus secluded himself from Pierre Jean Baptiste Michaux had resided in that the world. For it he had no relish, and although he part of the world for upward of ten years. He had had received a liberal education, and had mixed run away from the fishing-smack that had brought with society, he never intended to return to it. him from his fair native land, and expected to be- "The country around," said he, "is all my own, come rich some day by the sale of the furs, seal- much farther than you can see. No fees, no lawskins, eider-down, and other articles which he col-yers, no taxes are here. I do pretty much as I lected yearly, and sold to the traders who regularly choose. My means are ample, through my own invisited his dreary abode. He was of moderate dustry. These vessels come here for seal-skins, stature, firmly framed, and as active as a wild-cat. seal-oil, and salmon, and give me in return all the He told me that excepting the loss of his rum, he necessaries, and indeed comforts, of the life I love had never experienced any other cause of sorrow, to follow; and what else could the world afford me!" and that he felt as "happy as a lord." I spoke of the education of his children. My Before parting with this fortunate mortal, I en- wife and I teach them all that is useful for them to quired how his dogs managed to find sufficient food. know, and is not that enough? My girls will marry Why, sir, during spring and summer they ramble their countrymen, my sons the daughters of my along the shores, where they meet with abundance neighbours, and I hope all of them will live and die of dead fish, and in winter they eat the flesh of the in the country!" I said no more, but by way of seals which I kill late in autumn, when these ani- compensation for the trouble I had given him, pur mals return from the north. As to myself, every chased from his eldest child a beautiful fox's skin. thing eatable is good, and when hard pushed, I assure you I can relish the fare of my dogs just as much as they do themselves."

66

Few birds, he said, came around him in summer, but in winter thousands of ptarmigans were killed, as well as great numbers of gulls. He had a great dislike to all fishermen and eggers, and I really believe was always glad to see the departure even of the hardy navigators who annually visited him for the sake of his salmon, seal-skins, and oil. He had more than forty Esquimaux dogs; and, as I was caressing one of them, he said, "Tell my brother-in-law at Bras d'Or, that we are all well here, and that, after visiting my wife's father, I will give him a call!"

Proceeding along the rugged indentations of the bay with my companions, I reached the settlement of another person, who, like the first, had come to Labrador with the view of making his fortune. We found him after many difficulties; but as our boats turned a long point jutting out into the bay, we were pleased to see several small schooners at anchor, and one lying near a sort of wharf. Several neatlooking houses enlivened the view, and on landing, we were kindly greeted with a polite welcome from Now, reader, his wire's father resided at the disa man who proved to be the owner of the establish- tance of seventy miles down the coast, and, like ment. For the rude simplicity of him of the rum- himself, was a recluse. He of Bras d'Or was at cask, we found here the manners and dress of a double that distance; but, when the snows of winter man of the world. A handsome fur cap covered have thickly covered the country, the whole family, his dark brow, his clothes were similar to our own, in sledges drawn by dogs, travel with ease, and pay and his demeanour was that of a gentleman. On their visits, or leave their cards. This good gentlemy giving my name to him, he shook me heartily man had already resided there more than twenty by the hand, and on introducing each of my com- years. Should he ever read this article, I desire panions to him, he extended the like courtesy to him to believe that I shall always be grateful to him them also. Then, to my astonishment, he addressed and his wife for their hospitable welcome. me as follows:- My dear sir, I have been expect- When our schooner, the Ripley, arrived at Bras ing you these three weeks, having read in the papers d'Or, I paid a visit to M. the brother-in-law, your intention to visit Labrador, and some fishermen who lived in a house imported from Quebec, which told me of your arrival at Little Natasguan. Gen-fronted the strait of Belle isle, and overlooked a tlemen, walk in.”

Having followed him to his neat and comfortable mansion, he introduced us to his wife and children. Of the latter there were six, all robust and rosy. The lady, although a native of the country, was of French extraction, handsome, and sufficiently accomplished to make an excellent companion to a gentleman. A smart girl brought us a luncheon, consisting of bread, cheese, and good port wine, to

small island, over which the eye reached the coast of Newfoundland, whenever it was the wind's pleasure to drive away the fogs that usually lay over both coasts. The gentleman and his wife, we were told, were both out on a walk, but would return in a very short time, which they in fact did, when we followed them into the house, which was yet unfinished. The usual immense Dutch stove formed a principal feature of the interiour. The lady had once visited

During our stay at Bras d'Or, the kind-hearted and good Mrs. butter, for which we were denied the pleasure of daily sent us fresh milk and making any return.

the metropolis of Canada, and seemed desirous of ed the place, in the month of August, notwithstandacting the part of a "blue-stocking." Understand-ing the coolness of the atmosphere, sent forth a ing that I knew something of the fine arts, she stench that, according to the ideas of some naturalpointed to several of the vile prints hung on the ists, might have sufficed to attract all the vulidae n bare walls, which she said were elegant Italian pic- the United States. tures, and continued her encomiums upon them, assuring me that she had purchased them from an Italian, who had come there with a trunk full of them. She had paid a shilling sterling for each, frame included! I could give no answer to the good lady on this subject, but I felt glad to find that she possessed a feeling heart. One of her children had caught a siskin, and was tormenting the poor bird, when she rose from her seat, took the little fluttering thing from the boy, kissed it, and gently launched it into the air. This made me quite forget the tattle about the fine arts.

BOTANY.

CATKINS.

WITH the earliest dawn of spring,

"while yet the wheaten blade

Audubon

Scarce shoots above the new-fallen shower of snow,"

Some excellent milk was poured out for us in clean glasses. It was a pleasing sight, for not a cow had we yet seen in the country. The lady turned the conversation on musick, and asked if I a thousand beauties deck our woodland trees, which played on any instrument. I answered that I did, to unobserving eyes appear to be only so many green but very indifferently. Her fort, she said, was mu-buds, the harbingers of future leaves. Little is it sick, of which she was indeed immoderately fond. Her instrument had been sent to Europe to be repaired, but would return that season, when the whole of her children would again perform many beautiful airs, for in fact any body could use it with ease, as when she or the children felt fatigued, the servant played on it for them. Rather surprised at the extraordinary powers of this family of musicians, I asked what sort of an instrument it was, when she described it as follows:- -"Gentlemen, my instrument is large, longer than broad, and stands on four legs, like a table. At one end is a crooked handle, by turning which round, either fast or slow, I do assure you we make most excellent musick." The lips of my young friends and companions instantly curled, but a glance from me as instantly recomposed their features. Telling the fair one that it must be a hand-organ she used, she laughingly said, "Ah, that is it: it is a hand-organ, but I had forgot the name, and for the life of me could not

recollect it."

supposed that these " green buds" are clusters of flowers, which in most cases appear before the leaves, and which in the exquisite delicacy of their colours, and the marvellous contrivance of their forms, as much surpass the more showy blossoms of the summer's day in real soul-subduing interest, as the variegated glories of the dawning sun exceed the simple splendour of his noontide majesty. We cannot express the pleasure we have felt, when, turning our backs for awhile upon the cold and foggy haunts of men, we have journeyed on a spring morning to some thicket in the suburbs of the town, to regale our senses, and invigorate our minds with a sight of the catkins, which hang from the trees with a profusion worthy of the beneficient Being who gave them life to perpetuate the species, and beauty to charm the hearts of all those who take pleasure therein.

We recommend our readers, some spring morning, when the sun is rising, to get into the centre of a young wood, and if they have the least taste for the unsophisticated charms of nature, we promise them a vision of beauty, so imposing in its effect, and so curious in its details, that they will ever after deplore with us the apathy and worldly-mindedness which deprive the great majority of our fellow-creatures of such a sweet and purifying source of enjoyment, and which caused the royal botanist of Judea, upon another subject to exclaim, "A wise man's eyes are in his head."

The husband had gone out to work, and was in the harbour caulking an old schooner. He dined with me on board the Ripley, and proved to be also an excellent fellow. Like his brother-in-law, he had seen much of the world, having sailed nearly round it; and, although no scholar, like him, too, he was disgusted with it. He held his land on the same footing as his neighbours, caught seals without number, lived comfortably and happily, visited his father-in-law and the scholar, by the aid of his A CATKIN is a tassel of male flowers, destitute of dogs of which he kept a great pack, bartered or calyx or coralla, in place of which a little scale is sold his commodities, as his relations did, and cared produced. These scales, or bractæ, as they are about nothing else in the world Whenever the called by botanists, are placed one beneath the othweather was fair, he walked with his dame over er round the stalk of the catkin with the most prethe moss-covered rocks of the neighbourhood; and, cise regularity. Each scale covers a number of during winter, killed ptarmigans and karaboos, while stamens, which spring from its lower surface, and his eldest son attended to the traps, and skinned the are shielded by it from wet and too great a degree animals caught in them. He had the only horse of light, just in the same way as our readers may that was to be found in that part of the country, as have observed the helmet-shaped petal in the comwell as several cows; but, above all, he was kind mon white nettle protects the anthers and stigma to every one, and every one spoke well of him. which nestle in its concavity. Catkins are, thereThe only disagreeable thing about his plantation or fore, with the exception of the willow and some othsettlement, was a heap of fifteen hundred carcasses ers, clusters of stamen-bearing flowers; but if trees of skinned seals, which, at the time when we visit-bore no other kind of flowers, we should be destitute

willow tribe, comprising the genera Salix and Populus. 2. BETULINEE, the Betula, or birch tribe; comprising Betula, Alnus, Carpinus, Ostrya, and Corylus. 3. CUPULIFEE, or nut-bearing tribe, with cups; comprising Quercus, Fagus, and Castanea. 4. PLATANEE, or plane-tree tribe; comprising Platanus and Liquidambar. 5. MYRICEE, or candleberry-myrtle tribe; comprising Comptonia, Myrica, Casuarina, and Nageia.

This arrangement, which is very clearly made, is not, however, sufficiently simple for those who are only yet on the threshold of botany, and for whom some less learned classification is necessary. We shall therefore proceed to describe the different genera, with occasional illustrations of their characters, according to the Linnæan method, which proceeds not upon the natural affinities of plants, but upon the number of their stamens, and when that cannot be conveniently followed, as in the present case, upon their sexes.

in autumn of a great many useful fruits-the nut, | machick febrifuge. The fruit of many of the Amen acorn, and the like, which are so useful as the win-taceae contains a considerable proportion of fæcula, ter food of many animals. Our friends must there- which renders it fit for the food of man and other fore habituate themselves to look for the less showy animals, as the acorns of the oak, the mast of the female flowers; but in doing so, they will experi- birch, the nut of castanea and corylus, &c. ence many difficulties. Let us suppose that the This great natural assemblage of trees has been hazel is the subject of their investigation; they divided, for the convenience of study, and in accorwould have no trouble in pitching at once upon the dance with certain similarities in their floral struccatkins, or in separating and naming their compo-ture, into five sub-orders: 1. SALICEE, the Salix, or nent parts all this would be quite easy: but where are the female flowers ? Do any of the catkins bear them? They pull a hundred to pieces in vain, and are just on the point of giving up the pursuit, when a little scaly bud near the base of the catkins attracts their attention, from the circumstance of its being crowned with numerous short red threads, but in every other respect looking exactly like the leaf buds with which they had been confounded. These are the pistil-bearing flowers, and the red threads are the stigmas, which catch the pollon from the catkins. Thus far well; but our intelligent friends are not out of the wood yet. They would be justly proud of their discovery, and would certainly feel themselves to be fully competent to discover and investigate both the male and female flowers of all the catkin-bearing trees. We will suppose them, in this spirit, to attack a willow or a poplar; they gather catkin after catkin; but all those of the willow are males, and all from the poplar are females. This is an awful dilemma, and for the time utterly beyond their solution. The next day they search again, when, lo! the order of yesterday is reversed; the catkins of the willow from which they are now gathering are exclusively females, and of the poplar, males! Are they mistaken? They take the wisest, and if all history did not contradict the fact, one would suppose, the most immediate course. They go to the trees which they had examined yesterday, and find their first observations to be quite true. The simple truth then becomes manifest some trees bear male and female flowers, others only male flowers, and others again only females. This distribution of the sexes, is the character upon which Linnæus founded his twenty-first and twenty-second classes. The first, named Monæcia, from monos, one, and oikos, house ;-plants bearing stamens and pistils on the same plant; and the second, Dioccia, from dis, twice, and oikos, house ;-plants bearing stamens and pistils on different plants.

Nearly four hundred species of trees flower in catkins; and upon this coincidence in their mode of fructification, a natural family has been erected, called AMENTACEE, from the word amentum, which is the botanical term for a catkin. In this noble group, all the timber trees of Europe, and most of those of all cold countries, are stationed. Every genus consists of plants important to the wants of man. The alder, the birch, the willow, the poplar, the oak, the chestnut, the hornbeam, the plane, and perhaps the elm, are all collected together in this family. The bark of nearly all the species is furmished with an astringent principle, which has rendered them valuable either for staining black, as in the alder and the oak-gall; or for tanning, as in the oak; or as febrifuges, as the alder, the birch, the oak, most of the willows, and also the Populus trem

I.

II.

Amentaceous trees may be divided into-
Those which bear dioecious flowers, as willow,
poplar, candleberry, myrtle, and nageia.
Those which bear monacious flowers, as horn-
beam, birch, alder, chestnut, beech, oak, hazel,
plane, liquidambar, ostrya, comptonia, and caus-
arina.

To these may be added the elm, which is certainly a catkin bearer, although it differs in so many particulars from the Amentaceæ, as to have made it necessary, in a strictly scientifick work, to put it in a different situation. For our purpose, however, it very properly finds a place here

I. DIOECIA.

uloides, which is well known as a tonick and sto- floret, magnified. d Female, natural size. e The same, magnified.

over on the outside with sharp thorns, in the manner of a sea-egg (Echinus) which commonly ornaments our mantel-pieces. This prickly ball is called by botanists an involucrum, and from the circumstance of being covered with thorns, is said to be thickly muricated. It serves the purpose of a calyx, and encloses three florets. Each of these florets consists of a little urn-shaped cup, in the bottom of which is an ovary or germe of the future nuts, which bears on its summit six awl-shaped styles. One only of these germes reaches perfection. It is six celled, and contains the embryo of six nuts; but in the course of their growth four of them perish, and two only reach perfection. These are the chestnuts, which, when fully ripe, burst from their thorny enclosure, and fall to the ground.

7. Platanus, the Plane. This graceful tree bears but very small catkins, and owing to the height at which they grow, are rarely observed by the uninquiring. The clusters of the females, are, however, very large and conspicuous. In autumn a very beautiful mast is formed from them, which, after the fall of the leaves, hang like little balls all over the tree, and continue through the winter falling only when the ground is ready to receive them.

8. Corylus, the Hazel. The catkins are loose, but covered with perhaps one hundred and fifty scales, beneath each of which there are eight anthers. This enormous provision is necessary to insure the impregnation of the pistils, which usually standing above these, might otherwise have suffered from the want of pollen. But as it is, that fructify5. Fagus, the Beech. The catkins of the beeching powder is emitted in such quantities, that on a usually grow so much beyond reach, that they fine sunny day the whole air round the tree is loadshould be sought for on the ground after a high ed with its golden-coloured particles." wind. They differ from most of the preceding in being globular. The female should be studied through the whole of the summer season, and the gradual development of the fruit made the subject of particular observation.

9. Liquidambar.
10. Ostrya.

11. Comptonia.
12. Casuarina.

These our limits prevent us from describing sep6. Quercus, the Oak. The catkin is loose, long, arately. And we merely notice them that our reaand thread-shaped, and is seldom noticed, as it ap- ders may not forget to get the flowers for their expears after the leaves, which hide it from observa-amination. That of ostrya will perhaps please them tion. The "masquerade" of botany, as it has been called, is beautifully exhibited in the structure and growth of the female.

more than any we have enumerated, and is indeed a very extraordinary production. Liquidambar is so called from a balsam which is produced by the tree, and which is chewed by the Indians. Ostrya, from a Greek word signifying a scale, from the large scales of the catkins. Comptonia, after Henry Compton, Bishop of London, who first cultivated it in 1714 and Casuarina, from a supposed resemblance which its branches bear to the feathers of a cassowary.

We have only now to notice the Elm, (Ulmus,) which, as we have already hinted has by some been

Plane. Platanus occidenatlis. Twig, with the globular female separated from the Amentaceæ, and made the type

catkin a Male catkins. b Stamen.