We heard lately of a newspaper-establishment in Indiana, somewhat novel in character. A printer has provided himself with a supply of wooden types, and having set up the form of his paper, each of his subscribers furnishes him with a piece of linen or muslin of the proper size: whereupon the printer inks his types with swamp-mud, and takes the impression upon the cloth for each patron, who receives his paper on Saturday, and after reading it, has the cloth washed, and sent back in time for the next impression.

The conductor of a Mississippi journal apologizes for the number of typographical errors in his columns, by stating that

His types have bee.. so often used in notices of railroads and steam-boats, that they have the principle of locomotion so thoroughly infused into them, as to be continually jumping up and down, and not unfrequently alighting in places appointed for others.

Another dilemma is thus accounted for :

It will be noticed (says the apologist,) that our paper bears the date of Friday, and we verily intended to have published it on that day, but the arrival of the president knocked all our compositors into "pye," and we were not able all Thursday to get more than one of them together at a time.

This reminds us of a similar event which occurred a few years ago, in the West of Ireland, in which case the editor of the "broad sheet" was compelled to send it forth with two of the pages unprinted on; alleging, in excuse, that the festivities of the season (Christmas) had had so powerful an effect upon his workmen, as to incapacitate them for any other occupation than that of swallowing whisky!

The American editors have an ingenious way of dunning those subscribers who neglect to pay up their subscriptions. We subjoin a "Notice to Readers." Unwarrantable liberties are not unfrequently taken with the editors of newspapers, and liberties are sometimes taken of a different kind. We have received a letter through the post-office, from a gentleman for whom we entertain the highest respect, apologizing for taking the liberty of enclosing two dollars for our very interesting and useful paper. We not only from our hearts forgive the gentleman, but earnestly beg that some others of our numerous subscribers who are in arrears, would follow his example, and take liberties with us likewise.

Some of these extracts will, perhaps, appear to warrant a more favourable opinion of the American | press than we have previously expressed; and our readers may be inclined to consider M. de Tocqueville's censures as too harsh and sweeping. But the same tone of familiarity which gives rise to the quaint humour we have instanced, unfortunately permits vulgarity and slander to run riot whenever circumstances call them into action.

[To be continued.]

SUSPICION is not less an enemy to virtue than to happiness: he that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly be corrupt. It is too common for us to learn the frauds by which ourselves have suffered; men who are once persuaded that deceit will be employed against them, sometimes think the same arts justified by the necessity of defence. Even they whose virtue is too well established to give way to example, or be shaken by sophistry, must yet feel their love of mankind diminished with their esteem, and grow less zealous for the happiness of those by whom they imagine their own happiness endangered.-Rambler.

Of all literary exercitations, whether designed for the use or entertainment of the world, there are none of so much importance, or so immediately our concern, as those which let us into the knowledge of our own nature. Others may exercise the understanding or amuse the imagination; but these only can improve the heart and form the human mind to wisdom.-WARBURTON.

We insensibly imitate what we habitually admire.COLERIDGE.

PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA.-MARINE ANIMALS.

THE TUNICARIES.

THOUGH several of the animals belonging to this class are interesting on account of their singularity and beauty, I shall only select two, one from the aggregated, and one from those that are simple, for description. Who would think, asks Lamarck, that the Pyrosome was an assemblage of little aggregate animals; any one that looked at this animal, or at Savigny's figure of it, would mistake it for a simple polype*, with a number of leaf-like appendages growing from its skin: but a closer examination would give him a very different idea, and he would discover, with wonder, that it was a mass filled with animals, united by their base, exceeding the number of the above appendages. The common body that contains these creatures resembles a hollow cylinder closed at its upper extremity, and open at the lower; this body or mass is gelatinous and transparent, a number of tubercles of a firmer substance than the tube, but at the same time trausparent, polished, and shining, differing in size, cover the surface; some being very short, and others longer, and the longer ones terminated by a lance-shaped leaflet. At the summit of each tubercle is a circular aperture, without tentacles, opposite to which is another circular orifice which is toothed.

The Pyrosomes are the largest of the phosphoric animals, the Atlantic species being about five inches long, and the Mediterranean sometimes attaining to the length of fourteen. Their power of emitting light is so great, that in the night they cause the sea to appear on fire. Nothing can exceed the dazzling light and brilliant colours that these floating bodies exhibit colours varying in a way truly admirable, passing rapidly every instant, from a dazzling red, to saffron, to orange, to green, and azure, and thus reflecting every ray into which the prism divides the light, or which is exhibited by the heavenly bow. In the water their position is generally horizontal, and their locomotion very simple: they float, as they are carried by the waves or the currents: they can, however, contract and restore themselves individually, and have also a very slight general movement, which causes the water to enter their common cavity, visit their gills for respiration, and convey to them the substances which constitute their food. M. Le Sueur observed that when the central cavity of the common tube was filled with water, it was immediately spirted forth in little jets from all the extremities of the tubercles with which the surface was covered, from whence it appears that the external aperture of the individual animal is really the anal aperture, and the opposite or internal one the mouth, which thus received the water and the food it conveyed from the common tube, and rejected it by the orifice of the tubercles.

The internal organization of the little tenants of the common tube is given with considerable detail by Savigny: the general opening at the summit, or truncated end of the tube, has an annular diaphragm, from which it appears that they are arranged in circles round it, so that in this respect they form rays; in shape they somewhat resemble a Florenceflask, and have alternately a long and short neck. The cavity below the neck is filled by the gills and various intestines, which it would be difficult to describe intelligibly, in a popular manner.

No species of the genus appears to have been met with in our seas; we may therefore conjecture that a • See Saturday Magazine, Vol, IV., p. 84.

warmer climate is essential to them. Their general functions, beyond that of illuminating the great theatre in which their Creator has placed them, and probably affording food to some of the inhabitants of the seas in which they are found, have not yet been ascertained.

Some of the Tunicaries are stated to have recourse to a singular mode of defence. When seized by the hand, contracting themselves forcibly, they eject the water contained in their cavities, so as often suddenly to inundate the face of the fisherman, who, in the astonishment of the moment, suffers the animal to escape. If this be a correct statement, it proves that these animals are not altogether without some degree of intelligence; they know when they are assailed, and how to repel the assailant.

The animals are fixed to rocks, shells, and sometimes to sea-weeds. The Cynthia Momus is remarkable for its changes of colour, being sometimes white, sometimes orange, and sometimes of a flesh-colour. As all this tribe are fixed, their history furnishes no other interesting traits.

Nothing, however, is more striking than the infinitely diversified forms into which Creative Power has moulded these little frail animals that are destined to inhabit, and numbers of them to illuminate, the wide expanse of waters occupying so large a portion of the globe.

[Abridged from KIRBY's Bridgewater Treatise.]

THE standing objection to botany, has always been, that it is a pursuit that amuses the fancy and exercises the memory without improving the mind or advancing any real knowledge; and, where the science is carried no further than a mere systematic classification, the charge is but too true. But the botanist who is desirous of wiping off this aspersion, should be by no means content with a list of names; he should study plants philosophically, should investigate the laws of vegetation,-should examine the powers and virtues of efficacious herbs, should promote their cultivation, and graft the gardener, the planter, and the husbandman, on the phytologist: not that system is by any means to be thrown aside; without system the field of nature would be a pathless wilderness; but system should be subservient to, not the main object of our pursuit. -WHITE of Selborne.

SECURE as we may sometimes seem to ourselves, we are in reality never so safe as to have no need of a superintending Providence. Danger can never be at a distance from creatures who dwell in houses of clay.-COWPER.

KING WILLIAM THE THIRD remarked, that "where there is an unwillingness to do anything, reasons are easily found, to prove that impossible which is not so."

"My friends," said Oberlin*, on one occasion, wishing to give, if possible, some idea of eternity, "if a single grain of sand were brought into this room once every hundred years, many centuries must elapse before the floor could be covered. That moment would, however, arrive; but, even when it came, the spirits of the blest would be still in the enjoyment of heavenly happiness, for they are immortal ;and if a grain of sand were to be brought at the same stated interval for many thousands of centuries, until the room were entirely filled, those happy beings would still be immortal, and eternity would be as boundless as when the first grain was brought."-Memoirs of Oberlin.

*See Saturday Magazine, Vol. III., p. 246.

If we would live as we ought to do, we must so enjoy the present, that we may look upon the past with pleasure, and upon the future with hope. The more we can bring ourselves to consider the importance of the future, the more likely we are duly to regulate the present; and the happiness of this life mainly depends upon our reference to that in the life to come.-The Original.

ON THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY
AS A BRANCH OF EDUCATION.

IT has often been a matter of surprise, and regret, that the study of natural history, or of those physical objects which are perpetually before our eyes and daily strew our path, should not have taken deeper root, and even formed an elementary part of educa tion in the scholastic institutions of Great Britain. Considering the subject on the score of amusement merely, it is assuredly one of the most delightful occupations that can employ the attention of human beings.

But it has higher claims on our notice; it leads us, as Mr. Jesse justly observes, "to investigate and survey the workings and ways of Providence in this created world of wonders, filled with his never-absent power: it occupies and elevates the mind, is inexhaustible in supply, and, while it furnishes meditation for the closet of the studious, gives to the reflections of the moralizing rambler admiration and delight, and is an engaging companion, that will communicate an interest to every rural walk." In fact, every object in the creation may truly be said to be worthy of regard in the philosophy of nature. They are all the formation of Supreme Intelligence; they are all created for some definite purpose; and we shall find, on a minute examination into the mechanism and structure even of the meanest reptile that crawls, the most obvious and nice adaptation of the means to the end; thus furnishing to our narrow understandings some faint conception of the powers of Infinite Wisdom.

But should these higher considerations fail to give an interest to the innumerable and infinitely varied objects that fill the universe, it might be supposed that the exquisite beauty of some, the intrinsic value of others, and the indispensable utility of many, would be sufficient inducements to lead to the investigation of their properties, habits, and economy; and to make the study of natural history a subject of systematic education. In all these respects the labour of the student. The geologist, for instance, researches of each department will amply repay the finds his reward in the knowledge he obtains of the formation of the crust of the globe we inhabit, and which, thin as it is, compared with the whole mass, supplies the precious metals that constitute the representatives of our wealth; the diamonds, the emeralds, the rubies, and all the varieties of precious stones, which add brilliancy to beauty; the marbles, and granites, and porphyries, which contribute to the strength and splendour of our public buildings and private dwellings. The botanist takes a deep interest which we derive most of our comforts and our luxuries; in the contemplation of the vegetable world, from our food, our clothing, and our fuel; "wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make him a cheerful countenance." The zoologist is instructed to what species of the animal part of the creation we are most indebted for assistance and security-which of them, while living, aid us most in our enjoyments and necessities, and which, when dead, contribute their share to our food and raiment.

It is, however, to the vegetable part of the creation that the great masses of mankind, inhabiting the equinoctial and tropical regions, are principally indebted for their sustenance: in the temperate climates, where grasses abound, man mixes animal food with the produce of his agricultural labours; and the nearer he approaches the Arctic circle and the Polar regions, the more he has to depend on animal food; till, having arrived at the extremes of the habitable

world, he disputes the possession of seals and whales with the bears and foxes, gorging himself with their flesh, with the avidity of those beasts of prey that prowl about in these desolate and inhospitable regions. -Quarterly Review.

DUTIES OF THE PROPRIETORS OF LAND. IF we survey the various classes and conditions of society, we shall find few so honourable, so important, so fruitful in usefulness, as that of the proprietor of land. Other men must struggle with the world, before they raise themselves into distinction and influence; he, on the contrary, is born a ruler of the people; his opinions become in many ways the model of theirs, and his power can make itself felt within the walls of the poorest cottage, in diffusing sorrow or disseminating joy; he, indeed, has the power of realizing the beautiful description of the patriarch of ́ ́old; "I delivered the poor and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him."

How many are the opportunities which such a situation affords to a noble mind for the exercise of active virtue ! How many are the blessings which even common kindness may diffuse ! How well, too, is this situation suited to the exercise of female humanity, and, in the scenes far from the turbulent pleasures of fashionable life, how well may female virtue exert its noblest powers. To be the patterns and protectors of their sex, to cherish the purity of domestic virtue, to guide the mother's hand in the rearing of her children, and teach them the important lessons of religious education and domestic economy; -to awaken by kind praise the ambition of the young, and to soothe with lenient hand the sorrows of the old. These are the occupations which such situations afford to female benevolence, the means by which they may exalt the character and extend the virtues of their sex, and shed upon the lowly cottage of the peasant blessings which may mitigate its wants and its poverty.

Life, with all its riches and all its power, must soon have an end, and there is an hour coming when all will be forgotten but the use which has been made of them. It is a character of our religion not less distinguished than that of its being accompanied by miraculous assistance, that the Gospel was "preached to the poor." In this mighty design of Providence you are at present the agents; I am speaking to Christians, to those who know the value of religion, and have felt how little every other possession is able to give peace to the heart of man. How necessary is it to the humbler classes of society, to be taught that in religion alone can they truly find the compensation of all their difficulties! On the use that is made of this master-spring of human happiness, must depend whether we are to be an abandoned or a pious people. Let all those, then, who return from the fatigues of business and the tumult of unreal pleasures to the calm joys and dignified occupations of rural life, return like the Summer's sun when he goeth forth in his might, to give beauty to the scenes of nature, and happiness to the dwellings of man. Let them be the fathers of the people, exerting that exalted charity which is not satisfied with relieving poverty, but prevents it; which imparts to the young the means of instruction, and awakens in manhood the spirit of industry. Let them be also the leaders of the people in righteousness, and while employing the benevolence of men in guiding them in peace through things temporal, employ the still higher benevolence of Christians in guiding them in hope to things eternal.—ALISON.

SONG OF THE STARS.

WHEN the radiant morn of creation broke,
And the world in the smile of God awoke,
And the empty realms of darkness and death
Were moved through their depths by his mighty breath
And orbs of beauty, and spheres of flame
From the void abyss, by myriads came,

In the joy of youth, as they darted away,
Through the widening wastes of space to play,
Their silver voices in chorus rung;

And this was the song the bright ones sung:

"Away, away! through the wide, wide sky,-
The fair blue fields that before us lie,-
Each sun, with the worlds that round us roll,
Each planet, poised on her turning pole,
With her isles of green, and her clouds of white,
And her waters that lie like fluid light.

"For the Source of glory uncovers his face,
And the brightness o'erflows unbounded space;
And we drink, as we go, the luminous tides
In our ruddy air and our blooming sides.
Lo, yonder the living splendours play :
Away, on our joyous path away!

"Look, look, through our glittering ranks afar, In the infinite azure, star after star,

How they brighten and bloom as they swiftly pass!
How the verdure runs o'er each rolling mass!
And the path of the gentle winds is seen,

Where the small waves dance, and the young woods lean.

"And see, where the brighter day-beams pour,
How the rainbows hang in the sunny shower;
And the morn and the eve, with their pomp of hues,
Shift o'er the bright planets, and shed their dews;
And, 'twixt them both, o'er the teeming ground,
With her shadowy cone, the night goes round!

Away, away!-in our blossoming bowers,
In the soft air, wrapping these spheres of ours,
In the seas and fountains that shine with morn,
See, love is brooding, and life is born,
And breathing myriads are breaking from night,
To rejoice, like us, in motion and light.

"Glide on in your beauty, ye youthful spheres,
To weave the dance that measures the years.
Glide on, in the glory and gladness sent
To the furthest wall of the firmament,-
The boundless visible smile of Him,

To the veil of whose brow our lamps are dim."-BRYANT,

I ENVY no quality of the mind or intellect in others; not genius, power, wit, or fancy: but if I could choose what would be most delightful, and I believe most useful to me, I should prefer a firm religious belief to every other blessing; for it makes life a discipline of goodness,-creates new hopes, when all earthly hopes vanish; and throws over the decay, the destruction of existence, the most gorgeous of all lights; awakens life even in death, and from corruption and decay calls up beauty and divinity: makes an instrument of torture and of shame the ladder of ascent to paradise; and far above all combinations of earthly hopes, calls up the most delightful visions of plains and amaranths, the gardens of the blest, the security of everlasting joys, where the sensualist and the sceptic view only gloom, decay, annihilation, and despair.- -Sir HUMPHRY DAVY.

ASSAFOETIDA, GIGANTIC FENNEL,
(Ferula assafætida.)

THIS plant, which is a native of Persia, is famous for its useful properties in many diseases, and also for its powerful and unpleasant taste and smell; in spite of this, however, it was in former times used not only as a medicine, but also as a seasoning to food.

The root from which the Assafoetida of commeree is prepared is perennial, very solid and heavy, and increases to the size of a man's arm or leg; it is covered with a blackish-coloured bark, and the internal substance is white and fleshy, and abounds with a thick milky juice, of an exceedingly strong and fetid smell. The stem which is round and

The plant is said to vary much, according to the soil in which it grows, not only in the shape of the leaves, but in the peculiar nauseous quality of the juice which impregnates them; this becomes so far altered that the roots are sometimes eaten by the goats.

The following is the method employed in collecting the gum assafoetida in some parts of Persia. At the season of the year when the leaves begin to decay, the oldest plants are selected, the earth which encompasses the root is partially removed, so as to leave its upper portion exposed; the leaves and stalk are then twisted off, and used with other vegetables as a covering to screen it from the sun, and upon this covering a stone is placed to prevent the wind from blowing it away. In this state the root is left for forty days, after which the covering is removed, and the top of the root cut off transversely; it is then screened again from the sun for forty-eight hours, which is thought a sufficient time for the juice to exude from the wounded surface of the root; it is then scraped off with a proper instrument, and exposed to the sun to harden. This being done, a second transverse section is made, but no thicker than is necessary to remove the remainder of the hardened juice and open the pores afresh; it is then again screened for forty-eight hours, and the juice obtained a second time by the same method; and this operation is sometimes performed as many as eight times upon one root, observing, however, that after every third section, it is suffered to remain untouched for eight or ten days, in order that it may recover a sufficient stock of juice. Thus, to exhaust

The whole of this business is conducted by the peasants, who live in the neighbourhood of the mountains where the drug is procured; and as they collect the juice from a number of roots at the same time, and expose it in one common place to harden, the sun soon gives it that consistence and appearance in which it is imported into Europe.

The intensity of the smell of this gum is a proof of its goodness, and the odour of the recent gum is, beyond all comparison, more foetid than that of the In the Assafoetida as it is met with in commerce. gathering-season, the whole district in which it is found smells of it. A single ship is exclusively devoted to transporting the bulk of the crop t the ports in the Persian gulf, and if small parcels are brought by other vessels, they are tied to the masthead.

Assafoetida is employed in Europe in many disorders, and although its smell and taste are extremely offensive, it is said never to produce sickness, and the disgust at first entertained at taking it soon wears off. It is employed in cases of spasms, lowness of spirits, in some stages of the hooping-cough, and as a worm-medicine for children. One great advantage of this medicine is, that it can be administered with great safety.

To show the extent to which habit will reconcile the taste to the most nauseous dose, we may observe that a certain caste of Hindoos, who partake of no animal food, not only use Assafoetida to a great extent in their cookery, but rub the mouth with it before meals, in order to produce an appetite.