out-work of an earth-worm's hole, we have repeatedly seen it reconstructed. The worm, in such cases, perceiving from the free entrance of air and light, that the barricade is gone, advances (not without manifesting some fears of danger) to the threshold, and soon sets about repairing the damage. For this purpose it sucks a few grains of earth into its mouth, moistens it as the swallow does its mortar, with saliva, and using its broad tongue for a trowel, plasters it round the mouth of the hole, smoothing it very neatly on the inside, but leaving it rough without like the swallow's nest. When it has built this clay vestibule to its mind, it next searches about at greater distance for a leaf or a stone, and, if it do not find one, it is forced to complete the closure with clay. In the same way we have observed, that a marine species (Lumbricus marinus, LINN.), which lives in the sands within the tide-mark, being no less afraid of drought than the earth-worm is of rain, (both dislike light), constructs a similar out-work of agglutinated sand over its hole every time the tide ebbs*.

THE IRISH SHAMROCK AND THE SCOTCH THISTLE.-When I was in Ireland some years ago I was shown, by an amateur, a plant of the spotted trefoil (Medicago maculata), which had been brought from a great distance, and kept in a garden-pot with as much care, as the genuine Irish shamrock, in the same way as I have frequently seen the cotton-thistle (Onopordum Acanthium), cultivated in gardens in Scotland as the genuine Scotch thistle. A Scotch nursery-man, in the vicinity of London, had a very different plant

* Architecture of Birds, p. 103.

from the latter given to him as the national flower of his country, and from being less acquainted with indigenous than exotic botany, he did not recognize it as the milk thistle (Silybum marianum, GŒRTNER), a very common weed around the metropolis, but gave strict orders to his foreman to have it carefully attended to. It appears to us, however, that it is no less vain to hunt after the actual botanical representatives of these national floral emblems than after the griffins, dragons, and blue lions of heraldry. Yet, if readers are not satisfied with this, I think that some very common species ought to be fixed upon rather than one which is rare, and on this principle the spear-thistle (Cnicus lanceolatus), seems the best entitled of any to be the emblem of Scotland: the cotton-thistle I never met with wild in the country, except near gardens where it is commonly reared as the real Scottish thistle, though it may perhaps be found in some localities; and the milk-thistle I only saw once below the rocks of Dumbarton castle-said by tradition to have been brought thither by Mary Queen of Scots, -while the spear-thistle abounds by every road side. The usual heraldric figure, however, I confess, is more like the musk-thistle (Carduus nutans), which is not indeed rare, but is not generally diffused. If we take the practice of the Irish, in selecting a sprig of shamrock to decorate the hats on the 17th of this month for our guidance, as to the species, I should be more inclined to say the white-clover (Trifolium repens), is the genuine shamrock, than a plant of such confined locality as the one alluded to above. The Irish themselves, indeed, seem not to make any discrimination between the various species of trefoil;-and if we go to

the traditional origin of the emblem-St. Patrick's selecting the leaf to indicate the holy Trinity-we may well conclude that he picked up the first trefoilated leaf which came to hand. From these considerations, I am not inclined to agree with Mr. Bicheno, that woodsorrel (Gxalis acetosella), is the true Irish shamrock. The flower, for one thing, has nothing to do with the emblem; and, even if it had, it would be as hard to find a wood-sorrel as a white-clover in flower so soon as St. Patrick's day, since it does not blow before April. Besides the oxalis is not a very common Irish plant; for though I have seen it in Derry and in Antrim, and in the woods about Blarney, near Cork, there are extensive districts where it does not occur at all.

It may be well, however, to give some of Mr. Bicheno's reasoning in his own words. "The term shamrock" he says, "seems a general appellation for the trefoils, or three-leaved plants. Gerard says, the meadow-trefoils are called in Ireland shamrocks; and I find the name so applied in other authors. The Irish names for trifolium repens are seamar-oge, shamrog, and shamrock. In Gaelic, the name Seamrag is applied by Lightfoot to the Trifolium repens; while in the Gaelic Dictionary, published by the Gaelic Society, under the word Seamray many plants are mentioned to which this word is prefixed as a generic term, as Seamrag chapuill, purple clover; Seamrag chré, male speedwell; Seamrag m'huire, pimpernell. I conclude from this, that shamrock is a generic word common to the Gaelic and Irish languages, and, consequently, not limited to the Trifolium repens.”

He infers from the following notice in Fynnes Mor

4

rison, so late as 1598, that the shamrock was a spring plant,-"Yea, the wilde Irish in time of greatest peace impute covetousness and base birth to him, that hath any corn after Christmas, as if it were a point of nobility to consume all within those festival dayes. They willingly eat the hearbe shamrocke, being of a sharp taste, which, as they run, and are chased to and fro, they snatch like beastes out of the ditches."

66

This, however, would rather seem to mean water cresses than wood sorrel, which certainly does not grow in ditches. Again he says, nor is it difficult to account for the substitution of the one plant for the other. Cultivation, which brought in the trefoil, drove out the woodsorrel. The latter, though now not common, was, doubtless, an abundant plant as long as the woods remained; but these being cut down, partly by the natives to supply their wants, and partly, also, by the government to prevent their enemies from taking refuge in them in the wars, the commonest plant became the scarcest, and it was more easy to obtain that which was cultivated. Upon the whole view of the case, I apprehend it can hardly be doubted, that the oxalis acetosella is the original shamrock of Ireland.”*

For the reasons above given, I certainly do doubt Mr. Bicheno's conclusion.

SEED TIME-The copious rains of February, with which the soil has in most seasons been drenched, though well adapted for making the roots of perennial plants send forth shoots, would be unfavourable if continued, for the germination of seeds, which require to be moist,

* Journal of the Royal Institution, May 1831.

but not soaked, in order to spring well. It is this which renders dry weather at this season so valuable, and which gave rise to the proverb, that "a bushel of March dust is worth a King's ransom." When wet weather con· tinues during this month, seeds are apt to fail by becoming mouldy or by rotting; whereas when they are got in dry, they are more certain to germinate vigorously. Self-sown seeds, for the same reason, seldom produce such fine plants as those reared from seeds which have been carefully dried, and kept out of the ground during winter-a fact with which florists are well acquainted, as self-sown flowers soon lose all the beauties acquired by cultivation, and return to the character originally belonging to them in the wild state.

SOLITARY BEES.-Those who are desirious of witnessing the disclosure of some of the early solitary bees, should repair during a sunny morning to some warm sand bank with a southern exposure, where they are almost certain of being gratified with seeing some of these (Anthophora retusa, &c.) breaking through the clay walls with which the mother bee had the preceding season so carefully enclosed them. I have seen them at Charlton in Kent, as early as the first week in this month, playing about their native holes as briskly as if it had been the middle of May. The main brood, however, were not yet disclosed, but awaited the more genial weather of advancing spring. In the locality just alluded to, many of the cells of these bees were infested with the grubs of a parasite beetle, whose habits I have not seen recorded. It would appear, that the eggs of these beetles are deposited after those of the mother bee, and when hatched, that they feed upon her