leaves, are to be seen finer veins running in this case the leaves are said to be alternate. Ex.: | base to the apex of the leaf; between these, in large When, instead of only two opposite leaves, three or more are produced from points forming a ring on the stem, they form a whorl or verticil; such plants as have their leaves with this arrangement, are said to have verticillate leaves. Ex.: sweet-woodruff, goosegrass, mare's tail, &c. Verticillate leaves are consid ered as being produced by the non-development of several adjacent internodia. One among many proofs, that this is the real origin of these different arrangements of leaves, is afforded by the Rhododendron ponticum, on the branches of which may often be remarked leaves both alternate and opposite. These distinctions of the mode of growth of leaves must be particularly remarked and understood; being of great importance to the true knowledge of the structure of plants,and of their correct classification. There are two sets of veins in leaves, the one lying immediately over the other; these are not commonly distinguishable from each other, but if the leaves of many plants be steeped in water till the part which fills up the veins be dissolved, the skeleton of the leaf may be separated, and in some, as the sea-holly, the two sets of veins can be seen. The different forms and characters of leaves are distinguished by terms, with the principal of which, it is necessary to be acquainted, because the various species of plants are often characterized by the figure of their leaves. When the stalk bears only one lamina, the leaf is said to be simple;-Ex.: the oak, lilack, cabbage, geranium, and most plants, have simple leaves. When the stalk bears more than one lamina, and these are jointed to it, so that they can be separated without tearing, the leaf is said to be compound; each lamina, whether it have a stalk to it or not, is called a leaflet, and the joint is called an articulation. The horsechestnut, rose-tree, ash, sweet and common pea, laburuum, clover, and a multitude of plants, have compound leaves. Compound leaves are of different kinds. 1. Simple-compound: when the leaf-stalk is not divided or branched, and bears several leaflets. Digitate: when all the leaflets are articulated at the end of the stalk ;-Ex.: wood-sorrel has three leaflets, or its leaves are ternate; horsechestnut has It is known that most parts of plants, which are not either root or stem, are leaves changed in form, texture, and colour, or modified; thus flowers, fruit, &c., are modified leaves. This will be further ex-seven; lupin has several. plained. The arrangement of the veins of leaves must be noticed, as the figure and general appearance of the foliage depend on it; it is of two principal kinds,| each of which characterizes one great class of plants. 1. A principal vein, called the midrib, runs through the middle of the leaf, generally dividing it into two equal parts. From the sides or base of this, smaller veins branch out which tend towards the edge; from these spring still finer, and so on, till the whole is divided, as it were, into a network; the meshes being filled up with a green substance. The leaves of the elm, lime, and other timbertrees, and of most shrubs and herbs, have this arrangement of veins. The place of the midrib is sometimes supplied by several equal veins arising from the base of the leaf. Ex.: the vine, currant, geranium, sycamore, endive, &c. In most leaves, the veins are not straight, but change their direction every time they branch out into others. In the oak tribe, this is not the case; the veins proceed in nearly straight lines from the midrib to the margin. This is readily observed in the common chestnut-tree. 2. In the other mode of arrangement, the veins, instead of branching out and interlacing, as just described, run side by side, without touching, from the Pinnate; when the leaflets spring from the stalk, in pairs opposite each other, with, in some cases, an old leaflet at the end, as the rose; or with a tendril, as in most vetches. are In the leaves of the agrimony, meadowsweet &c., the leaflets unequal in size, and in some vetches, &c., instead of being opposite on the stalk, they are alternate on each side of it. 2. Double-compound: when the principal stalk of the leaf has two or more secondary stalks branching from it, which bear the leaflets. If these stalks are all at the end of the principal one, as in the sensitive plant, &c., the leaf is termed digitate-pinnate; and if they arise from the side of the principal stalk, it is termed bi-pinnate, as in the caraway, angelica, &c. pound leaf. 3. Triple-compound, when the principal stalk has secthese ondary stalks, and again have others articulated with them, as in the carrot, samphire, &c. It is the articulation of the laminæ with the stalk that essentially constitutes a comThe orange tribe have compound leaves, yet the orange-tree has leaves with only a single lamina; but this is found to be articulated with the stalk, and therefore is conformable to the character of the tribe. Simple leaves and the leaflets of compound leaves | is said to be mucronate: when the lamina spreads are said to be : Entire, when the margin, or edge, is neither notched nor cut, but in one continued smooth line; whatever the general shape of the leaf may be. Ex.: lilack, laurel, periwinkle, oleander. Serrated, when the edge is cut or notched like the teeth of a saw. Ex.: the nettle, elm, and the leaflets of the rose, and a multitude of others. If the teeth are rounded instead of sharp, the leaf is ealled crenate, as in groundivy, hoarhound, woodbetony, &c. Sinuated, when the edge appears as if cut into roundish forms, in and out alternately, like the oakleaf and others. Cut, when the edge, instead of being in rounded. segments, is in sharp angular forms. Runcinate, when the segments. of a cut leaf are pointed, irregularly curved, and turned back towards the base of the leaf. Ex.: Leontodon, London-rocket, &c. Pinnatifid, when the margin appears as if cut very deeply, nearly or quite to the midrib, into irregular forms called lobes, which project out at right angles or nearly. Ex.: common groundsel. When the lobes are again cut into smaller, the leaf is called bi-pinnatifid. Palmate, when the general form of the leaf is roundish, but it is deeply cut. Ex.: several kinds of geraniums, serrated passion-flower, &c, The two last are analogous in simple leaves to pinnate and digi tate compound ones. With regard to their general form, leaves and leaf lets are said to be: Round, as those of the common sheeprot. Obovate, oblong or ovate, but having one end larger than the other, as in the brookweed, primrose, &c. Lanceolate, when the leaf is pointed and equal at each end, but much longer than it is wide; as in the wallflower, willows, oleander, &c. Ovate-lanceolate, when the ends of the leaf are rounded instead of pointed. Linear, when the leaves are very long, and so narrow as to look like a line, as those of many grasses, toadrush, &c. Triangular, as those of the common orach; quadrangular, as those of the black poplar, and so on. Cordate, or Heart-shaped, as in the lilack, lime, white waterlily. In the woodsorrel and clover, the leaflets are inversely heart-shaped, Lyrate, when the terminal lobe is larger than the side-lobes which are opposite to each other, Ex.: charlock, Belleisle cress, wild-turnip, &c. In the Sagittaria, buckwheat, sorrel, and spotted arum, the leaves are hastate. When there is a small point at the end of an entire leaflet, as in the vetches, the houseleek, &c., it out at the end of the stalk, like a flat umbrella, the leaf is said to be peltate. Ex.: Indian cress. When opposite leaves are sessile, their bases often grow together, and look like one leaf, with the stem of the plant running through it; in such cases the leaves are said to be connate; Ex.: the wildteazle, soapwort, perfoliate honey-suckle, Chlora perfoliata, &c. Sometimes the bases of sessile single leaves are so decidedly united, that the stem appears to pass through their substance, as in the common hare's-car, &c.; these leaves are said to be perfoliate. In some plants the margins of sessile leaves run down on each side of the stem, so as to seem to be of one piece with it; Ex.: many thistles, the mullein, &c.; these leaves are said to be decurrent. In the grasses, sedges, &c., the bottom of the leaf is wrapped round the stem for some distance; these and similar leaves are said to be sheathing. The leaves of plants have not in all cases flat and thin lamina; they are in sev eral instances thick or fleshy; and are called cylindrical, semi-cylindrical, trilateral, &c., according to the figure which, when sliced across, they present. A fleshy leaf, which is thickest in the middle, and sharp at the two edges, and pointed at the end, is said to be sword-shaped, or ensiform; Ex.: Iris, aloe, &c. (To be continued.) POETRY. MY COUNTRY.-J. K. PAULDING. 1. Again Peace showered her blessings o'er the land, 2. And oh! be such thy ever-during fate, 3. Yes! lone and spotless virgin of the west, THE FAMILY MAGAZINE. EIDER DUCKS-MALE AND FEMALE eye. This instinctive property is neselect by the cessary, as they feel out their food, while their eyes are prevented from surveying it, among heaps of mud, &c. There are many kinds of ducks; the principal are, the bimaculated duck, the black duck, the common wild duck, the duck ferruginous, the harlequin duck, the domesticated hock-billed duck, the pintailed duck, the tufted duck, and the cider duck; cum multis aliis, with which at present we have nothing to do, all the other varieties being foreign to our purpose in describing the eider duck only. This aquatick fow is not a distinct species, but only a variety of the same kind of feathered animals, among which there are many sorts, differing in colour, size, plumage, and, in some instances, in a few peculiar habits. But the genus of the duck is the same with all of them. Their general characteristick is, a broad bill, depressed below the top of the head, the end furnished with a horny substance, termed a nail; the edges of the mandibles, that is to say, the upper and under parts of the bill, pectinated, having little divisions, like the teeth of a comb; The eider duck is an inhabitant of the northern a small oval nostril approaching the eye on each side of the upper mandible; the tongue broad, and fringed near the base. They have three toes before, connected regions, seldom seen in low latitudes; it breeds in by a membrane called a web, and they have one toe, the north of Scotland, and is common on the Westor talon, behind the foot. In these particulars the ern Isles, and also on the Farn Islands, on the several species resemble each other, with some slight coast of Northumberland. It makes its appearance variations, and are principally distinguished by their mostly in the months of June and July, those being Of the latter, namely their probably the months of incubation, or hatching its size, colour, and habits. habits, it is not unreasonable to suppose that those young. It seldom lays more than five or six eggs, habits are the result of circumstances, and not more of a pale greenish olive colour. The nest is on the natural to one species than to another: for whatever ground, composed of plants from the seaside, and ornithologists may say to the contrary, probably the lined with down, most of which is plucked by the wildest of the species might in time be tamed; and, female from her own body; and so fine and light is on the contrary, the tame ones would grow wild, this down, that a moderate hat-full, not pressed close, were they banished from the farmyard to the marshes will not weigh more than three quarters of an ounce. of wilds and deserts. They all get their food after This down forms a considerable article of merchanthe same manner, in the choice of which they are dise, from the northern parts, where flocks of the not remarkably delicate, and they have all the like eider duck frequent, to the southern countries, where faculty of separating that which they wish to swallow it is used for pillows, stuffing of quilts, and such from that which they wish to eject, after it is in their purposes as render both ease and elegance to the mouths, without disbouching the whole in order to qualities of conveniences for repose and indulgence Perhaps we are not acquainted with all its uses, and but if the impregnated eggs were placed under a consequently do not fully understand its value; the common tame duck, and the ducklings, when hatchuses, however, that we do know to which it is ap-ed, fed with such aliment as the eider ducks mostly plied, remind us of a bountiful Providence, that gives seek, till they partook of other food, it is not unlikely us the command of all that fly in the air, glide in the the next breed of those ducks, so treated, would be waters, or float on its surface, and of all that tread the tame, like those that swim in our ponds; but then earth, whose fleeces adorn and comfort us, whose they would lose their other properties, and cease to exuberances fall to our share, whose plumage affords be eider ducks. us the soft cure of fatigue, the gentle solace of rest; and whose very bodies resuscitate and renew our strength. The young taken from the nest of the eider duck have never, we believe, been domesticated; Dr. Latham remarks, that this duck is found in the highest latitudes yet visited, even in the polar regions; and he thinks it feeds principally on shellfish. These are the chief particulars of the eider duck. This animal is one of the many species of the antelope; it inhabits the southern regions of Africa, among the most inaccessible and barren mountains of the Cape; the native Hottentots call this animal the Kainsi. Its length, from the tip of the muzzle to the end of the tail, is three feet two inches; its height at the shoulders is twenty-one inches, but at the croup, about twenty-two; the horns of this animal are three inches and a half long; the ears four and a quarter, and the tail three. The head of the klipspringer is small and short, terminating in a small round black muzzle, void of hair; the sides of the head are somewhat compressed, and contracted rather suddenly in front of the orbits; the cars are large, open, and at the points a little rounded; and the eyes are particularly dark, and rather large. The horns of the male are quite straight, and have three or four small annuli, or rings, round their roots; elsewhere they are perfectly smooth. The knees are, in appearance, a hard patch, which is caused by their frequent rubbing against the rocks; while the tail is but a short brush of hair. The colour of the animal is generally of a mixture of yellow and green, but the under parts of the body are a light sandy red, tinged with yellow; and the inside of the ears is clothed with long white hair, surrounded at the edges with a narrow black border. In this species of antelope, the legs are much stronger than in most others, and the hoofs much rounder, not pointed and flat, as in many others; and the tips of them are worn much more than any other part, from the auimal treading on them alone; which, together with the straightness of the pastern joint, in a great measure accounts for the astonishing agility with which the klipspringer bounds from the high and dangerous rocks and precipices which abound in that country. From the great value set upon its hair for stuffing mattresses, saddles, &c., and for its flesh, which is excellent venison, immense numbers fall a prey to the avarice of the natives, and in addition to these, a great many of the young ones are destroyed by eagles, and other birds of prey inhabiting that climate; so that the animal is become less common than formerly, and grows every day much scarcer "Harry, I cannot think," says Dick, THE FAMILY MAGAZINE. CONDENSED HISTORY OF OHIO. Ohio was organized as a state, in the spring of 1802, and the present constitution was adopted by a convention, which met at Chillicothe, in November of the same year. The first settlement was commenced at Marietta in 1788, by a company of emigrants from New England. Gen. Putnam, and forty-six other hardy, enterprising individuals from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, led the way into the western wilderness, and were the first adventurers who commenced a permanent settlement northwest of the Ohio. aging. Our schools and colleges are in a flourish- The principal towns of the state are, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Sandusky (incorporated cities) Chillicothe, Cleaveland, Zanesville, Dayton, Steubenville, Marietta, Portsmouth, Painesville, Lancaster, Springfield, Lebanon, St. Clairsville, Canton, Wooster, The river Ohio, gave name to the state; and some Massillon, Newark, Xenia, Hamilton, Warren, Cirhistorians have indulged in considerable speculation cleville, Mount Vernon, New Lisbon, Norwalk, Wilas to the true origin of the word. Its proper deriva-mington, Piqua, Urbanna, Delaware, Marion, Costion is not yet settled, nor is it material whether in bocton, Huron and Ashtabula. There are many fact it mean, agreeably to the early French explor- other towns of nearly equal size and importance "Beautiful river," or with some of the above, which are rapidly increasers of the Mississippi valley, takes its origin from the term "Bloody river," as ing in wealth and business. The city of Cincinnati from its position on the Ohio, its favourable situation designated by the Indians. and great local advantages, mnst continue to flourish as it has done, for a long succession of years. must remain, and perhaps forever, the great emporium and chief commercial city of the west, to which the other towns of Ohio are tributary. Whatever may have originated the term Ohio, it must certainly be admitted that it is now the name of one of the most flourishing states of the union. Ohio is bounded north by Michigan and the Lake, east and south by Pennsylvania and the Ohio river, The state is and west by the state of Indiana. nearly 222 miles in extent from north to south, and from east to west; containing an area of about 200 miles square, independent of the waters of Lake Erie. The climate is warm and salubrious; and the character and manners of the people partake, in no inconsiderable degree, of those of the respective states and countries from which they emigrated. Brought rapidly together from all parts of the world, it cannot be supposed that they will immediately assimilate in social habit; and that time and opportunity are alone required to produce that uniformity of opinion and feeling, so essential to all well-regulated communities. It The internal improvements of the state, by means of canals, important publick roads, and objects of local enterprise, have been rapidly advancing, under the guidance of an enlightened publick policy, within the few past years; and should the spirit of improvement and industry that has hitherto marked the conduct of the citizens of this state, continue to animate them in the successful prosecution of the great works now in progress, Ohio will soon exhibit to the world a glowing picture of her great internal resources, and furnish an example fit for the imitation of all her surrounding sisters. This splendid improvement is truly an ornament to the state, and reflects the highest credit on its early projectors, and upon the gentlemen commissioners, through whose great skill and industry, faithfulness and perseverance, it has been carried successfully through the final completion. At the inceptive stages of this great work, many opposing obstacles presented themselves-obstacles that nothing but great foresight, and unshaken firmness and resolution could have surmounted. Ohio should not be easy to forget the services and exertions of those on whom the responsibility of this work was made to rest. The Ohio canal, 308 miles in length commencing at the flourishing town of Cleaveland, on lake Erie, The population of the state has been rapid, almost and terminating at Portsmouth, on the Ohio, is one beyond example. By the census of 1830, as return-of the greatest works of the age, and second only, ed from the several counties, it will be seen that in point of importance, to the Grand canal in New Ohio contained 937,679 inhabitants, which number York. has no doubt been since increased to something more than 1,200,000. The number of legal voters, as taken by the authority of the state, in the year 1823, was 124,624. By the enumeration of 1827, the number was 147,745; and by a subsequent enumeration, (1831,) the number was swelled to 182,820. The returns of votes polled for electors of president and vice-president in 1832, was 158,This increase of population and publick suffrage, must be considered as unparalleled in the history and settlement of this country. In 1800, the territory northwest of the Ohio contained only 45,000 souls! Of free blacks, under the census of 1830, there were, 9,580; slavery being unknown to the constitution of the state, all colours and all complexions of people breathe the free air of Ohio. This fact, forms no doubt, a prominent argument why the settlement of this state has been so much more rapid than the states south of the Ohio river. It held forth inducements to early emigration, and was one of the great leading causes of the rapid strides of Ohio in the march of wealth and improve 294. ment. The Miami canal, is another important link in the chain of western enterprise. This canal is 66 miles in extent, commencing at Dayton, now among the most popular and flourishing of the inland towns of the state, and terminating at Cincinnati. This, also, is a work of magnitude, and of grea: publick utility. It extends through the heart of one of the finest countries in the world. The Miami and Sciota valleys, are supplied with a large body of the richest bottom land in America, and abound with the most fertile soil of any portion of the union, The present state of literature in Ohio, is encour-of equal extent. |