laurel (daphne laureola) found in woods, are now in bloom. The common whitlow grass (draba verna) on old walls; the yellow Alpine whitlow grass (draba aizoides) on maritime rocks; and the mountain pepper-wort (lepidum petræum) among limestone rocks, flower in this month. The sweet violet (viola odorata) sheds its delicious perfumes in this month. The forward violet thus did I chide : Sweet thief! whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smelis, In my love's veins thou hast too grossly dyed. To a TUFT of early VIOLETS. SHAKSPEARE'. Sweet flow'rs! that from your humble beds Stern Winter's reign is not yet past Lo! while your buds prepare to blow, And nips your root, and lays you low. Come then-ere yet the morning ray Has drunk the dew that gems your crest, The soft, the sympathising heart. The gannets, or Soland geese (pelicanus bassanus), resort in March to the Hebrides, and other rocky isles of North Britain, to make their nests, and lay their eggs. In the months of May and June their nests are described as so closely placed together, that it is difficult to walk, without treading upon some of them; and it is said that the swarms of the old birds are so prodigious, that, when they rise into the air, they stun the ear with their noise, and overshadow the ground like the clouds. Much amusement may be derived in this month, as well as in the last, from watching the progress of worms, insects, &c., from torpidity to life, particularly on the edges or banks of ponds. Myriads of worms may be seen unwinding their coiled forms, and tossing their sportive tails about in wantonness and revelry: whole series of creatures, whose torpid state before rendered them undistinguishable from the mud they lay among, begin to expand their little limbs, and creep or swim, or emerge above the surface. See an elegant paper on this subject by Sir John Hill, in the Gleaner, vol. ii, p. 28. Towards the close of the month, bees (apis mel Come then-ere yet the morning ray Has drunk the dew that gems your crest, By one short hour of transport there. Mix with the dust from whence I came, W. GIFFORD. lifica) venture out of their hives.-See T. T. for 1814, p. 72, and T. T. for 1815, pp. 111-115. In the latter end of March, chickens run about; a brimstone-coloured butterfly (papilio rhamni) appears; sea-kale begins to sprout; black beetles fly about in the evening; and bats issue from their places of concealment. Roach and dace float near the surface of the water, and sport about in pursuit of insects. Daffodils are in flower; peas appear above ground, and the male blossoms of the yew-tree expand and discharge their farina. Sparrows are busily employed in forming their nests. Young lambs are yeaned this month. We shall conclude our Diary for this month with a poetical Calendar of Nature for March,' by the Rev. R. Polwhele, which appeared in the eighth volume of the Poetical Register for 1810-1811. This representation of the season will not, universally, apply to the midland or northern counties of England, but is, we believe, tolerably accurate, if taken as descriptive of the appearances of nature in the S.W. districts, particularly in mild and forward springs. March! how mild thy genial hours, And the lent-lily's paler yellow, Where flower the asp and water-willow; And the polyanthus, fair' Its hues, as bathed in summer-air; Currant-buds that freshly breathe The first Spring scent, light gooseberry leaves Its verdure dark (this day, though late, The cherry too, that purpling glows, Yet, ere, in recent brightness born, Where Evening's crimson vest decays, Then shall we not, my Phoebe! seize Fleeting pleasures, such as these? Are we sure, when floods subside, This amber stream shall dimpling glide, And again so softly steal The pastoral tufts to yonder dale? Haste, let us ravish, ere it fly, Bliss so fugitive and coy; Muse on each colour's opening glow, Trace the blossoms as they blow; Listen to the choral grove, And drink the soul of life and love. In this month the farmer dresses and rolls his meadows; spreads ant-hills; plants quicksets, osiers, &c.; sows flax seed, artificial grasses, beans and peas, broom and whin seeds, and grass seeds among wheat. About the 23d, he ploughs for and sows oats, and hemp, and flax. A dry season is very important to the farmer, that he may get the seed early into the ground. Description of Forest Trees. [Continued from p. 68.] Box (buxus sempervirens).-The common box-tree, which has oval leaves, is rarely found wild, except at a few places, where it grows in woods and thickets, as at Box-hill, in Surry; Boxley, in Kent; Boxwell, in the Cotswould, Gloucestershire; also in the chalkhills near Dunstable. There are two other species, the angustifolia, or narrow-leaved box; and the suffruticosa, or Dutch box; but the sempervirens only is indigenous; that and the angustifolia grow in great abundance upon Box-hill, near Dorking, Surry, where there were formerly large trees of this kind. Various have been the disquisitions concerning the antiquity of this plantation, which, for any thing that appears to the contrary, may have been coeval with the soil. The late Sir Henry Mildmay, when in possession of this estate, sold the box upon Box-hill for fifteen thousand pounds; the purchaser was to be allowed fourteen years to cut it down. In 1802, forty tons were cut. Of the first species of box there are two or three varieties, which are propagated in gardens; and this, as well as the second, may be either raised from seeds or cuttings'. 'MY BOXEN BOWER. By John F. M. Dovaston, Esq. I love my little boxen bower, Fringed with April's early flower; The climbing sunbeams shed their sheen; 2 |