their name in the Indian language signifies “Beams, or locks of the
sun.”--But he says, what is very true, indeed, that the stuffed
humming-birds can give but little idea of their real brilliancy; for
the sides of the fibres of each feather being of a different colour from
the surface, the least motion of the bird continually changes the hue.
For example, the topaz-throated humming-bird of Nootka Sound is ever
varying from a vivid fire colour to the bright green of the emerald.
They are very cunning little things; the house in which Mr. B. lived was
of one story, inclosing a garden round which it was built. The spiders
had spread their numerous webs from the tiles of the projecting roof, to
the trees in the garden, so closely, that they resembled a net. The
humming-birds endeavoured to seize on the entangled flies; but, afraid
of entangling their own wings, and perhaps a little alarmed by those
great spiders, they would fly rapidly round and round, as if to
reconnoitre the best avenue; then darting in, they picked out the
smallest fly, and escaped without touching a single thread.
I was surprised to find that some of these birds were found as far north
as Nootka Sound; and I asked my aunt if she thought there was any
mistake in the name of the place. She said, that though the winters are
very severe in that part of America, the summer is extremely hot; and
she added that an intimate friend in Upper Canada, with whom she
corresponds, mentions the humming-birds as being constant visiters in
summer. I had not before heard that she had a correspondent there. How
interesting, said I, her letters must be from those frozen regions,
where everything is so different from the part of America in which I
have lived!
“You shall see her letters with pleasure,” replied my aunt; “and I hope
at some future time you will know the amiable and excellent writer
herself.”
_2nd._ _Sunday._--In speaking to-day of reading the Bible, my uncle
regretted that indolence so often prevents people, when they find
difficulties, or apparent contradictions, from taking a little trouble
to try if they could not be reconciled. “How often,” said he, “by a
small degree of attention, might we perceive that the seeming
disagreement arises from some oversight of our own, and that it might be
made quite clear by a little reflection.
“For instance, in 1st Kings, vii. 26, it is stated that the molten sea
contained _two_ thousand baths;--while in 2nd Chronicles, iv. 5, we are
told that it received and held _three_ thousand baths. Now the case is
this: the writer of the book of Chronicles states that ten lavers of
brass were made, which joined the molten sea. ‘Five on the right hand,
and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for
the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priest
to wash in.’
“Hence it appears that the molten sea, with its appendages the lavers,
were altogether for the washings; but each part was appropriated to
distinct purposes--the lavers for the washing of burnt-offerings, and
the sea for the washing of the priests; as it would not have been proper
for the priests to have washed in the same water in which the
burnt-offerings were washed. The lavers are not noticed in the book of
Kings, in which the contents only of the sea are alluded to--but in
Chronicles you perceive they are both mentioned. The lavers received one
thousand baths, exactly the difference which makes these accounts appear
contradictory--but which is completely explained by observing that a
part only of the sea is alluded to by one writer, while the other
describes the whole of it.”
My uncle mentioned some other passages in the Old Testament, which are
misunderstood, in consequence of some slight inaccuracy in the English
construction. I think I can give one of them nearly in his words.--“In
2nd Chronicles, chap. ii., an astonishing number of men are said to have
been employed in building the Temple--a number that at first sight
appears incredible, supposing them employed on the Temple only. But we
are told by the learned that the original does not signify that they
were all employed on what, properly speaking, was called the Temple, or
inner-house, where the cherubim were kept. The expression applies
equally to the outer division before the veil, which was called the
_greater house_; and we are therefore to consider that all the buildings
attached to the Temple are included in this account of the employment of
the workmen. Now the buildings around the whole area where the temple
stood were intended not only for the residence of the priests and
Levites, but were also adapted to contain their portion, or tenth, of
the produce of the land; and certainly, for these purposes, the
out-buildings must have been very capacious. And besides, we must
recollect that great numbers of men were necessarily occupied in
quarrying stones for buildings of such extent, as well as in preparing
the materials for fitting up the interior.”
When my uncle had finished this satisfactory explanation, Mary said that
she had lately been comparing the history in the books of Kings and
Chronicles, and that she had met with a little difficulty. In 1st Kings,
ix. 23, we are told that the number of chief officers over Solomon’s
work was five hundred and fifty.--But in 2nd Chronicles, viii. 10, they
are said to be two hundred and fifty.--“Now, papa,” said Mary, “I know
you can clear up this difficulty.”
“The accounts do seem contradictory,” said my uncle, “yet both are
correct. You see in 1st Kings, v. 13, that Solomon levied out of all
Israel thirty thousand men. This army was divided into tens, and every
tenth man was an officer. These three thousand officers, if divided by
twelve, (the number of the tribes,) will give two hundred and fifty
chief officers, according to Chronicles. But we had been already told
(chap. ii. 18) that Solomon employed one hundred and fifty thousand
workmen, and that over them he appointed three thousand six hundred
overseers. These overseers were regulated in the same manner as the
officers of the army; and, therefore, if three thousand six hundred be
divided by twelve, it will give you three hundred chief officers; which
added to the two hundred and fifty, selected from the guards, makes five
hundred and fifty officers that bare rule over the people, according to
your quotation from the first book of Kings.”
_3d._--I had a nice walk with my uncle to-day, to Farmer Moreland’s,
with whom he had some business. As we passed through the field in which
there had been meadow this year, my uncle made me observe what a fine
growth had sprung up since it was mowed; the after-grass he called it. I
asked, did he not consider the grasses as amongst some of the most
useful plants?
He said, “The tribe of grasses yield more sustenance to man, and to the
larger animals, than all the rest of the vegetable kingdom put together.
Their herbage is perpetually springing, and it is adapted to almost
every soil, climate, and situation. The grasses are a very extensive
tribe, and yet throughout the whole of it, nothing poisonous or
injurious is found, except, perhaps, the stupefying quality attributed
to the seeds of the _lolium_, or rye-grass. The farinaceous produce of
wheat, rye, barley, rice, maize, and many others, supplies mankind with
the most general and wholesome nutriment.”
As we walked along, I shewed him quantities of wild ranunculus mixed
with the grass, and I asked, was there no way of preventing the growth
of all those weeds. He answered, that a certain proportion of what we
vulgarly called weeds, are now considered useful in making the grass
more palateable to cattle, and even more wholesome--“Just in the same
manner,” said he, “as men could scarcely live on flour alone, so cattle
cannot be well supported by mere grass, without the addition of various
plants, in themselves too acrid, bitter, or narcotic, to be eaten
unmixed. Salt, spices, and a portion of animal food, supply us with the
requisite stimulus or additional nutriment; and, in the same manner, the
ranunculus tribe, and many other plants, season the pasturage of
cattle.”
My uncle afterwards told me, that some of the grasses run chiefly to
stalks, the leaves decaying as the seed advances towards perfection:
such as rye-grass, dog’s-tail grass, and fine bent; while others, whose
leaves continue to grow after the seed is formed, retain their verdure
and juices during the whole season, as in the _poa_ and fescue tribes,
whose leaves are green and fresh, when the seeds are ripe. Ignorant
farmers do not attend to this, and often, in mistake, sow those very
grasses that run all to stalk and seed. Besides the numerous families of
real grasses, there is also a great variety of plants cultivated by
farmers, to supply their places, and are, therefore, called the
_artificial grasses_.
“In some cases they are of more rapid growth than a crop of grass--in
others, the change is of use to the soil. Sainfoin, for instance, of
which you see so much in Gloucestershire, is found to be particularly
adapted to a soil exhausted by repeated corn crops, because its root
enters deeply into the ground, while the fibrous roots of corn spread
close to the surface. Lucern, clover, vetches, and other succulent and
quickly growing plants of this nature, are also called artificial
grasses--and are thus of great advantage to the farmer, by supplying his
cattle with excellent food, and at the same time by alternately giving
rest to different portions of his ground.”
_4th._--Some visiters have just arrived; they are to spend a week here,
and I am sure we shall not go on half so pleasantly, for these people
will interrupt all our employments, and will, I suppose, be very formal.
I said so to my aunt this morning, and I was surprised to find that she
was not of that opinion; I thought she would particularly dislike having
the regular, happy life here deranged.
I have been very busy in my garden this morning. With some help I have
completed the little flower beds, which I intend to be so pretty next
spring--they are intermixed with grass-plots, and are made up of good,
fresh earth, properly prepared for the plants they are to contain. Mary,
who seems to have a great deal of knowledge, has assisted me--for I find
that much of the art of gardening consists in suiting the soil to the
nature of the plants. In my jonquil bed, she advised me to put abundance
of sand, and no manure. This has been done; and this fine mild dry day,
I planted it with the bulbs as she directed me. I have a narcissus bed,
too, and this has been made up with what the gardener calls hazel loam,
and a small portion of manure. These two beds, along with one for
hyacinths, that I described before, and one for carnations, make up what
I call my regular flower-beds, on the upper part of the sloping bank.
Besides these, I have two beds at one side, one for roses of different
kinds, and one for white lilies. These last have, I am told, very
magnificent flowers, and in order to have them very fine, a great deal
of fresh manure has been dug in to nearly two feet in depth.
Some days ago, I planted a number of rose-trees, contributions from all
my kind friends. I have also made little edgings to all my beds; and I
am now, like a mere child, already longing for the time when I shall see
them covered with blossoms. But I have not nearly done yet all that I
intend; for I heard a gentleman, who comes sometimes to see my uncle,
Mr. Biggs, telling him of such a variety of nice plants, and the modes
of managing them, that I am determined to try some of the things which
he mentioned. I must first consult my uncle, because I have great plans
in view; but I am afraid all these strangers will prevent him from
having time to listen to me.
I find that this is a busy season in the garden, though the decline of
the year, and that several plants, and almost all deciduous trees and
shrubs, should be transplanted now. I have quite got into the spirit of
gardening, I think; it is indeed a delightful occupation to the mind, as
well as the body. There is not only much to think of, and to remember to
do at the right time, but also to know why it should be done.
_Tuesday night._--Though I am tired after all my hard work to-day, I
must tell you, Mamma, before I go to bed, that I see how foolish it is
to judge of people in a hurry, or to think strangers must be tiresome,
because they interrupt our usual habits. The strangers who arrived
to-day appear to be very pleasing; Mr. Lumley, who has travelled a great
deal, has many entertaining things to tell; and his daughters, and their
mother also, are very nice people. They brought some pretty kinds of
work with them, and I was glad to find that we might employ ourselves,
instead of sitting up stifly and formally.
_5th._--I mentioned last night, that the Lumleys seemed to be a very
agreeable family; yet, when I woke this morning, I felt that some of my
apprehensions were returning. Night, however, has come round again, and
I must tell you, dear Mamma, that we have passed the day most
pleasantly; partly in our usual occupations, for I found that my cousins
never neglect those which are most important, for any guests whatever;
and partly in walking and in gardening.
The Miss Lumleys pleased me very much, by appearing interested in the
progress of my garden, and they even helped me to transplant several of
my flowers. Then came my uncle and Mr. Lumley; they examined every part
of my garden, and asked me several questions. My uncle inquired about
the new scheme of which I had been talking, and said he would assist me
as much as possible. I shewed him the old quarry, and boldly described
all that I intended to do--frequently referring to hints I had picked up
from his conversations with Mr. Biggs. My uncle said he was rejoiced to
find that I could attend so well to general conversation, and gave me
the quarry to reward me. When I had finished what I had to do in my
garden, he and Mr. Lumley took Frederick and me to walk with them, and I
heard numbers of entertaining things,--much more than I can now put in
my journal.
We left the forest, and passing through the open fields which lie
between it and the Severn, we walked for some time close by the edge of
the river. I saw a beautiful bird sitting on a projecting stone, and we
all stopped to observe it; sometimes fluttering its wings, and exposing
its brilliant blue, green, and red plumage to the sun. It then took
wing, and hovered in the air for some time, watching for the moment to
dart on its victim. At last we saw it make a spring of twelve or fifteen
feet upwards, and then drop perpendicularly into the water, where it
remained several seconds. It was a kingfisher, which Mr. Lumley told me
is a very common bird on the continent. He says it is shy and solitary,
frequenting banks of rivers, where it will sit still for hours, as we
saw it. It usually takes possession of a hole in the bank, which had
previously been made by a martin, or a mole, and which it enlarges a
little for its own purpose. The hole has generally an ascending
direction, and penetrates two or three feet into the bank; at the end it
is scooped into a hollow, where quantities of small fishes’ bones are
often found. Mr. L. has seen these nests frequently; and he told me that
as the old birds appear to have nothing in their bills when they feed
their young, it is thought that they discharge from their stomach the
requisite nourishment.
There are several species, but this one is the _halcyon_ of the
ancients, which poets imagined had a floating nest endowed with power to
calm the winds and seas. Some of the gravest of the ancient writers
relate, that it sat only a few days, just in the depth of winter, and
that during that period the mariner might sail in full security--whence
the expression, “_halcyon days_.”
Mr. Lumley has studied the habits even of the despised house-sparrow,
which however, he does not at all despise; for he says that it is a most
useful creature, destroying various kinds of grubs that would be most
injurious to our crops. Though it generally builds in holes and gutters,
and under the eaves of houses, yet it sometimes builds in the top of a
tree; and then its nest, which is carelessly formed, because in a place
where it is protected, is made as large as a man’s head, with a cover to
keep off the rain. It is composed chiefly of hay and straw, but warmly
lined with feathers, and fragments of thread or worsted, bits of cloth,
or any material that can be picked up about a house; and should their
nest be destroyed, they will build up another in twenty-four hours.
In some parts of France, Mr. Lumley saw earthen pots hung out of houses,
for the sparrows to breed in, for the purpose of having a supply of
young sparrows for the table; and it is said that the kings of Persia
have them trained to hunt the butterfly.
_6th._--My uncle and Mr. Lumley have been conversing to-day about the
trees and woods of Europe. I had been saying so much to my cousins
lately about the forests of tropical countries, that it was delightful
to hear them continue the subject; and finding that I listened, they
tried to make me comprehend all they said.
They remarked that each region of Europe may be distinguished, in some
degree, by the different character of its forests; the pine and birch
being invariably found in the cold northern countries; the lime, beech,
ash, oak, chesnut, and walnut in the temperate regions; and, approaching
the warmer climates, the cork tree and the olive.
The most useful of the tree families are bountifully extended, said my
uncle, from nearly the frigid to the torrid zone; and if we do not
possess the rich variety of the tropical regions, the palms, the teak,
the mahogany, the banyan, and the baobab, yet are we, on the other hand,
provided with some tribes that cannot be surpassed in usefulness or in
beauty. And it is worthy of remark, he added, that some one species of
the oak and of the pine, those two most useful trees, are to be found in
every climate of the earth, excepting in the immediate polar regions.
The woods of northern Russia, of Norway, and Sweden, consist, with
little variation, of the pine tribe. The Scotch fir retains its dense
foliage during the long winter, and affords shelter to the wild animals
of the forest; and the greater the intensity of cold, the firmer and
more dense the timber becomes in texture. This tree supplies the
peasantry with their cottages, their boats, and their fuel. Tar, rosin,
and turpentine, are extracted from it by very rude methods of
distillation, and its ashes produce potash. On the mountainous ranges of
the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Apennines, it grows luxuriantly at that
elevation where the temperature is similar to that of the northern
regions. In the mountains of Thibet, which are now considered the
highest in the world, six different species of pine flourish; and even
at the elevation of 12,000 feet, forests of pine are found mixed with
birch and rhododendron.
In Finland, and in the neighbourhood of Petersburg, the birch, which
comes next to the pine in quantity, is inclined to grow by itself; but
it abounds in the natural woods of Great Britain and of other parts of
Europe. In the central parts of our continent, elm, maple, and ash are
common, and grow to a noble size; but their extent is small in
proportion to the northern forests of birch and pine, and they seem to
prefer an open situation. In the sheltered parts of Savoy and
Switzerland the walnut is a very profitable as well as ornamental tree;
and the olive flourishes on the sloping sides of the hills, particularly
in Italy. In low and warm situations there, the cypress and poplar grow
to a great size--above them comes the chesnut, and still higher,
approaching the pines, appears the magnificent oak. The grey foliage of
the olive gives a peculiar appearance to the country; and the cork-tree,
also, Mr. Lumley says, excites the admiration of all travellers. Spain,
Portugal, and the South of France are the countries in which this
beautiful tree is most prominent;--it grows higher than the oak, of
which it is a species, and has more slender branches and smaller leaves.
The chief distinction is the spongy bark, which the tree throws off
naturally; and it is said that the growth of the tree is improved by
peeling it.
Besides the common and well known uses of the bark, he told us that it
is employed in Portugal for beehives, for covering stables, and for
many domestic purposes. Near Cintra he saw a convent built between two
perpendicular rocks which actually formed the outer walls; and the
monks, by neatly lining them with large flat pieces of cork, had
effectually excluded all dampness. The timber is employed for the same
purposes as oak; the acorns fatten immense droves of hogs; and the
acorn-cups of this useful tree is one of the principal ingredients in
tanning the Portuguese goat-skins.
Cork trees are found in great perfection in the South of France. From
Bayonne, where the low sandy heaths called _les Landes_ commence, and
extend as far as Bordeaux, the woods consist almost entirely of that
tree, and of the _pinus maritima_, which is scarcely less useful. The
wood is excellent, and yields an extraordinary proportion of turpentine
resin, and tar; the fruit contains a kernel which has a pleasant flavour
of the almond, and is often used in cookery; and from the root is
obtained a brown dye which the fishermen use to preserve their nets.
They are, however, in many parts of that tract of country prohibited
from touching the roots, because their long matted fibres, by running
along the surface, fix the loose sand and prevent its blowing away.
Mr. Lumley spoke with admiration of the woods of Old Castile,
particularly of the fine evergreen oaks and the bushy laurel-leaved
cistus neither of which he has seen anywhere else in such beauty. The
acorns of the former, when roasted, form a large part of the food of the
poor peasantry.
_7th._--Mr. Lumley and my uncle have been studying Dr. Richardson’s
remarks on the climate of the Hudson’s Bay countries, and I have noted
for you all I could understand.
In the neighbourhood of Fort Enterprise, lat. 64° N. the white spruce
advances nearer the northern limit than any other pine. The largest of
those trees were between eight and nine feet in circumference. The elm,
ash, sugar-maple, and arbor-vitæ extend to nearly the same latitude.
Oak and beech terminate about lat. 50°. The balsam poplar sends
straggling trees as far north as lat. 63°, and the aspen grows in pretty
large clumps a degree farther north, beyond which it was not seen. The
balsam poplar forms a large proportion of the drift timber observed on
the shores of the Arctic Sea, and is supposed to come principally from
MᶜKenzie river.
Fort Enterprise was supposed to be elevated about 800 feet above the
Arctic Sea, and the banks of the river on which it was built are
ornamented with groves of the white spruce tree. On each side of the
river, an irregular marshy plain extends to ranges of unconnected hills,
at the base of which there is commonly a thin stratum of mountain peat.
The bottom of the valleys is generally occupied by lakes of a
considerable depth, which are entirely land-locked, and communicate with
each other only when flooded by the melting snow. The sides of the
hills, and all the drier spots of the valley, are clothed with a
beautiful carpet of the lichens, which form the favourite food of the
reindeer; and some shrubs, such as the great bilberry, the marsh ledum,
some of the willow tribe, and different species of andromeda, arbutus,
and the kalmia glauca, frequently enliven the scene.
In sheltered situations, where the peat is deeper than usual, a few
starved larch and black spruce are scattered. There are also thin clumps
of the paper birch on the borders of the rapids, as well as of the white
spruce, which thrives better there than any other tree; but all are of
slow and stunted growth. Of the spruce cut down at Fort Enterprise, the
increase seemed to have been in general at the rate of four rings, or
years, to one inch; and though the house which the travellers built
there was only 24 feet wide; it was with difficulty they obtained half a
dozen beams of sufficient length, the trees tapered so much.