the hatching of birds. The hen bird, having laid a certain number of eggs, sits upon them till the little prisoner in the shell breaks the egg and presents a perfect animal!-But let us proceed to investigate more minutely this marvellous process.

In every impregnated egg which has not been sat upon, we can discover a small spot called the cicatrice, about the size of a freckle, upon the yolk; in the centre of this cicatrice we see a white circle, acting as a partition, extending upwards, and fastened to some small vesicles; in the middle of this circle is a fluid matter, in which floats the embryo chick; this is composed of two thin white threads, which appear in some parts separated from each other at their extremity, and between which a dark coloured fluid is distinguished; the extremity of the embryo is hidden in a vesicle or bag, surrounded by a thickish ligament; and in this ligament the navel afterwards appears; the ligament is composed partly of a solid yellow matter, and partly of one fluid and brown, which is surrounded by a white circle. All this is observed in an impregnated egg before incubation. After an egg has been about twelve hours under the hen, a humid matter is observed, attached to the embryo, in the cicatrice, resembling in form a head, and to which is fastened certain vesicles, which afterwards become the vertebræ of the back. thirty hours have elapsed, the navel appears covered with many small vessels; the eyes, also, may now be just distinguished: the two white threads, which are apparently united,

After

have nevertheless left a space between them, contain five vesicles, composing the substance of the brain and the spinal marrow, which lengthens at this extremity. The heart is likewise visible; but whether that or the blood is first formed has not yet been discovered: be this as it may, certain it is that the embryo of the chick is contained in the impregnated egg, and that, after it has been sat upon for some time, we can distinguish the vertebræ, the brain, the spinal marrow, the wings, and a part of the flesh, before we can discern the heart and the blood vessels. At the end of thirty-six hours, the navel is covered with a great number of small vessels, separated from each other at irregular distances: they existed most likely in the cicatrice, but were invisible until inflated by certain juices. The essential parts of the chicken being thus formed, it continues to increase in perfection until the twenty-first day, when it is capable of breaking the shell for itself.

We are indebted for these discoveries to the persevering assiduity of some great naturalists, who have followed almost from hour to hour the progressive formation of a chicken: yet, notwithstanding all the information we derive from their labours, there remain mysteries which the mind of man cannot penetrate. How does the embryo get into the egg? and from whence does it derive the faculty of receiving life and being from the warmth of the hen? for this is all that it does receive from her. What is it that gives motion to the essential parts of the chick? and

what is that vivifying spirit which penetrates through the shell, and gives life and pulsation to the heart? Who is it that communicates to all birds the same means of producing and hatching their young? From whence do they derive the knowledge that their little progeny is enclosed in eggs? Who instructs them how long to sit upon them? To these questions we can only reply, that the God who taught the eagle to mount at his command and make her nest on high-He it is that hath passed his decree that such things shall be, and He also has imparted to the irrational creation an instinct necessary to their preservation.

The little we have, however, discovered is sufficient to manifest in our eyes the wisdom of the Creator. The generation of birds cannot be attributed to chance, nor to the restraint which art puts upon nature. God had, no doubt, the wisest reasons for decreeing that some animals should not arrive at perfection until after their appearance in the world; while others, again, present themselves in a state so beautiful and so complete that they are capable of providing for themselves so soon as they are born. This, however, is very evident, that the man who would deny the visible interference of the Almighty in the generation of birds must deny it in every other instance; for, if the divine wisdom is not manifested in this, we shall find it no where else.

Adore then, O man! the wonders of the Almighty. Disdain not to seek in objects of the smallest importance the effects of his bounty

and goodness-of his power and ineffable wisdom; the more particularly as it is for thy advantage, thy food, thy pleasure, that so many animals continue to exist.

APRIL 14.

INDICATIONS OF THE WEATHER.

WIND, heat, cold, rain, snow, fogs, and drought, and other temporary changes in the atmosphere do not depend upon causes which are fixed and invariable; yet there are certain symptoms in nature which indicate such and such weather. The position of our earth relatively to the sun, which is clearly demonstrated to us by the four seasons of the year; the waxing and waning of the moon, whose different appearances can be decided to a moment; the influence which the planets and other heavenly bodies have upon heat, the temperature, and motion of the air are immutable and several laws, upon which we can foretell in some degree the approaching weather: the conclusions drawn from them are not to be lightly treated, because they are founded upon experience, and that, for analogous reasons, we judge of the future from the past. It is very certain, also, that a thousand accidental circumstances, which we did not expect, may affect the atmosphere; but we should consider that the effects of these casual changes seldom last long, and, if they do produce a temporary alteration in the ordinary course of the weather, it is but for a short time, and is generally local.

That the symptoms of the change in weather are generally the same must be acknowledged by all attentive observers upon the subject: we are seldom mistaken when we suppose that the northern and easterly winds bring cold, the southern wind warmth, and the western breezes moisture and rain; that, in the summer, when the wind is north-west, it rains; and in winter that it snows. We may also expect rain or wind in the course of the day, when the morning has been red; while, on the contrary, a red sky in the evening, so that it does not assume a copper colour, prognosticates a fine day on the morrow. The weather in spring announces that of summer: if there are many fogs in spring, the summer will be rainy; and if the former is very rainy, the latter will be exceedingly hot, and insects of all kinds will abound. When the spring has been stormy, we need be under no apprehensions from hoar or night frosts.

But, even allowing that we had no criterion by which we might judge of the approaching weather, we should make ourselves perfectly easy upon the subject: the variations and changes of the weather, considered collectively, are established upon certain principles, decreed by the Almighty himself; and we may depend upon this, that, however intemperate the weather may appear, it will not fail finally to be advantageous to the fertility of the earth. In all the changes which the atmosphere presents, let us trust with confidence in the benevolence and wisdom of God, without whose permission we could enjoy neither cold nor heat, nor rain nor