the few days of its existence, but depositing its eggs and then dying. It is a wonderful fact that such animals, or insects, as are most useful to man, are also made most manageable, and there is not a caterpillar more easily reared than the silkworm. Should any of my young friends like to try for themselves, and be unable to procure eggs, I should be most happy to forward them a few on application through the publishers of this magazine. When a child, I was once made rich by a kind friend sending me, all the way from Paris, a few little black eggs, which were just adhering to a bit of paper that was slipped into a letter, and passed safely through the post. Eagerly did I at once set to work to prepare a fitting home for the young worms, by doubling up the edges of a newspaper, securing their upright position, and forming corners, by the aid of four pins. Into this tray I lifted my paper of tiny eggs, and placed it in the soft warm sunshine that was streaming in at my nursery window. Long I watched, and many a penny was unprofitably spent in the purchase of a fresh lettuce, and in anticipation of the little worms' first breakfast; but it took some time before the vivifying heat brought the eggs forward, and they were hatched. One morning, however, to my great joy, I discovered a tiny black worm roaming about in search of food, with which I at once hastened to supply it. Others speedily came forth, and each in turn was carefully lifted on to a tender leaf of lettuce by means of a bit of twirled paper, for it is not well to touch them with the fingers. The silkworm, as I have said, emerges from the egg a tiny black insect, not a quarter of an inch long; but as it increases in size, which it does very rapidly, it gradually assumes a lighter colour, in its tints resembling the lettuce on which it feeds. I was surprised at the voracity with which they ate, and the quantity of food which they consumed. Each morning I spread fresh leaves of lettuce in another tray, and lifted gently, one by one, my silkworms from their banqueting-hall of yesterday, in which little remained of their feast beyond the tougher stalks and fibres of the old leaves. I always took care to give them plenty of air and light, keeping them away from dust, for cleanliness and purity are very essential to their well-being. I think they were about eight weeks in arriving at maturity; during which period they changed their skins some four or five times,-a most interesting process to watch. Several of mine died at this time, not an uncommon occurrence, as they seem to have great difficulty in disengaging the last segment of the body from the old skin. They varied from two to three inches in length when fully grown, the six legs nearest the head being hard and almost immovable, the other ten more flexible and soft. I was now bid to suspend a few little paper cones round the edge of my tray, about an inch from the bottom. Into these the worms crept, and, to my infinite delight, there wove their golden cocoons, in which they slept for about a month, and then from each came forth a heavy-looking moth, incapable of flying, to lay its eggs and die. I was anxious to try and wind some of the silk myself, and, after many attempts and failures, I at length succeeded in doing so by throwing the cocoon into boiling water, which, though it destroys the poor chrysalis within, loosens the silk, and thus enables it to be readily wound off. 'Brightly, brightly, shines the skein, Golden yellow, smooth and soft; LEIGH PAGE. THE BOY OF THE MOUNTAIN. THE herd-boy of the hill am I ; The sun's first rays at morn I see, The cradle of the stream is here; For I am the boy of the mountain. The mountain is a proud domain: Thunders and lightnings rage down there, And if the alarm of war should sound, I'd hasten down to join the throng, And swing my sword, and sing my song- From the German of Uhland. SPICES OF SCRIPTURE. 1. WHERE do we find in Scripture the first mention of myrrh? 2. From that passage, does it seem to have been an early article of commerce? Between what countries? 3. Who sent a present of myrrh to the ruler of Egypt? 4. In what sacred substance, used in the tabernacle, was myrrh an ingredient? 5. What royal personage is described in the Book of Psalms, whose garments were fragrant with myrrh? 6. Where is this same personage elsewhere described as ‘a bundle of myrrh' unto his beloved? 7. Who presented myrrh, with other gifts, to the infant Jesus? 8. When was myrrh, mingled with wine, given to Jesus to drink? 9. What use did Nicodemus make of myrrh, as a means of showing his love and reverence for the Saviour? 10. With what kind of an offering is it prescribed that frankincense should be joined ? 11. From what passage in 1st Chronicles do you gather that large stores of frankincense were kept for use in the temple? 12. Who is described in Solomon's Song as a 'hill of frankincense?' 13. What mighty city should become so desolate that no man would any longer buy her frankincense and other luxuries? 14. What sort of substances were myrrh and frankincense, and whence were they obtained ? 15. What was their significance when used in the tabernacle and temple service?—S. S. Visitor. THE IVY AND THE OAK TREE. A PARABLE. HAT an ugly useless thing you are!' said a proud Foxglove one day to a trail of Ivy, which had become detached from its parent stem, and, battered and soiled, lay helpless on the ground, or moved disconsolately hither and thither with every passing breeze. The Bluebells looked up, and as they stretched their necks to peep over the long grass, even they, gentle things as they were, could not help agreeing with the gaudy Foxglove, so wretched and forlorn did the Ivy appear. And the old Oak Tree, who stood by, casting his broad shadow over them all, heard what they said, but answered nothing. It was night in the forest, a dark gloomy night. The clouds had been gathering fast through the day, and every now and then the wind moaned drearily among the trees. As darkness came on, the storm broke in all its fury. The lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and the rain fell in torrents. The poor little Bluebells crouched down lower and lower, but they could not withstand the battering rain. The haughty Foxglove tried to rear his head defiantly; a sudden gust of wind snapped the stem in two, and scattered the flowers far and wide. But the first rough blast tossed the poor forsaken Ivy to the foot of the old Oak Tree, and there it clung with all its might. And when the morning sun came round to wake the birds and flowers, it showed the Bluebells crushed and dying, and the pride of the Foxglove laid low; but the Ivy-fair, and green, and flourishing-had twined itself round the trunk of the old Oak Tree, and had found its safety in trusting to the strength of another. NITA. |