favorite places of resort. Their feet in climbing being equally useful with their hands, great additional power and activity are thus derived. Among the shady and otherwise unpeopled arbors which skirt the banks of the yet mysterious rivers of Africa, they dwell in single pairs or in congregated troops, according to the instincts of each peculiar kind; and seated on the tops of ancient trees, or swinging from pendant boughs, they play their fantastic tricks, secure alike from the wily serpent during the day, and the panther which prowls by night. YOUNG LADIES' GARLAND. ON CULTIVATION OF TASTE. A FEMALE of cultivated taste, has an influence upon society wherever she moves. She carries with her that secret attractive charm which operates like magic upon the beholder, fixes the attention and softens the feelings of the heart like those benign influences over which we have no control. It is impossible to be long in her presence without feeling the superiority of that intellectual acquirement, which so dignifies her mind and person. Her words and actions are dictated by its power, and give ease and grace to her motions. The cultivation of a correct taste is so joined in affinity with the social affections, that it is almost impossible to improve the one, without affecting the other. For it is seldom that we see this resplendent qualification attach ed to minds under the influence of moral principles, neglectful of those social feelings which cement society together, and preserve it from jarring innovations. It is needful in every department of life; and more of our happiness is derived from this source, than we are ofter. aware of. Look at domestic scenes with a discerning eye, and see the movements of a woman of taste. If she is the head of a family, order appears to be the first law which governs and controls her actions.-All her af fairs are planned with wisdom; confusion and discord never disturb her mind. Her house is the seat of social happiness, where the stranger and friend can repose with delight; for neatness and order are the inmates of her habitation. THE FEMALE HEART. THE female heart may be compared to a garden which, when well cultivated, presents a continued succession of fruits and flowers, to regale the soul and delight the eye; but when neglected, producing a crop of the most noxious weeds; large and flourishing, because their growth is in proportion to the warmth and richness of the soil from which they spring. Then let this ground be faithfully cultivated; let the mind of the young and lovely female be stored with useful knowledge, and the influence of women, though undiminished in power, will be like "the diamond of the desert," sparkling and pure, whether surrounded by the sands of desolation, forgotten and unknown, or pouring its refreshing streams through every avenue of the social and moral habit. BOTANY. THE study of this beautiful science is particularly adapted to young females, to whom we would recommend it, as a lasting source of pleasure and amusement. It will be found much less difficult than may at first be apprehended, and the enjoyment experienced in its progress will be such, that difficulties, much greater than those which really present themselves, would be no barrier to the attainment of the science. The nomenclature, which appears at first view so repulsive, soon loses its terrors, and becomes familiar, and the pleasures which result from the application of principles, the exercise which the science requires, and the perpetual contemplation of the variegated and splendid colorings of nature, operate as a species of attraction so irresistible, that the student can neither resist nor control it. No object can be more delightful than to behold a lovely woman indulging a passion for that which is in itself so beautiful and innocent, or than to see her "Looking through nature, up to nature's God." What higher source of gratification can there be than to stroll amidst the groves, or wander over mountain heights, and enjoy the magnificent scenery of nature, and inhale the breeze teeming with fragrance and redolent with sweets, while you are in pursuit of a richer banquet, a more delightful spectacle, the fair and exquisite gifts of Flora "Each bounteous flower, Iris all hues, roses and jessamine."-Milton. YOUNG GENTLEMEN'S DEPARTMENT. SUPERFICIAL READING. THE evils resulting from a habit of reading rapidly and without deep reflection, should deter every one from indulging that lively curiosity which is its grand cause. For it is an eagerness to reach the consummation that hastens the progress of most readers through a work's design, extracting, as they say, "the mere essence," and leaving the residue "untasted, untouched." Many plunge through volumes in a day, and to appearance emerge uninjured, yet I need not say that this practice soon occasions great confusion of ideas and eventually destroys the mind. Since to heap upon it, as it were, book upon book, battle upon battle, and victory or defeat, without giving the intellect time to grasp at each severally and fix them in her "keeping place," excludes thought from her true station and renders this store useless and burdensome. The conceptions become rayless and indistinct; and language, the echo of the thoughts has all their dimness and obscurity. A habit is acquired of viewing subjects at a distance, and with hasty and uncertain glances, than which there is nothing more pernicious to mental discipline or subversive to intellectual greatness. It blunts all point, obscures every beauty, and sacrifices genius to a worth less pleasure. The true value of all knowledge consists not so much in the superfices over which it extends, as in the clear and distinct ideas we imbibe from the ex`amination of various subjects, and it is the great object of education to acquire a habit of exercising clearness and truth. This practice of extracting the " mere essence" from, naturally excites a disgust for, works of real worth. The mind becomes accustomed to bestow but a passing glance, to skim along the surface and not dive for thoughts" fathom deep." Naught therefore but frivolities are relished, and that which requires study and attention, is pronounced dry and without interest; the historian and philosopher are discarded from the thoughts to make place for pretty specimens of poetic inspiration, and science is left to grope its way from amid the beautiful passages of a favorite novelist. Moreover, a habit of superficial reading greatly injures the memory. An insufficiency of time is necessarily allowed it to select its subjects and give them the stamp of thought's revision before they are imprinted on its tablets. Thus a mass of worthless matter is poured in upon it, till full and overflowing, when chaos assumes the sway and revels in its strength. It loses its former spring and vigor, and its tenacity becomes impaired from the mere barrenness of its resources. And if we examine the qualities that constitute an able reasoner, we again find the effects of this habit to be detrimental, and in no wise advantageous. For able reasoning requires a wide extent of useful knowledge to furnish the materials, and a habit of clear and patient thought in applying that knowledge, both of which qualifications are incompatible with the very name of a superficial reader. With such views as these on a subject that deeply interests us all, I have endeavored to show the great injury necessarily sustained by those persons who are literally swallowing the trash of the day. The mind, the memory, and all of real worth in man, are to be thrown away for the foolish purpose of gratifying at momentary and worthless pleasure. In these remarks, however, I by no means object to the perusal of those works which recognize as their authors, any of those brightest stars that at times illumine the literary world, whose genius is studiously devoted to the promotion of virtuous knowledge. History, however, should unfold to our view the experience of past ages, by VOL. I. 31 362 Increase of the numbers of Mankind. which to guide our judgments, and the Philosophy of other times should render us its willing aid in examining the mysteries of nature. We should avoid the light productions that are daily issuing from the press, whose fame is but to live and die; and die in the ob scurity from whence they emanated. The pleasure of their perusal should yield to a thirst for refined and elevated knowledge, an acquisition that will deeply affect ourselves, and one that will sustain and even exalt the character of an American citizen. W. INCREASE OF THE NUMBERS OF MANKIND. On the supposition that the human race has a power to double its numbers 4 times in a century, or once in each succeeding period of 25 years, as some philosophers have computed, and that nothing prevented the exercise of this power of increase, the descendants of Noah and his family, would have now increased in the following number: 1, 496, 577, 676, 626, 844, 588, 240, 573, 268, 701, 473, 812, 127, 674, 924, 007, 424. The surface of the earth contains, of square miles, 296,643,355 - 46,790,511,000 2,442,900,000,000 2,489,887,174,555 Hence, upon the supposition of such a rate of increase of mankind, as has been assumed, the number of human beings now living would be equal to the following number for each square mile upon the surface of the earth, the sun and all the planets; 61,062,000,000 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000; or to the following number for each square inch: 149,720,000,000,000 000,000,000,000,000. This last number alone is infinite with relation to human conception. Merely to count it would require an incredible period. Supposing the whole inhabitants now upon the surface of the globe to be one thousand millions, which is believed somewhat to exceed the actual number; and supposing that this multitude, infants and adults, were to be employed in nothing else but counting; that each were to work 365 days in the year, and 10 hours in the day, and |