the microscopic eye. Pollen varies greatly in different plants. An author, who seems to have a happy knack of finding similes for indescribable objects, says that the rose and poppy have pollen like grains of wheat magnified into semi-transparent weavers' shuttles; that of the mallow, he tells us, resembles cannon-balls covered with spikes; the fuchsia has pollen like bits of half-melted sticky sugar-candy, with which a small quantity of horsehair has become entangled; and the passion-flower has pollen grains resembling Chinese carved ivory balls.

The microscope has revealed strange little fissures and cavities in minerals, the latter containing fluids, groups of crystals, and floating balls. Even the diamond, topaz, garnet, and other precious stones, have these minute cavities.

Here we must stop, or our fairy-tale will wear out the patience of the reader. We have glanced at a few of the marvels of the invisible world through that wonderful spy-glass which science has recently brought to a high state of perfection, and which day by day adds to our knowledge of minute things. Our examination has necessarily been imperfect, for it would be an easier task to enumerate all the visible objects upon the face of the earth, than to describe the countless forms that exist in the invisible world.

Wonderful Plants.

"Give me to drain the cocoa's milky bowl,

And from the palm to draw its freshening wine."

THOMSON.

THE wonderful plants portrayed by our artist are scarcely more wonderful than some of the vegetable productions of this bounteous earth. The little boy may well be astonished to see such a wonderful crop of good things; but if he will only stop and think a little he will find that plum-puddings, mince-pies, and wearing apparel do really grow, or, more strictly speaking, they spring from the wonderful plants which actually exist. Consider the composition of that famous pudding which crowns the fanciful group on the preceding page. The currants and raisins, the sugar, almonds, and candied lemon-peel which are its principal ingredients, are all vegetable productions; and the suet and eggs may be described as animalized grass and barley, for they are formed out of the vegetable food of the ox and the hen. The plum-pudding tree is not half so preposterous a conception as it appears to be at the first glance.