Yet this country, limited as it is compared with former times, is divided into three parts, owned respectively by the British, the Dutch, and the French; British Guyana being the most westerly, near the republic of Venezuela; French Guyana the most easterly, near Brazil; and Dutch Guyana between the other two. It is not possible, nor is it indeed of much importance at present, to determine how far inland the territory of Guyana extends; for scarcely an European foot has trodden any parts except those immediately contiguous to the coast. Until the Geographical Society employed Mr. Schomburghk, a few years ago, to explore the inland parts of British Guyana, the authorities knew but little, and attended to but little, except the towns established on the coast for commercial purposes; while the portions of Guyana belonging to the French and the Dutch are still less known.

The possessions of the three countries are separated from each other by rivers; and it seems to be understood that Guyana extends to the sources of these rivers, wherever they may be. Beginning from the east, we find French Guyana separated from Brazil by the river Oyapock, the extent of which is but little known. Then follows the river Marony, which serves as a boundary between French and Dutch Guyana: this is a considerable river, rising in the Sierra Acacay, and having, for a considerable distance from its mouth, an average width of a mile and a half. In the middle of the Dutch territory we meet with the river Surinam, which near its mouth, is about a mile in width, and is navigable for vessels of considerable size beyond the town of Paramaribo. On approaching the boundary between the Dutch and British possessions, we meet with the river Courantin, which has been better explored than those hitherto named. It has been ascended to a considerable distance towards its source, to a point where two fine cataracts occur, each nearly one hundred feet in height. As it is more than nine hundred feet wide at this point, the inference is drawn that the source of the river is much farther inland. From the cataracts the river runs north-east; and after presenting several rapids, becomes navigable at a distance of a hundred and fifty miles from the sea. For forty miles from the mouth its width is as much as one mile; near the mouth it is four miles; and at the estuary or actual mouth, ten miles.

⚫ Farther westward, in the British territory, is the river Demerara, whose length is known to be at least two hundred miles, and is supposed to be much more: as it affords an easy means of transport for goods, there are many settlements on its banks. Lastly, we may mention the river Essequibo, which traverses British Guyana, and which has been ascended to a distance of two hundred and thirty miles from its mouth. During its course it receives the river Rupernoony, more than two hundred miles in length; and afterwards another river, the Siparoony, whose source has not yet been ascertained. On approaching near its mouth, the Essequibo is farther augmented by the waters of the Mazaroony and the Cuyuni, two large rivers which unite about eight miles above their junction with the Essequibo. This last-named river contains, in different parts of its course, numerous rapids, and also many small rocky islands, and banks of mud and sand, which render the navigation somewhat dangerous. From the source of the Rupernoony to the mouth of the Essequibo, is a continuous water communication nearly five hundred miles in length.

All these rivers have a course more or less northeast, by which they empty themselves into the Atlantic, and divide Guyana into several sections. The country is farther divided into two sections by a hilly region running nearly parallel to the shore, and at a distance of from forty to seventy miles from it. Northward of this dividing belt is a flat low country, forming that which

has alone been attended to by the nations who have established colonies there; while the district south of the mountain belt has been but little explored. The low sea-girt land here alluded to, is nearly on a level with the sea at high water, and requires unremitting attention to the embankments and sluices necessary to keep out the sea. The greatest part of this low plain is covered with a soil of strong blue clay, highly impregnated with marine and vegetable salt, and with vegeThe soil is very table matter in a very divided state. fertile, and thereby repays the outlay incurred for embankments and sluices. Other parts of the plain are open savannahs, that is, plains fit for pasturage, but not for farm cultivation; while some few districts distant from the rivers are unfit for cultivation, being without trees or shrubs, and entirely overgrown with fern.

The southern boundary of the maritime plain is formed of a range of hills, varying from fifty to two hundred feet in height; and then succeeds a series of more elevated plains, divided at intervals by ridges of hills running nearly parallel with the sea-shore. At different parts of these ridges are insulated hills, as well as elevated terraces, at heights of seven, nine, twelve, and fifteen hundred feet respectively. After passing several of these ranges of hills towards the south, we approach some extensive savannahs covered with grasses and plants; the winding courses of the river alone being marked by a border of trees. In some places the savannahs present a broad belt of good soil, but without any vegetation.

The general climate of Guyana may be indicated by saying that there are two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. One of the rainy seasons is longer than the other, and begins about the middle of April. At first the showers come only at intervals; but as the season advances they are more continuous, until at length, in the month of June, the rain pours down in torrents. It then gradually subsides, and ceases altogether by the end of August. Then commences the long dry season, which continues throughout September, October, and November. December and January constitute the short wet season, during which a moderate quantity of rain falls; and lastly, February and March constitute the short dry season. During the long rainy season, the rain often falls for several hours without ceasing; after which the remainder of the day is fine. Other times occur in which a few days will pass over without any rain falling. The heat is not so great as might be supposed from the almost equatorial situation (from about 2° to 8° N, latitude,) on account of the trade winds, which, passing over the whole breadth of the Atlantic from Africa to America, reach the coast of Guyana loaded with moisture, and the wind and moisture thus render the temperature of the air more supportable than it would otherwise be. There is likewise an alternation of land and sea-breezes, which, as the sea-breezes are colder and blow in the day, and the land-breezes during the night,-contribute greatly to maintain an equable temperature. The thermometer seldom rises above 90°, or falls below 75°, so that the temperature throughout the whole year is such as we should term "summer heat." Thunder-storms, often violent but seldom very destructive, occur during the rainy seasons; the dreadful hurricanes of the West India islands being wholly unknown here.

It has been said that few countries on the surface of the globe can be compared with Guyana for vigour and luxuriance of vegetation, which shows itself especially in the great number of indigenous plants, and the large forest trees, which cover not less than one half of its surface. Many of the trees produce excellent timber; others are used for the making of furniture; such is the mahogany tree; or to furnish log-wood, while others are valuable on account of their fruit. Indian corn and rice are cultivated to such an extent, that three crops of

IN our former article on this subject we gave a slight sketch of the wire-manufacture, from early times to the present. The mode of manufacture may now fittingly be brought under our notice.

In detailing the steps by which this branch of manufacture was improved in Germany, we had occasion to allude to Rudolph's invention. The machine by which he manufactured wire was similar to that represented in the annexed cut, fig. 1; in which A is an inclined plane, at the lower end of which is placed a drawing-plate, perforated with one or more holes; B is a jointed shank, terminating at the lower end in a pair of pincers, and at the other connected with a lever c; the tail-piece of this lever being so placed as to be pressed down by the arms of the rotating cam, D. By this means the pincers are drawn back, and the wire gradually forced, or rather pulled, through the holes in the drawing-plate, thus assuming the form and size of the hole through which it is made to pass.

On many parts of the Continent, most iron wire was, until the last few years, made by a machine somewhat resembling this. But there are many faults in wire thus produced; in the first place, every piece of wire exhibits, at intervals of a few inches, the marks of the pincers; and, in consequence of the wire being drawn by a succession of jerks, the surface becomes more or less unequal.

But by the improved modern processes, the wire acquires a surface and consistency almost mathematically uniform. Let us suppose that iron is the metal of which the wire is to be made. A square bar of iron is first worked into a cylinder, by being passed between rollers. These rollers are turned or cast with grooves on their peripheries, at right angles to the axes; the grooves being made of different sizes, so as gradually to reduce the bar to the required thickness. These rollers are made of hardened steel, and are generally about eight inches in diameter. When a pair of rollers, with corresponding grooves, are made to revolve three or four hundred times in a minute, a bar of steel, an inch square, and thirty inches long, is drawn from the heating furnace at a strong red heat, and placed in one of the grooves. By the aid of machinery it is speedily drawn through the largest groove. Being then introduced into the next sized groove it is further reduced in size; until, after having passed through eight grooves in about a minute, it is increased from two and a half to thirty or forty feet in length, and from a square to a cylindrical form. As the bar passes through any one of the grooves, it comes in contact with a third roller, so placed as to turn the end of the bar backwards, and drive it into the next smaller groove: the bar is thus performing a serpentine path backwards and forwards, between the rollers. The iron is thus reduced to the size of a sixth or eighth of an inch in diameter, and is then laid in coils, which are sold to the wire-drawer for farther reduction into wire of any required degree of fineness.

For some purposes the iron is prepared by tilting instead of rolling. A faggot of small bars is welded together by being heated, and then forged with a large

tilt hammer, weighing a hundred pounds, and making one hundred and thirty strokes per minute. When an iron bar of proper quality is thus formed, it has to be worked into rods of a proper size for the wire-drawer; and for this purpose the workman heats six or eight inches of the end, and works it regularly under a smaller tilt hammer, weighing about fifty pounds, and making twenty strokes per minute. By a succession of strokes, and re-heatings, the iron becomes reduced to the proper diameter, and acquires greater tenacity or toughness than if prepared wholly by the rollers, a quality very advantageous for some purposes.

The square bar of iron being reduced to a cylindrical rod, the wire-drawer commences his operations. The drawing-plate, by which the thickness of the wire is determined, is generally a stout piece of the best shear steel, about six inches in length, an inch and a half in diameter, and with two opposite sides, one flat, and the other roundish. Numerous holes are punched, in a tapering form, so as to be larger at the flat than at the round side of the plate. This plate is set up in a vertical position, and a force is applied to draw the rod successively through the various sized holes. This force is either hand, steam, or water power, according to circumstances.

Supposing the power to be manual labour, the workman proceeds as follows:-The point of the rod, after being sharpened to some distance from the end, by hammering or filing, is inserted through the largest hole, and the drawing-plate is placed behind two stout iron pins on the work-bench. A pair of nippers, attached to a short chain, is made to grasp the point of the rod, and this chain, by means of a lever, is drawn back, so as to drag the rod a small distance through the hole in the plate. When a certain quantity is thus pulled through, the workman attaches it to the surface of a conical or cylindrical drum, placed vertically in front of the drawingplate. This drum is made to revolve on a vertical axis by a lever springing horizontally from its upper end; and the workman sets this drum in rotation by walking round his low work-bench, and pushing the lever before him. The coil of rod or thick wire is held in one hand, the tapered end, after passing through the draw-plate, is attached to the drum, and the man, by forcing the drum to revolve, at once draws the wire through the hole in the plate, and winds it in a coil on the drum. When all the wire has been in this way pulled or drawn through one hole, the whole process is repeated with a hole of smaller diameter; and so on, until the wire has been reduced to the required thickness. When it becomes so fine that little power is required to draw it, the workman adopts an easier arrangement of machinery, and winds the wire on an iron cylinder, which has a lever capable of being moved round by hand, instead of requiring from the workman a circuit round his workbench.

When the wire is drawn by steam, water, or horse power, instead of by manual labour, a somewhat different arrangement is adopted, as in the adjoining figure. Fig. 2. C

A is a horizontal shaft, set in rotation by the moving power supposed to be situated at the right hand of the

cut. A vertical bevel wheel, B, on this shaft, catches in the teeth of a horizontal wheel, connected with a vertical spindle, whereby the conical drum, c, fixed to the upper end of this spindle, is set in rotation. On a stool near the draw-bench is a tub, E, containing starch-water, or stale beer grounds, in which the wire, coiled upon the reel, D, is dipped, to remove the oxide that may adhere to the surface. Between the reel and the drum is seen the draw-plate, through holes in which the wire is drawn by the revolution of the drum. The reel is so placed in or on the cask as to be able to revolve as the wire is unwound from it. By a succession of drawings through holes of different sizes, the wire is at length reduced to the desired size.

The manufacture of the draw-plates has always been deemed a matter of great importance, since the too rapid abrasion of the edges of the holes would cause considerable inconvenience and loss to the manufacturer. The French pay particular attention to their plates, and produce them in the following manner. A band of iron is forged two inches broad and one inch thick; and about a foot in length is cut off and heated to redness in a charcoal fire. It is then beaten on one side with a hammer, so as to work the surface into furrows or groves, in order to aid the retention of a substance called potin, which is to be welded on one side of the iron. This potin is nothing but fragments of old cast-iron pots. These fragments are broken on an anvil, and mixed with pieces of white-wood charcoal. The mixture is put into the forge, and heated till melted into a kind of paste. Fusion and cooling are repeated ten or twelve times, by which the qualities of the cast-iron are changed, and made nearly analogous to those of steel; yet, so far from becoming brittle, it will yield to the blows of the hammer and the punch.

The bar of iron which is to make the draw-plate is covered with a layer of prepared potin, on the side which is furrowed, and the thickness of about half an inch. The whole is then wrapped up in a coarse cloth, which has been dipped in clay and water, and then put into the forge. The potin is more fusible than the forged iron, and melts more quickly: during this fusion the plate is withdrawn from the fire occasionally, and the potin is gently hammered, to make it melt and amalgamate with the iron. This process of heating and hammering is frequently repeated, to render the union more perfect.

The union being effected, the plate is again heated and forged by two men, by which it is expanded to the dimensions required. Cast-iron, when used alone, cannot be forged; but, in the present instance, the alloy of cast with wrought-iron, and the repeated fusion with charcoal, give to the plate the property of malleability. While the plate is still hot, the holes are pierced. This is effected with a well-pointed punch of German steel, applied on that side of the plate which was not covered with potin. The plate requires to be heated four times in the fire before the punching is effected; and at every heating a finer punch is employed, so as to produce a taper hole. The holes are not punched quite through by the plate-makers; but the wire-drawers, when the plate is quite cold, finish the piercing by means of sharp tools, and give to the holes what size they please. Each plate is pierced with a great number of holes, all of which are conical, the apex of the cone being on that side of the plate which was coated with potin, and which is harder than the other. In some manufactories the draw-plates are made of common hardened steel, without the peculiar preparation here described.

During the process of reducing the size of wire, by drawing through a series of holes decreasing in diameter, the iron or other metal is liable to become very stiff and hard, and requires to be repeatedly softened. The iron is heated red-hot in a closed furnace, and then

placed in a vessel containing acid liquor: this immersion causes the scale produced by the heating to come off, on the wire being afterwards laid in stale-wort, or the grounds of ale, and then well scoured.

The different metals require somewhat different modes of treatment, during their reduction to the form of wire; but the above details will convey a general idea of the processes.

The quantity of wire used in our manufactures is enormous. Besides the strings of musical instruments, pins, and needles, and countless other small wares, the cards for the cotton manufacture consume a very large quantity. These cards are strips of leather covered with small wires; and Professor Barlow has adduced a remarkable proof of the quantity of wire used for making these cards. Machines have been invented, by the action of which the wires are cut, prepared, and fixed in the leather, at the rate of 130 per minute; and considering a working-day to consist of eleven hours, 85,800 inches of wire are worked up by each machine. are one hundred of these machines in the manufactory of Mr. Dyer of Manchester; and these machines will therefore work up 8,850,000 inches of wire per day, or to the amount of about thirteen miles and a half in length.

MEMORY.

There

Say whence the charm that those sweet scenes impart,
To raise at once, and to subdue the heart-
To paint sweet fiction in the hues of light,
And lead the mind through ages wrapt in night?
Whence the soft power that speaks alike to all,
And binds the sternest in her thrilling thrall?
'Tis thine, dear Memory, thus to fill the soul,—
Thus o'er the heart to exercise control,-
To wrest from time some portion of his prey,
Breathe life in dust, and animate decay!

No joy we boast, but which the coming hour
May whelm in sorrow, or with pain o'erpower.
Still former scenes sweet recollection claims-
Still burn the embers of our former flames-
Still every cloud fond memory tints with light,
And gilds with stars the mind's obscurest night;
O'er life's rude storms a rainbow hue she casts,-
Her's is the beam that every cloud outlasts.

Thus, when the traveller quits his native shore,
The scenes he leaves seemed ne'er so dear before;
As less and less its fading traces grow,
His heart is grieved with unavailing woe-
His anxious eye he strains across the main,
To view those native, long-loved scenes again.

So by thy light, sweet Memory, we survey
Youth's hours of bliss, and childhood's happier day—
So once again, while tears the eyes bedew,
Reflected in thy glass these scenes we view.
Sweet childhood! still we mourn those halcyon hours
When guileless peace and innocence were ours—
When every change could only add to joy,
Which neither woe could blight, nor care destroy!
When life was sweet, and every sorrow feigned,
The elastic mind defied, and soul disdained;
When all was pure as Eden's lovely bowers,
And every smiling path was strewn with flowers.
Delightful days! alas, ye blushed to fade-
Your bloom 'neath sorrow's blighting breath decayed;
The flower which smiles amid the summer gales,
When autumn blows, its short-lived lustre fails;
The leaf that spring beholds so bright and green,
A few short months, and sad and sear 'tis seen :
The opening buds that brightly meet the morn,
Oft from their stem by evening blasts are torn:
So does keen anguish smite the woe-worn brow,
And grief its empire is maintaining now.
And must the withered leaf alone be here?
Must every smile be followed by a tear?
No! still that eye one kindling spark relumes-
Its wonted fires it once again resumes:
As the warm brilliance of the sunbeam shines.
And melts the snow that crowns the Apennines-
Thus lights the heart sweet Memory's genial ray,
T. A.
Thus gilds its woes, and smiles its cares away.

GARDEN HERBS.

WORMWOOD.

COMMON Wormwood, (Artemisia absinthium), is a perennial herb, growing wild in many parts of Great Britain; but also cultivated for medicinal purposes. Many species of Artemisia are reared in gardens, but their virtues were never less called into action than at present. A favourite plant of this family is the Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum), seldom absent from the cottager's garden, where it is known by one of its common names, old man, maid's delight, &c. This aromatic herb is of a shrubby habit, growing to the height of three or four feet, but seldom producing flowers in this country. In warmer climates it puts forth an abundance of small yellow blossoms. It will exist in the densest parts of a crowded city, where the rays of the sun seldom visit it, and where the air is very impure. It was formerly used in medicine; and the tincture it affords, being employed in the form of a lotion or ointment, is said to remove cutaneous eruptions, and also to prevent the hair from falling off. The woody part of this plant yields a yellow dye. We must pass by the other species, and confine our remarks to the subject of the present article.

The root of the common wormwood is branched and

woody; the stems rise to two or three feet, are branching, angular, and furrowed. The lower leaves are bipinnate; the upper digitate with oblong, obtuse, very entire segments. The flowers are pedicellated, nodding, hemispherical, and of a brownish-yellow colour. The florets of the disk are numerous, but those of the ray few; and the receptacle is covered with white silky hairs, shorter than the calyx. The botanist will recognise it from the above description, as belonging to the natural order Composite; in which it is a member of the Corymbiferous tribe.

The generic name of this plant is said to have been conferred by Queen Artemisia, a Carian princess, who adopted the plant, and changed the appellation from Parthenis to that of her own name. The knowledge and use of this herb is of high antiquity. The Egyptians made great use of it in their worship of Isis. Branches of it were carried by the priests of this goddess in their solemn and religious processions, when they recited in verse the arts which had been taught by this deity. The Romans also made use of wormwood in their solemnities and sacrifices, particularly during the festival called Latina; when those who gained the prize in the chariot race and other games, had the decoction of this herb presented to them to drink; which honourable reward was devised, according to Pliny, to secure the good health of the victorious charioteer, seeing that his success had rendered him worthy of long life.

The bitterness of this herb has been noticed in the sacred Scriptures; and we find wormwood mentioned, in a figurative manner, to express that "evil and bitter thing," the departure from God, and from his command.. ments; and also to represent the woe consequent thereWe quote a few passages:—

on.

Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood.-Deuteronomy xxix. 18.

Ye, who turn judgment into wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth.-Amos v. 7.

And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them. Therefore I will feed them, even this people, with wormwoood, and give them water of gall to drink.Jeremiah ix. 13, 14, 15.

The nauseous flavour of wormwood has caused it to be nearly discarded from modern use, although it is one

The

of our most powerful bitters. Its bitterness is derived from what is usually called extractive matter, and is retained by the decoction after long boiling. A pound of the herb yields about five ounces of this extract. taste of the Romans must have been extremely different from ours, or they must have had such a supreme regard for their health as to take willingly what was repugnant to them, for Pliny tells us, that wormwood was, in his days, a common drink among the people, and held in high esteem. It was considered astringent and diuretic, and was said to prevent sea-sickness, and to create appetite. It was also given as a remedy for jaundice, mixed with honey and nitre for the cure of the quinsy; and as a fomentation for chilblains. The smell of the herb was thought to procure sleep to invalids. The ancients also put it into their ink to prevent mice from eating their writings; laid it in wardrobes to preserve their garments from the moth; and burnt it to drive away gnats. The ashes of the plant were mixed with oil of roses, and used to blacken the hair of the head. All the old writers agree in saying, that the species of wormwood which grows on the sea-coast is very advantageous to cattle, and that sheep in particular, when fed on it, fatten very rapidly, "As we all know," says Philips, "that the feeding on savoury herbs gives a relish to the flesh of animals, it is worthy the trial of those, who feed flocks on the coast, to sow a plot with this hardy plant. It may be raised upon any soil, either by seeds or slips in March, and the seeds ripen in August."

Wormwood is sometimes spoken of as an antispasmodic, and the olden writers extol it as a vermifuge; but it deserves little attention at the present day in either of these characters. The French are fond of it, and spoil some of their excellent liqueurs with its flavour. The beverage, called eau d'absinthe, employed by gourmands to increase their appetite, is prepared from this plant, by the addition of alcohol, and subsequent distillation. Some of our publicans sell a liquor, called purt, which is said to be all seasoned with the tops of worm

wood.

This herb should be gathered when in seed, as that is the time when its virtues most abound. Dr. Lewis thought, that the roots might be applied to some useful purpose; their virtue resides chiefly in the cortical part; and rectified spirits extract their flavour better than watery liquors. The oil of wormwood being rubbed on furniture, is said to prevent the attacks of insects. oil is obtained by distillation, one hundred weight of the fresh herb yielding upon an average four ounces.

This

Before the hop had become so well known and highly prized, great use was made of wormwood in the composition of beer. When properly managed, the flavour given to malt liquor by this herb is said to be nearly equal to that of hops, and has been by some persons even preferred. For this purpose the plant is gathered when in seed, and hung up in small bundles to dry. When thoroughly dried, a certain quantity of good strong malt liquor is to be impregnated with it. This is set by for use, to add to the beer when brewed; agreeably to the taste, or the time it is required to be kept. This method is mentioned in the Philosophical Transactions, and it is also added, that the wormwood intended for this purpose should have its seeds carefully preserved in drying, and it is best when not used till the year after it is gathered. Perhaps it was from the above use of wormwood in the preservation of ale that a common species (Artemisia vulgaris) obtained the name of Mugwort. This species was also formerly called Cingulum Sancti Johanni, because it was foolishly imagined, that if a crown was made of this herb and worn upon the eve of St. John, (a time when many other superstitions were practised,) it would secure the person who should wear it and afterwards throw it into the fire, uttering certain words, from all diseases and misfortunes,