FITCHES. 81 



were not always able to purchase a lamb. Now, as the lamb 

 was the symbol of the Saviour and the dove took the place 

 of the lamb, we may suppose that the dove, being offered for 

 the redemption of the infants, alluded in some way to the 

 redeeming power and affection of the Messiah to come as 

 applied to children. No mother who desired the blessing of 

 God ever neglected the sacrificial dove, the emblematic redemp 

 tion of her child; and closely associated with this dove, as we 

 have seen, was the cultivation of this little, humble plant. It 

 is supposed that at one time in the history of the Israelites 

 there were nearly half a million births annually. In such a 

 case, the number of birds necessary for offerings w r ould justify 

 the supposition that the cultivation of this plant was corre 

 spondingly important and extensive. 



