252 PROSERPINA. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

 THE FRUIT GIFT. 



i. TN the course of the preceding chapter, I hope 

 A that the reader has obtained, or may by a 

 little patience both obtain and secure, the idea 

 of a great natural Ordinance, which, in the pro- 

 tection given to the part of plants necessary to 

 prolong their race, provides, for happier living 

 creatures, food delightful to their taste, and forms 

 either amusing or beautiful to their eyes. Whether 

 in receptacle, calyx, or true husk, — in the cup of 

 the acorn, the fringe of the filbert, the down of 

 the apricot, or bloom of the plum, the powers 

 of Nature consult quite other ends than the mere 

 continuance of oaks and plum trees on the earth ; 

 and must be regarded always with gratitude more 

 deep than wonder, when they are indeed seen with 

 human eyes and human intellect. 



2. But in one family of plants, the contents 

 also of the seed, not the envelope of it merely, 

 are prepared for the support of the higher animal 



