THB CHRISTIAN NATURALIST. 127 



The first thing that strikes the attention amidst such 

 a scene, is the admirable proof of design which is dis- 

 played in the plant which produces corn. — * The very 

 structure of the stem-part,' says an ingenious observer, 

 ' carries in it the footsteps of eminent wisdom. It is 

 proper that this should be somewhat tall, that its spike 

 may be sufficiently elevated above the earth ; partly that 

 its precious treasure may not be exposed to the cold 

 vapours which in the evenings arise from the soil to a 

 certain height ; partly that it may not be rotted by too 

 much moisture : and perhaps that the juices from the 

 earth may be properly concocted by so long a tube, and 

 the many secretions which lie in so long a passage. 

 But then how difficult to support a vegetable to such a 

 height as five feet, when it is not above the sixth part 

 of an inch in diameter ? It must be so strong as to 

 stand, and yet not so stubborn as to refuse to bow 

 without breaking.* Hence its Contriver has wonderfully 



* Galileo, the most profound philosopher of his age, when 

 interrogated by the inquisition as to his belief in a Supreme 

 Being, replied, pointing to a straw on the floor of his dungeon, 

 that from the structure of that object alone, he would injfer 

 with certainty the existence of an intelligent Creator. — Dr. 

 Roget, in his Bridgewater Treatise, note in page 81. On vege- 

 table Organization, he further observes : The stems of grasses 



