CHAPTER V. 



BOTANICAL: THE LOWER ORDERS. 



" Reject the society of the vicious ; shim the agreeable infidel and the 

 accomplished profligate. Lay it down as a fixed rule, that no brilliancy 

 of connection, no allurement of rank or fashion, no agreeableness, no wit 

 or flattery, shall tempt you to associate with profligate or openly irre- 

 ligious men. Make this an absolute rule. It is impossible not to suffer 

 by its neglect. If you do not fall into their vices, still your heart will be 

 estranged from the love of God." GKESLEY. 



E are again literally "embarrassed with 

 riches," and when we look at the drawers 

 in our cabinet marked "Botanical" we 

 are puzzled to know where to begin ; but 

 as all life begins in an egg, and an egg 

 and a seed have been seen to be so very nearly 

 alike, not only in principle but in structure, let 

 us renew our comparison of one with another. We have 

 already thought upon this in our brief reference to the 

 eggs of insects ; let us now think more about it in our 

 inspection of the beautiful structure of the outside of the 

 seeds of many of our humblest plants. 



An old writer says, " There is a strong analogy between 

 insects and plants. The latter originate from a seed which 

 is nothing but a husk, in which plants, however large they 



