BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. S3 



prolific crop of what forms the chief part of the sfeaff 

 of life. Here a few acres of long bearded barley 

 ripen to provide us with our favourite beverage. 

 On the right hand stand the tall growing and slen- 

 der oats and flowering potatoes, to revive and keep 

 alive the hopes of the poor; while on the left the 

 heavy laden bean, and low -creeping pea, in length- 

 ened files vegetate to furnish provender for our 

 horses; or the globular turnip increases its swelling 

 bulk to lay up for our herds a supply of food when 

 the softer herbage of the tietd is locked up by the 

 congealing powers of winter. 



But what a spontaneous crop of luxuriant herbage 

 do our meadows present in the appointed season, 

 and in what a profusion of wholesome pasture do 

 the numerous flocks of sheep and cattle roam! 

 Whether they frequent the solitary holm, beside the 

 still waters, or range the pathless steep, still they 

 are followed by the goodness of the Lord : myriads 

 of grassy tufts spring up on every side, and they are 

 satisfied out of the treasures of Providence. 



But the herbaceous productions of the field are 

 not universally calculated for the purposes of food. 

 In some places numerous groups of tall, thin, flexi- 

 ble plants make their appearance, whose filmy coats 

 being properly manufactured, are converted into the 

 most costly and delicate raiment; while others of a 

 coarser texture furnish the mariner with wings to 

 his vessel, cordage to tighten his masts, or the pon- 

 derous cable to stay his bark in the midst of the 

 fluctuating element. 



