82 VEGETABLES. 



136. It is manifest that the production of heat in the 

 germinating seed ; the formation of vinegar and dias- 

 tase ; and the transformation, bj the latter, of starch 

 into sugar, are all provisions of that Being who is 

 wonderful in counsel, for the express purpose of fur- 

 nishing suitable food to infant plants, when they 

 could not obtain it otherwise ; and, per consequence, 

 of providing abundant food for man and beast. 



187. There is another fact worthy of reflection. It 

 has been proved by the most accurate experiments, 

 that seeds, during their germination, and up to the 

 time of their first putting forth leaves, absorb oxygen 

 and emit carbonic acid, the reverse of what takes place 

 subsequently. Now why is this ? Probably that the 

 embryo plant may be surrounded with carbon, dis- 

 solved in the water of the soil, and may thus obtain 

 through its first roots, that kind of food, carbon, which 

 it is destined subsequently to receive from the air 

 through its leaves. This seems very much like a pro- 

 vision for it, on its way up into the air, not unlike 

 what would happen, if a mother, whose son was start- 

 ing for a long and solitary walk, should slip into his 

 pocket some food for the way. Every one can make 

 his own reflections. To me the fact seems worthy of 

 notice. 



GROWTH OF PLANTS. 



138. You can hardly h^ve failed to reflect, that much 

 care has been bestowed by the Divine Architect to 

 give the plant a good start into being. The husband- 



