70 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



tive on land is the lichen, growing on rocks, trunks of trees and other 

 hard substances, and deriving its nourishment from the atmos- 

 phere. Some of these approximate to the Algae, some to the Fungi, 

 and whilst some botanists rank them with one, and some with the 

 other, it seems reasonable to regard them as an intermediate section 

 — a connecting link. Next come the Liverworts, Mosses and Ferns, 

 passing so gradually from one to the other that the connection is 

 apparent to all when closely examined. For instance, the Liverwort 

 begins to assume the structure and aspect of a leaf, and has an in- 

 dication of a central midrib; Moss has a distinct axis of growth 

 more or less erect, in which the elongated cells seem to prefigure the 

 wood of plants. There is no actual root, but radical appendages 

 are put forth from every portion of the lower part of the axis, and 

 even from the under surface of the leaves. The Mosses, known as 

 Stag's Horn, Club Moss and Tree Moss, closely assimilate to the 

 lower forms of the Ferns from which they are hardly distinguishable. 

 The Tree Fern possesses a stem round which leaves are symmetri- 

 cally arranged, and has a proper descending root ; in the case of 

 some of the Fern tribe, particular fronds manifest themselves from 

 the rest of the leaves as fertile or spore-producing. In this depart- 

 ure is seen the tendency towards a flowering plant, which the next 

 class in succession, the Equisetum, fairly merges into. From that 

 upwards there is no difficulty in tracing the gradation which connects 

 in the end the mightiest monarch of the forest with the tiny growth 

 of vegetable mould, discernible only under the microscope. 



In the early part of this lecture I spoke of man as the highest 

 known state of organized life. Whether he is a connecting link 

 with a higher race of beings is not known, but this much we do 

 know, that though in structure and functions he ranks as belonging 

 to this sphere, yet by his intellect and reasoning powers he ap- 

 proaches those chosen creatures who are represented as shining near 

 the Throne of the Eternal and form a bond of union between 

 heaven and earth. By the exercise of his genius man elevates him- 

 self towards that Supreme Being in whose likeness he was fashioned ; 

 by giving scope to his passions, he debases himself to the lower 

 orders of life to which he is akin. 



Having now cursorily traced connecting links as they may be 

 seen in our daily intercourse with nature and in our study of history, 

 it remains for me only to allude to the great final connecting link. 



