THOUGHTS ON VEGETABLE INSTINCT. 189 



of culture, this sturdy little plant might dwindle away 

 and lose its hardihood. 



There are marvels of beauty among the Orchids, which 

 feed upon what the atmosphere alone supplies. These 

 floral beauties, dressed in the most glorious colors, seem 

 to be fed by air and sunbeams, the gifts of Him who 

 made their forms so wondrous fair and caused their 

 seed, invisible to our eyes, to fall upon some sapless 

 branch, or wall, or rugged rock, there to grow and flour- 

 ish and die, perhaps never looked upon by the eye of 

 man. 



Is it not wonderful how these lovely orchids grow and 

 thrive, and drink in the dews of heaven, expanding their 

 petals to receive the light and warmth, to become living 

 manifestations of the wisdom and goodness of Him who 

 made them for His glory and His pleasure, and fed them 

 by His care to delight other eyes than ours ? 



It is true that in virtue of the authority vested in 

 man, he can subject in some measure the vegetable world 

 to his use. He was given power to subdue the earth 

 and govern it. That was his privilege during his state 

 of obedience, but now the earth is rebellious and it 

 requires labor to govern it and to restore that which was 

 cursed for his sake. The thorns and thistles must be 

 rooted up or the land will not yield to him its strength. 

 Labor is the remedy, and man must exert both bodily 

 strength and mental skill to live. The life-supporting 

 grain must be cultivated : it will not yield its substance 



