that First Great Cause on which all others tlepencl, 
he is quickly surrounded by doubts and difficulties, 
and finds his reasoning degenerate into conjecture. 
We sometimes look on the effect, and discover the 
agent by which it was produced — the human mind is 
then too frequently satisfied. True philosophy would 
pursue the subject still further; and thus we should 
not stop short of that admiration of Divine Power, 
and humiliation of our own wisdom, which is becom- 
ing our present state of dependence — a dependence 
nowithstanding, under which all may so freely en- 
joy the boundless riches and beauty every where 
presented to their contemplation. 
The bulb and the bud, in the economy of nature 
are nearly identical. But the former, from its in- 
dividuality, necessarily contains a reservoir of nu- 
triment to sustain the young plant ; which from the 
latter, on account of its attachment to the parent 
tree, is not required. The bulb may be said to 
suckle its young till its roots strike forth and col- 
lect a due portion of nutriment for its support; 
whilst buds give their offspring into the arms of the 
parent plant as a mature and efficient nurse. Both 
the bulb and the bud are, however, identical in 
their office of protection of the future vegetable, 
being, as Linneus observes, its hybernaculum or 
winter quarters, an idea which Dr. Darwin has forci- 
bly alluded to in the follow ing lines : 
“ There dwell my vegetative realms benumb’d. 
In buds imprison’d, or in bulbs entomb’d.” 
This fine plant is perfectly hardy, and should be 
])1 anted in a peat bed. It may be increased by off- 
sets of its scales. 
Hort. Kew. 2, v. 2, 242. 
