7S 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET 
being that in seeds there is a substance known as 
diastase, very minute particles of which, with the aid 
of heat and moisture, which are furnished by the sun 
and rain, has the remarkable property of converting 
starch into sugar. This diastase has precisely the same 
active principle as sulphuric acid, and under the same 
conditions produces the same effect; it exists in all 
seeds, bulbs, or tubers, that contain the germs of plant- 
life: it is fornid in the largest quantities near the eyes, 
or young buds of the potato, by the vessels of winch it 
is carried through the mass of starch when required. 
How beautiful an arrangement it is, that a substance 
Possessed of this remarkable property, should be found 
wherever a store of the first of these substances is laid 
up, for the purpose of affording a supply of the latter 
when required, and that this active principle should be 
found nowhere else than in the very parts of the vege¬ 
table structure in which it will be used! 
"We will now consider briefly the manner in which 
the tree is built up, and the materials of which it 
is composed. As in the manufacture of sugar from 
starch, separating iron from the ore, certain mineral 
agents have to be employed, leaving, when the work is 
completed, a proportionate amount of waste matter to 
be provided for. The same is true with animal food: a 
certain portion gees to repair the daily waste of muscle, 
bone or nerve, and there is a due proportion of waste 
which is wisely provided for. The tree has its food 
stored up in the seed or fruit, in sufficient quantity to 
sustain life until its first leaves and roots are developed, 
the same as the yolk of the egg sustains the young 
chick, until it can pick for itself. As soon as the plant 
perfects its first leavc-s, it is self-sustaining, and com¬ 
mences the important work it has to perform in the 
economy of nature—that of the conversion of impure 
into healthful gases, and of the secretion and storing-up 
of everything necessary for the sustenance of man, 
whether as regards food, medicine, or the many sub¬ 
stances used in the mechanic arts. 
In every leaf there are millions of chemical laboratories 
incessantly at work producing the results as stated; 
each of these takes in from the atmosphere the elements 
that are to be worked over, the roots send up the sili¬ 
cates and other essential elements, the sun furnishes 
the heat required, and the operation is complete; by 
day, and by night, and constant interchange of gasos 
goes on, the leaves taking in t he poisionous ones, and 
returning healthy ones in exchange. As in the work¬ 
shop, or the chemical laboratory, these changes cannot 
be wrought without an accumulation of waste matter, 
the residuum of the lime, potash and silicates. Observe 
how wisely, beautifully, and economically, this work is 
done, and you will see in their adaptations to man’s 
necessities, in their ministering to his tastes, some ot 
the most interesting harmonies of Nature; and whon 
we use the word Nature, wo mean it as Cowper so 
beautifully expresses it: “ Nature is but the name of an 
effect, the cause is God.” It is the year’s wastes from 
these laboratories that forms the concentric circle of 
growth, commonly called the grain of the tree: these 
grains are composed of cells, or hollow tubes, running 
through the entire length of the tree; these cells are 
marvelous, because of their smallness, each individual 
cell cauonly beseenby the aid of the most powerful mag¬ 
nifier. These cells are formed in regular order from the 
residuum of the mineral agents employed in the transfor¬ 
mation of gases; as fast as the material is furnished by 
the leaf laboratories, cell after cell is added with tho 
greatest mechanical accuracy, the material is arranged 
with the greatest economy as to space, the wisest calcu¬ 
lation as to strength, with the most complete adapta- 
tiou to man’s necessities, and with that beauty and 
grace that can only be wrought by the hands of tiro 
Creator. The first season’s growth is the alburnum or 
sap-wood, through the cells of which the next year's 
operations are commenced. As soon as new cells are 
formed, this sap-wood becomes solidified, the cells being 
filled with the same waste matter of which the cells aro 
composed. At the end of the season’s growth, all of 
the previous year’s growth has become heart-wood, 
and a new circle of sap-wood is completed for future 
use. A tree is simply the home of one of the many 
forms of life, bearing the same relation to the earth 
that the corals do to the ocean. It is subject to the 
same laws of growth, development, and increase, as 
any other form, and it passes through the various stages 
of life, from childhood to old age, subject to the same law 
of dissolution as all other creations. 
Sponge culture in the United States is likely to pre¬ 
sent some definite results. Among’ the exhibits to be 
sent to England will be a collection of sponges due to 
■artificial culture. The modus operandi is simplicity 
itself. A good-sized sponge is cut into fragments and 
attached to stones. In a certain time the sponge holds 
to its new base and grows. This method has been tired 
in the Mediterranean, but so far with indifferent suc¬ 
cess. Italian sponge fishermen were opposed to this 
artificial culture, and destroyed the cuttings. The 
growth of the sponge, as is quite natural, seems to be 
more rapid in tideways, because the food on which the 
sponge lives and thrives is conveyed to it under these 
-conditions in larger quantities. The sponges which will 
be exhibited were grown in Key West, and in quite 
shallow water. For the culture of sponges, which is 
quite as feasible an enterprise as that of the oyster, it 
will be, however, necessary that some legislative enact¬ 
ments shall be enforced on the Floridian coasts, giving 
protection to those who engage in this novel business. 
It is not generally known that for excellence the natural 
sponges grown on the Florida coast are among the best 
in the market. Though not as delicate in structure as 
the Mediterranean sponges, they are much more lasting. 
Methods of preparing sponges seem, however, to be very 
crude and primitive, and there is no doubt that with 
more scientific methods the quality of sponges could be 
improved. 
Speak the truth; yield not to anger; give, when asked, 
of the little thou hast; by these three steps thou shalt 
go near the gods.— Buddha. 
t 
Deliberate with caution, but act with decision ; and 
yield with graciousness or oppose with firmness.— 
Colton. 
