Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1862-01-23

Have you ever considered how wonderful
thing the seed of plant isl 1t is the
miracle of miracles. God said, "Let there
be plants yielding seed )" and it is further
added, 'each one after his kind"
The great naturalist, Cuvier, thought that
the germs of all past, present and future
generations of seed were contained one
within the other as if packed in success.
sion Of boxes. Other learned men have ex-
planned this mystery in q different way.
But what signify all their explanations
Let them explain it as they will, the Won
der remains the same, and we must look
upan the reproduction of the seed as a con-
tinual miracle.
Is there upon earth a machine, is there
a palace, is there even a city, that contains
so much tLatis wonderful, as is inclosed in
a single little seed-one grain of corn, one
little brown apple seed, one smsll seed of a
tree, picked up, perhaps, by sparrow for
her little ones, the smallest of a poppy or q
blue-hell, or even one of the seeds that are
so small that they float about in the air
invisible to our eyes? All there is a world
of marvel and brilliant beauties hidden in
each Of those tiny seeds. Consider their
immense number the perfect separation of
the different kinds, their power of life and
resurrection, and their wonderful fruitful
ness.
Consider first their number. About hun
dred and fifty years ago, the celebrated
Linnaeus, who has been called the "father
of botany" reckoned about eight thousand
different kinds Of plants and he then
thought that the whole number existing
could not much exceed ten thousand. But
hundred years after him, NJ. de Candolle,
of Geneva, described forty thousand kinds
Of plants, and he supposed it possible that
the number might even amount to one hun.
dred thousand.
Well, let me ask you have these one hun
dred thousand plants ever failed to bear
the right seed? Have they ever deceived
us? Has seed of wheat ever yielded bar
ley, or seed of poppy grown up into q
sunfower? Has sycamore-tree ever
grown from an acorn, or a beach-tree from
a chestnut A little bird may carry away
| the seed of sycamore in its beak to feed
| its nestlings, and on the way may drop it on
the ground. The tiny seed may spring up
and grow where it fell, unnoticed, and sixty
! years after it may become a magnificent
tree, under which the focks of the valley
and their shepherds may rest in the
shade.
Consider next the wonderful power of life
and resurrection bestowed on the seeds of
plants, so that they may be preserved from
! year 10 year, and even from century to- CEN
tury.
Let q child put few seeds in drawer
and shut them up, and sixty years after
ward when his hair is white and his steps
! tottering, let him take one of these seeds
and SOW it in the ground and soon after he
will see it spring up into new life, and be-
come young, fresh, and beautiful plant
NJ. Jouannet relates that in the year
1885, several old Celtic tombs were dis,
covered near Bergorac Under the head Of
each Of the dead bodies there was found q
small square stone or brick, with hole in
! it, containing q few seeds, which had beer
placed there beside the deadly the heather
friends, who had buried them, perhaps fif
teen hundred or seventeen hundred year
before. These seeds were carefully sowet
by those who found them. What was seer
to spring from the dust Of the dead Beau
tiful sun-fowers, blue corn-howers, anC
clover bearing blossoms as bright anC
sweet as those which are woven int
wreaths by the merry children now playing
in our fields.
Some years ago. vase, Theoretically
sealed, was found in mummy-pit il
Egypt, by the English traveller, Wilkinson
who sent it to the British Museum. Tn
librarian there, having unfortunatel,
broken it, discovered in it a few grains 0
wheat and one or two peas, old, wrinkled
and as hard as stone. The peas wer
planted carefully under glass the 4th Q
June, 1914, and at the end Of thirty day
these seeds were seen to spring up into ne
life. They had been buried probably aboI
three thousand years ago, perhaps in Ii
time Of Moses, and had slept all that Ion
time. apparently dead, yet still living
the dust Of the tomb GdUSscn.