The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-07-22
For the Rutland GLoBE.l
CryptOgams.

CryptOgams.
A CoLLEGlANs REFLECTIONS on GRADUATION
The vegetable world is composed of two
series of plants, the phRnogams or flower
ing plants, and the cryptogains or foweress
plants.
In the first series the plants are of the
highest order, embracing those that delight
the sense and administer to the wants of
man. This series presents wonderful
variety in the size form, attitude and
structure of its plants, and the color of its
flowers. In size there is every graduation,
from the tiniest plant just peeping above
the soil, to the majestic forest trees, all
bearing flowers, producing fruit and yield
ing seed, by means of which they repro
duce themselves. The cryptogams are the
lowest in the scale of vegetable life. The
ferns are the type of the series. If only
the organs of vegetation are considered,
they are not dstinguishable from the flow
ering plants. But instead of bearing flow
ers and consequently producing fruit and
seed, they have no distinct reproductive or
gans, but are propagated by means of
spores produced on the under surface of
the leaf. From the ferns we descend the
scale and come to the MOSES, the lichens,
the branching sea-weeds and the fungi
But it is not in the vegetable world alone
that these plants flourish. In the world of
mind and responsibility there are many use
less cryptogams
''Al is not gold that glitters," is a trite
proverb which we take to mean that we
must not allow ourselves to be deceived by
even promise of dazzling results. What
is fairer in early spring time than the ferns
of our American forests? How beautifully
the dark green leaves contrast with the pure
white of some lingering snow bank. What
luXuriance in the thick dark clusters How
brilliant and promising they look in COM
parison with the few sluggish phenogams
just peeping out of the earth But as the
season advances and we again take a look
at our ferns, we shall find them nearly the
same as in early spring time. They have
heightened their stems and unfolded few
more leaves and that is all. We see no
flowers, no fruit. But our feeble little
ph9nogams that gave no promise of
strength and beauty, whose very existence,
even, seemed at the mercy of the storms,
have far outstripped our ferns and have de-
veloped into strong and beautiful forms.
To many heart they bring gladness by the
beauty and fragrance of their flowers, or
by their luscious fruit. Some give promise
of becoming, when few more years shall
have passed, proud and noble trees of the
forest.
Just so in life! How many enter together
upon lifes duties Some, possessed of
brilliant talents, give promise of splendid
and useful career, but become only useless
cryptogams, even contented to remain as
they were in the beginning. Others, for
whom we almost tremble, as we see them
go out into the great busy world, by earn
est effort, at last outstrip their brilliant but
unstable comrades in life's journey. They
have not only grown strong themselves but
the fruits of their useful lives have blessed
others. Truly 1.-THE first shall be last, and
the last shall be first
Our busy working day world is as full of
cryptogamous lives as the woods are full
of ferns If peoples hearts were as open
to our reading as the book of nature to our
researches, we might gain some idea, per-
haps, of the number of fond hearts that
are aching to-day over loved ones who
started out so bravely and so fair, with a
promise of much fruit, but at length re-
paid fathers care, a mothers self-saerif-
cling love, with harvest of leaves.
God makes the cryptogamous series of
plants; people make cryptogams of them
selves The world is so full of work, and
there are so many opportunities for self
culture, that a young person who deliber-
ately settles down to be a nonenity, has no
one but himself to thank for cryptoga-
nous life.
Sometimes, we know not why, God in
his mysterious providence strikes a human
being, from bounding joyous existence,
to one of lifelong pain and helplessness.
They must look forward, henceforth, to a
life of hopeless invadility. For them there
is no more part in the great busy world.
Cryptogamous is that life as far as care
less observer can see but ii we look care
fully we may see the proof of ph@noga-
nous relation in the sweet blossoms of pa
tence faith and hope, that unfold even af.
ter many days under the touch of Gods
shaping fingers
We, as a class, go forth to-day to enter
upon our life-work. We have been engaged
in the work of preparation, but real IF.
now opens before us. No astrologer is al
hand to consult the star-lits heavens ant
reveal our destiny. God has wisely con
cealed the future from us. We know MOI
whether all of us will perform our worl
well, and by true and earnest lives exert al
influence that shall be felt through tim,
and extend into eternity, or whether som'
will be contented to live useless.
Cryptogamous lives. Sometimes tiret
out and discouraged, weary of sowing fo
Others to reap, we may wish to shirk thu
responsibilities of life, but through thu
word of God there will come voice bid
ding us ''bring forth much fruit Ant
bye and bye, when the summer shall hav'
followed the seed time, when the autumn
opens wide the gates TO the harvest heids
and the reapers return with their songs o
barveat hone- n shall we Law down At tn