Year: 1877

Now that our farmers have gathered into
their gamers the fruits of their patient
labor, filling their cribs and barns with the
increase of seed, will it not repay the trou-
/ bic to contemplate, for brief period, the
wonderful mysteries contained in the seed
of plant. 1t is the miracle of miracles.
God said: ''Let there be plants yielding
seed, each one after his kind. Caveer, the
great naturalist, thought that the germs of
all past, present and future generations of
seed were contained one within the other.
Other learned men nave attempted to ex-
| plain this mystery in a different way Let
them explain it as they will, still the won
der remains the same, and we must look
/ upon the reproduction of the seed as a con-
tinual miracle.


Is there upon earth machine, is there "A
palace, is there a city which contains so
much that is wonderful as is incosed in
single seed, one grain of corn, one little
brown apple seed, one of the least of seeds
picked up perhaps by bird for her little
ones, the smallest seed of the blue bell, or
one of the seeds that float about in the air,
invisible to our eyes? There is a world of
marvels and brilliant beauties hidden in
each of these living seed. 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, 100, 900 and
over. Well. let US ask: Have these 1OG,-
600 kinds of plants ever failed to bear the
right seed? Have they ever deceived us !?
Has seed Of wheat ever yielded barley, or
seed of poppy grown up a sun flowero
Has sycamore tree ever sprung from an
acorn, or a beech tree from a chestnut
\ little bird may carry away the seed of a
tree 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 magnificent tree, under the shade
of which the focks of the valley and their
shepherds may rest.


Consider the wonderful power of life and
resurrection bestowed on the seed of plants,
so that they may be preserved from year to
year and even from century to century.
Let child put few seeds in a drawer and
shut them up, and, sixty years afterwards,
when his hair is white and his steps totter-
ing, let him take one of these seeds and
SOW it in the ground, and soon after he will
intn
young, beautiful and fresh plant.


In the year 1885 several old Celtic tombS
were discovered. Under the head of each
of the dead bodies there was found small
few seeds, which were placed there be-
side the dead by friends, who buried them
1900 or 100 years before. These seeds
were carefully sowed, and what think you?
was seen to spring up from this dust of the
dead, beautiful flowers, bearing blossoms
as sweet and bright as those woven by
merry children playing in the fields.


Some years ago a Theoretically sealed vase
was found in a mummy pot in Egypt, and
sent to the British museum, where it was
broken, and in it was discovered few
grains of wheat, one or two peas, old,
wrinkled, and as hard as stone. The peas
were planted carefully under glass, on the
4th of June. 1S44, and at the end of thirty
days, these seeds were seen to spring into
new life. They had been buried probably
about 5000 years ago perhaps in the time
of Moses, and had slept all that long time,
apparently dead, yet still living. Is not
the springing up of the seed an emblem of
the resurrection of the dead and to en-
courage us not to live alone for the pres
ent, but for the final resurrection of all that
dieth l..