Year: 1872

10 the uncuucateu eve lnc nb is
wonder. The fruit seems TO come out
in the place where flowers ought to
be; and the appearance is that there
are no flowers before the fruit, as there
are in other plants. 1t was the habit
in the past ages TO attribute something
miraculous to every appearance out OF
the ordinary course of nature, and to
take the occasion TO connect these
marvellous appearances with some ind.
vidual whom they wished the world
to venerate and esteem. So this fig
tree marvel came TO be associated with
the fight of Mary into Egypt with the
infant Jesus. The Spaniards tell us
that in her flight she sheltered herself
one night under fig tree. In recon
pcnse for the security afforded, she
blessed the tree, and bestowed upon it
marvellous power. In foreign coun,
tries it produces two crops ycar,and
this was one Of the blessings then con.
ferred But in order that the tree
might be ferlilized-for even in those
days it was known that flowers were
of two sexcs-thc tree put forth, by
her command, one magnificent white
flower of rare beauty. 1t was pure
white, and shot forth rays of phos.
phorescent lovelness. This fructifies
the whole tree, and renders any other
flower unnecessary. This Towering
still continues every year on one night
only-St. Johns night. 1t opens for
a few moments at midnight, and who
ever could see and secure this flower,
though at tho expense of the whole
future of fig culture, would possess
himself of a charm which would enable
him to procure anything he might
desire in this world. The Virgin Mary,
knowing this, caused the fig, for this
evening OF its towering to be guarded
by all kinds of horrible things There
are snakes, lizards, bloated toads, birds
of i'll omen, wild beasts, and venomous
reptiles of every description, so that
no one has ever been able to get near
enough to see this miraculous and
wonderful flower.


This story is firmly believed in by
all those old Latin races, whose chance
for life is cast in those regions where
tho fig tree dwells; and has always
been sufficient reason to them why
the fig tree has never any flower, as
they think.


What pity il is that the cold hand
of science is so ever ready to crush to
dust all these beautiful stories. 1t
tells us, in spite of these lovely tradi
tons, of ages past, that tho fig has
flowers like unto any other plant, but
the flowers are inside what we call
the fruit. All flowers rest on some.
thing. Take the apple for instance.
The flowers are set on small globular
productions. The floral parts, the
petals, and stamens, rise out of the
centre OF this globe; and after they die
away this globe swells and becomes
the apple which we cat. The fig is
pretty much formed in tho same way.
Tho little globe which we see pushing
from the axle of the leaf, and which
aiterwards becomes the irult, Is hlled
with floral parts, just as We see III the
apple; but these parts never project
up through the centre so as to be seen
by vulgar eyes There is small orifice
at the apcx through which the pollen is
is drawn, and that is all that is known to
any one, except of the more curious
class The curiosity is rewarded, on
breaking open young flower, by find
ing it filed with pink, spongy sub
stance; each of tho little projections
composing it being found by small
pocket lens to be small flower.-
Thus the mystery ceases. Tho fig is
really a little community in which
hundreds of individual flowers dwoll,
and thus ends in hard cold facts the
mystery of tho Virgin and the fig tree.