In some of these descriptions we recognise a very distinct resemblance to several kinds still in existence, with such differences as might be expected to exist at such a distance of time in an order of vegetables, the pollen of which so freely intermingles with the seeds of others of the same genus, producing new species. It is not uninteresting to observe, both the agreements and the differences subsisting between ancient and modern horticulture; and it is especially pleasant to remark among horticulturists of former days, the same kind of eagerness to obtain and give publicity to new varieties, which prevails at present.

The

Many fanciful notions were, in the classical ages, entertained of the medicinal qualities of brassica. Both the Greeks and Romans used its juice, with honey, as an eye-salve; they mixed it with goats' milk, salt, and honey, for the cramp ; they took it inwardly, as a remedy against poisonous mushrooms, as a purifier of the blood, and as a clarifier of the brain after intoxication. plant was prepared as a liniment to assuage swellings of the glands, and to restore blackened bruises to their natural color; they bruised it raw, with vinegar, honey, rue, mint, and the roots of laser, as a cure for the headache, the gout, and many other complaints; they recommended it to mothers who were nurses; they even prescribed it for the palsy, for tremblings of the limbs, from whatever cause, and for vomiting of blood.*

Of the cabbage, properly so called, a preparation is made by the process of fermentation, which the Germans, who were immoderately fond of it, call Sauerkraut. The manufacture of this article of food is carried to a great extent by the Tyrolese, among whom it forms a separate profession. "October and November are the busy months for the work, and huge white pyramids of cabbage are then seen crowding the markets; while, in every court and yard, into which an accidental peep is obtained, all is bustle and activity, in the concocting of this national food, and the baskets, piled with studded cabbage, re

* Phillips on Cultivated Vegetables, Article Cabbage.

semble mountains of green-tinged froth or syllabub.""* This preparation has been found to be of sovereign efficacy as a preservative from scurvy during long voyages. It was for many years used in the navy for this purpose, until displaced by lemon-juice, which is equally a specific, while it is not so bulky an article for store.

A variety of brassica, under the name of cow-cabbage, has been recently introduced into England, from La Vendée, by the Comte de Puysage. The proximity of this department to the ancient province of Anjou, and the description of the plant, leave no doubt of its identity with the Anjou cabbage, a very large variety described by Mill. In 1827, thirty-six seeds were, according to the Gardeners' Magazine, divided among six agriculturists, for the purpose of raising this useful vegetable in England. The perfect success resulting from some of these seeds, which have produced plants of luxuriant growth, is already known; and very recently the speculation of a spirited individual has rapidly diffused it over the kingdom, so that there is every reason to hope, that the cow-cabbage will immediately come into extensive cultivation in Great Britain. It is said that sixty plants afford provender sufficient for one cow, during three or four years, without fresh planting. A square of sixty feet will contain 256 plants, four feet apart, which are sixteen plants more than four cows require for a year's provender, without the aid of other food. Were we to give way to the anticipations, which this and similar facts might excite, of the powers inherent in esculent vegetables that yet remain to be developed by the skill and industry of man, views might be unfolded of the future population of the globe, almost too magnificent for the imagination to follow. There are, however, too many counteracting circumstances in the present state of society, to permit a man of judgement, chastened by experience, to indulge these views without

abatement.

One important reflection, indeed, which I have not elsewhere overlooked, again presses itself on our notice.

* Vegetable Substances, p. 263.

+ Mill's Husbandry, vol. iii.

Such facts only form a branch of a great department of natural phenomena, which prove that energies are impressed on creation, lying, as it were, in abeyance and reserve, till the ingenuity of man shall call them into action. Thus, in the present and similar instances, the inconveniences arising from the superabundant power of animal reproduction are in continual course of mitigation, by the interference of man in stimulating the superabundant power of vegetable reproduction; and as human society advances in knowledge and civilization, the number of mankind, and that of living beings destined for their use, is increased, and their welfare provided for; while, by the enlarged resources so acquired, the human faculties find room to expand, and those ulterior intentions of the universal Parent are urged forward, of which revealed religion has opened so glorious a prospect.

THIRD WEEK-SUNDAY.

SPIRITUAL LIGHT.

THE analogy between the light of the sun, and that moral illumination which is shed on the soul by Him who is emphatically called "the Light of the World," is very frequently alluded to in Scripture; and the splendor which now shines around us naturally raises our thoughts to this animating subject.

There are various interesting views in which this analogy presents itself. Sometimes it is employed to illustrate the progressive nature of religion in the soul, as when it is said, "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." This comparison is at once apt and beautiful. First, on the dark bosom of night the daystar appears; then breaks forth the lovely dawn, shedding over the face of heaven and earth a faint, but grateful and increasing light. At.

length opens the bright eye of day, and the broad and deep shadows of morning mingle and are contrasted with the lustre of the new-born rays. Higher and higher the sun takes his course in the heavens, till hill and valley, wood and stream, glow as he shines; till the shadows soften and are diminished, and till all Nature rejoices in the universal blaze.

And so it is with the Christian. In the morning of his spiritual day, how faint is the light of his graces, how broad and deep the shades of his remaining ignorance and sin! But as the day advances, his illumination and fervor increase; the dark shadows of his character become less conspicuous; they are contracted in their dimensions, and mitigated in their intensity, till one by one they disappear; or, by the contrast, only show his virtues and graces more bright. It is thus that he approaches his noon; but, alas! he attains it not in this sublunary state. Clouds intervene and storms lower, and before all that is dark in his character is removed, he suffers the eclipse of the grave; only, however, to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of his Father.

As the progress of the day may be applied to illustrate the advancement of an individual in Christian truth and religious practice, so the progress of the year may be taken as shadowing forth the gradual, but constantly progressive state of the Christian community. This movement is not always in unison with the advancement of society in the arts and sciences; but, on the contrary, as history and experience abundantly prove, frequently takes an opposite direction. The light of reason and the light of revelation, although they are derived from the same source, and when combined, shed an intenser glory over both the world of nature and the world of grace, are yet, by the perverseness of man, sometimes practically contrasted, and caused to obscure each other. Human wisdom is essentially worldly; and, unless sanctified by the wisdom which cometh from above, it shines with its own meteor light, and is the rival, not the auxiliary, of the Sun of Righteousness. Yet in its own sphere, even then, its powers are wonderful. Within the two last centuries,

it may be said to have advanced from spring to summer, and in our own day has produced fruits which have astonished the world. The inventions to which it has given rise, are rapidly changing the face of society and the common relations of life, and seem destined not to stop till they shall have effected a complete revolution in the character and condition of the human race. Under the operation of this principle, knowledge is pouring in on the ignorant, learning becomes more learned, skill more skilful, and ingenuity more ingenious. Industry finds new paths to wealth; luxury new means of gratification; philosophy new departments of study; commerce new and more ample resources. By unheard-of means, human intercourse becomes daily more easy and rapid; and mankind, brought closer together, are united by new ties. To the genius, the talent, and the enterprise of man, who will venture to fix limits?

But look more attentively, and you will find that all these productions of human talent and industry, when unblest by the enlightening and vivifying power of religion, carry in themselves the seeds of their own destruction, and must end in the blight and desolation of winter. The spirit by which the present generation is actuated is selfish, restless, and worldly. In the bustle of life, individual struggles against individual, class against class, interest against interest; while all are fearfully affected by an increasing relaxation of moral and social ties. If the crisis be not averted, who dare say that science, with its boasted. light, shall not be extinguished, and the darkness of ignorance and barbarism again brood over these Christian lands?

But there is one remedy, there is only one. That remedy does not consist in arresting the progress of knowledge; which would be altogether undesirable if it were possible, and impossible if it were desirable. It consists in enlightening that knowledge, by bringing it under the influence and illumination of Him, whose advent was announced as that of "a light to lighten the Gentiles."

In looking to the future destiny of the human race, it is an unspeakable satisfaction to be assured, by that Ora

III.

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IX.