Images de page
PDF
ePub

of which gives us now such pleasure, were buried in a deep snow. The mountains, whose grey tops rise to the very clouds, were covered with snow and ice, enveloped in impenetrable fogs. In those verdant walks, which the nightingale now inhabits, nothing was seen but dry leafless branches. The rivers and streams, which murmur as they flow, were stopped in their course by the ice, which froze them. The birds, which now fill the air with their songs, were insensible, in caves and marshes, or gone to other countries. There reigned a mournful silence every where; and, as far as our sight could reach, we saw only a dismal solitude. But scarce has the almighty breath been felt, when nature awakes from its inanimate state, and spreads pleasure and a thousand charms around us. The sun approaches our globe; and, at once, the atmosphere is penetrated with a quickening warmth; the whole vegetable kingdom proves its beneficent effect; and the earth produces grass and flowers of every sort. Now the face of the earth is renewed and embellished. At the sight of this happy revolution can we fail of looking up to the great Being, who is the cause of all!

"Lord, Thou visitest the earth, and makest the valleys to smile. Thou sprinklest them with dew to enrich them, and the springs with which Thou waterest them, are always plentiful. At thy command, our harvests are ripe, and fill our hearts with joy. Thy blessing is upon our furrows, and the rain refreshes the dry earth. Thou makest it soft, and blessest the seed. Thou crownest the year with thy blessings. Thy word maketh the ground fruitful. Under thy steps the flowers and fruits spring up. Blessing and fruitfulness are thine. The pastures of the desert are watered, and the little hills are adorned with a beautiful verdure. The countries are covered with flocks, and the valleys are full of corn.

Every place resounds with songs of joy and glad. ness. The praises and thanksgivings of all nature rise to heaven itself."

In this revolution, which the spring brings with it, I behold an emblem of the salutary change which a soul experiences, who has not resisted the operations of the divine grace. It had, before, no real beauty; its faculties were depraved and inordinate: It was unable to produce pious fruits. But, how happy its state, since it has felt the divine influence of grace. It is now like the earth in spring, which feels the power of the sun. Ignorance vanishes; folly and vice disappear; the passions are subdued; the heart is full of virtuous and religious sentiments, the fruits of which delight and edify mankind.

MAY VIII.

The springing up of Seeds.

THERE are at present many changes making before our eyes in the vegetable kingdom, but there are still many more which escape our sight, and which nature does in secret. The seed, some time ago sowed in the ground, swells, increases, and the plant by degrees shoots up and grows. This mechanism deserves so much the more at tention, as it is, properly speaking, the source of all the beauties which spring and summer present us with in the vegetable kingdom. The seed is composed of different parts, according to the different species; but the chief is the germ. Each shoot has two parts; the one simple, which becomes the root; the other scaly, which rises and becomes the stalk and the head of the plant. The seed of most plants is composed of two pieces, which are called lobes, that are filled with meally substance,which serves for seminal leaves

to the plant. Mosses have the most simple seed of any. It consists only in the shoot, without pellicles or lobes. A certain degree of moisture and warmth are absolutely necessary to make the seeds spring up. The increase of heat, and the difference observable in the taste and smell, seem to discover here a sort of fermentation. By means of this preparation, the meally substance of the lobes becomes proper to nourish the tender shoot. It is known by experiments, which have been tried with coloured juices, that this substance sucks in a moisture, which furnishes a proper nourishment, with the assistance of air, and of heat, till the plant has acquired consistence enough to profit by the juices which the root procures for it. Then the exhausted lobes dry by degrees, and, at the end of a few weeks, fall off, when the plant no longer requires them. Certain herbs, which grow on mountains, are of a very particular nature. As their duration is short, it would often happen that the seed would not have time to ripen. In order, therefore, that the species should not perish, the bud, which contains the shoot, is formed at the top of the plants, puts out leaves, falls, and takes root. But, when the plant comes out of the earth, it would run too great a risk, if it was at once exposed to the outward air and the power of the sun. Its parts, therefore, remain folded, and laid one upon another, nearly as it was in the seed. But, by degrees, as the root strengthens, and stretches on all sides, it furnishes the upper vessels with abundance of juice, by means of which all the organs soon unfold themselves. The plant is, at first, almost gelatinous, but it gradually acquires more consistence, and is always increasing.

This abridgment of the history of the shooting of plants, is sufficient to shew us how many preparations and means nature makes use of, to produce one single little plant. When, therefore,

we see a seed spring up, which we have sowed, we must not imagine (as is usually the case) that it is not worth our attention. It is one of those wonders of nature, which is a subject of reflection for the greatest men. At the sight of this phenomenon, let us silently admire the power and wisdom of that God, who is adorable in all things. The order with which the plants so regularly succeed each other, is a proof of that wisdom which manifests itself even in the smallest things. This reminds us of our moral nature: that also contains a certain seed, which shoots with years, which grows and bears fruit. the designs of the Creator, this was a means to lead us to happiness; but our natural corruption, and outward circumstances, often defeat those merciful intentions.

In

MAY IX.

The Chick in the Egg.

WE are much obliged to the naturalists, for taking the trouble to make inquiries into the generation and propagation of animals. Nothing contributes more to the glory of the Creator than the observations made on the wisdom which appears in the production of animated beings. The less we are able to give an account of all his works, the more earnest we should be to take every opportunity of knowing some of them at least. With this view, let us now consider the formation of the chick in the egg; such as has been discovered by one of the greatest naturalists. The hen has scarce sat on the egg twelve hours, when they begin already to discover in it some lineaments of the head and body of the chicken which is to be born. The heart appears to beat at the end of the day: it has at that time the

form of a horse-shoe, but no blood is yet seen. At the end of forty-eight hours two vesicles of blood can be distinguished, the pulsation of which is very visible. One is the left ventricle, the other the root of the great artery. At the fiftieth hour one auricle of the heart appears, and resembles a lace or noose folded down upon itself. The beating of the heart is first observed in the auricle, and afterwards in the ventricle. At the end of seventy hours they distinguish wings, and on the head two bubbles for the brain; one for the bill, and two others for the fore part and hind part of the head. Towards the end of the fourth day, the two auricles, already visible, draw nearer to the heart than they did before. The auricle which appears first, seems to have two horns, but it is afterwards found to be two auricles. The liver appears towards the fifth day. At the end of 131 hours, the first voluntary motion is observed. At the end of 138 hours, the lungs and stomach become visible, and at the end of 142, the intestines, the loins, and the upper jaw. At the 144th hour, two ventricles are seen, and two drops of blood, instead of the single drop which was seen before. The seventh day, the brain, which was slimy, begins to have some consistence. At the 190th hour of incubation, the bill opens, and the flesh appears in the breast. At the 194th, the sternum is seen, that is to say, the breast-bone. At the 210th, the ribs come out of the back, the bill is very visible, as well as the gall-bladder. The bill becomes green at the end of 236 hours; and if the chick is taken out of its coverings, it evidently moves itself. The feathers begin to shoot out towards the 240th hour, and the skull becomes gristly. At the 264th, the eyes appear. At the 288th, the ribs are perfect. At the 331st, the spleen draws near the stomach, and the lungs to the chest. At the end of 355 hours, the bill frequently opens and shuts; and at the end of

« PrécédentContinuer »