true that some feel the meaning of a symbol, and some do not; but why should they who can profit by such appeals be deprived of them because there are others on whom they are lost? Excess is always wrong, and a sparing use of symbolism in church adornment is perhaps expedient. We know with what force association moulds conviction, and this is a point on which much may be yielded to opinion or even to prejudice. But supposing it were possible to surround ourselves in every direction with symbols of God's attributes, what other result than our advantage could arise? what monitors for good, what shields against evil they would be! Yet, if we look meditatively around, is not this in reality our own position? God has encompassed us on every side with symbols that recall Him to our thoughts, and it is habitual neglect alone which makes them profitless. What object is there in nature which does not in some way suggest His Power, Wisdom, or Goodness? Thus were these objects used by the Three Children of old, and thus may we also use them as aids to adoration.

If there be any kind of adornment which more than another seems fitted to God's House, it is that thoughtful use of the "green things upon the earth" with which our churches are decorated at certain seasons of the year. Flowers are the painted sculpturings of nature-the shapes and colours of beauty which the Creator has lavished upon the world-and surely they can never be employed to better purpose. In the church flowers suggest thoughts that are in unison with the occasion. Who does not understand the signs of joyfulness which they express at Christmas and Easter; and do they not sometimes serve to quicken our sympathy for those who stand around the altar or the font? Small matters these are, perhaps, but let us throw nothing away that points upwards. It is good and profitable to be occupied about

such things, and the time and care thus bestowed on the adornment of the parish-church are, we believe, never without their reward. Pious thoughts arise, while skilful fingers are busy with the work, which, as it is done for the sake of God's honour, must be linked with good to all concerned in it.

Whoso offereth me praise glorifieth me. Ps. 1.

GREEN THINGS UPON THE EARTH.

O all ye Green Things upon the earth, bless ye the Lord: praise Him, and magnify Him for ever.

N contemplating the green things upon the earth we are in turn impressed by their beauty, their

usefulness, and the wisdom of design displayed in their creation. Everywhere we see plants fitted to the different conditions involved in the various climates of the earth; to the length of the day, which regulates the amount of light and heat they are to receive; and to the duration of the year, within the compass of whose seasons the cycle of their functions-growing, flowering, and fruitripening-must be completed. If the axial rotation of the globe were a little quicker or a little slower, the length of the day would be different from what it now is, and the actual conditions of plant-life would be disturbed. If the earth under less perfect adjustment were placed nearer the sun, plants would be overwhelmed in a flood of heat and light. Or, again, if the orbital speed of the earth round the sun were greater or less than it is, the length of the year would be altered, and the routine of the annual functions of plants would be thrown into disorder. Even as it is, we know the confusion which arises in a garden from a summer prolonged far into

autumn, or from a too early spring. In reality, we observe that the Creator has everywhere endowed plants, in regard to their external relations, with the exact constitution which ensures their well-being.

The strength of the framework of plants has also been nicely calculated. The thickness of the stem, the tapering of the branches, the weight of the leaves, flowers, and fruit, are all modelled on the astronomical conditions in which the earth is placed. Were terrestrial gravity greater than it now is, everything would weigh heavier; or, in other words, the force with which the earth pulls everything towards its centre would be increased. The trunk of the tree, which we now see towering into the air as a symbol of strength, would then be unable to support the branches, and the branches would be would be overpowered by the leaves. Blossoms and fruit would break down the stalks that hold them up, and all our useful plants would be dragged prostrate to the ground. The strength of every minute microscopic fibre throughout the whole vegetable world has been created in exact relation to gravitation; and in nothing, perhaps, is the fact more beautifully illustrated than in plants which, like the fuchsia, the arbutus, or the snowdrop, incline their flowers in graceful pendants. As a general rule flowers are erect, and the stamens are longer than the pistils, in order that the pollen, or fructifying powder, may naturally fall on the stigma, and thus reach the germ. It is obvious, however, that if these relative proportions as to length had been maintained in drooping plants, the stamens would have been placed lower down than the pistils; and, consequently, the pollen when set free would have fallen to the ground without coming into contact with the pistil. But, by an obviously designed departure from the usual plan, the comparative length of the stamens

and pistils has been reversed in drooping flowers, by which means the anthers are made still to occupy a superior position; and, consequently, when the pollen is set free it naturally falls upon the stigma placed below it. In noticing this exquisite adjustment Dr Whewell observes "We have here a little mechanical contrivance which would have been frustrated if the proper intensity of gravity had not been assumed in the reckoning." "There is something curious in thus considering the whole mass of the earth from pole to pole, and from circumference to centre, as employed in keeping a snow-drop in the position most suited to the promotion of its vegetable health."

And all men that see it shall say, This hath God done; for they shall perceive that it is God's work. Ps. lxiv.

The love of flowers exists within us almost as a part of our nature. It calls forth some of the first cries of admiration in the infant, and strews many an innocent pleasure on the way through life. In the daisies, the buttercups, the dandelions, and other wild-flowers we behold the earliest treasures of life, which the hand of childhood eagerly grasps, or twines into garlands and wreaths. Even more especially do the "green things upon the earth" merit our regard for their usefulness. Plants give us houses for shelter and ships for commerce, and medicines with which to combat disease. They feed us and they clothe us. Often we may see the fields decked with the blue flowers of a plant which for its own beauty's sake obtains a welcome in many a garden border, but which is largely cultivated on the farm to yield a most useful clothing. It is the common flax. From the earliest days of Babylon and Egypt this plant has never ceased to be a blessing to mankind. Specimens of linen as old as the Pharaohs, wrapped in endless