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jacent structures, that upon the death either of a branch or of an entire tree, when it becomes an object with nature to hasten its decomposition, that its elements may be again turned to use, the removal or at least the breaking up of the epidermis is one of the first steps in the process. This is accomplished in a very singular and interesting way. Various fungi (or minute mushrooms) develop themselves under the epidermis, and, by increasing in size, either perforate it by several small points, according to their form, or cause it to give way extensively, and separate in large portions. Many plants have peculiar fungi attached to them, which only appear when the death of the plant, or some part of it, is impending. These facilitate the decay of the original structures, not only by appropriating to themselves the nutritive juices, which are immediately under the bark, but by permitting the escape of the vital fluids (the blood, as it might be figuratively termed) of the plant, such as the gummy or saccharine liquids of trees. Thus the kind of gum which exudes from the stems of plum and cherry trees, makes its escape through openings effected in the bark by a fungus which passes from within outwards, after the fashion of a screw, and called Nemaspora crocea. So long, however, as the integrity of the bark is preserved, the juices essential to the growth of the tree are retained within it.

Further, the epidermis in many cases prevents the frost injuring the bark and internal parts of the tree. This is most manifest in trees which have numerous layers of epidermis. Not only is the carbon, which has been stated to abound in the bark, a very bad conductor of caloric, serving the double purpose of confining the internal heat in winter, and excluding the external heat in summer, but likewise a layer of air is retained captive between each layer of epidermis, which thus form as it were so many coats, and prevent the establishment of an equilibrium of temperature between the interior of the tree and the surrounding atmosphere, which, if very low, would freeze the juices, or, if very high, would, by over-exciting the actions of the plant, induce exhaustion-states alike prejudicial, and, when in extremes, fatal. A peculiar appropriateness will generally be discovered between the number and texture of the epidermal layers, and the place of growth of the plant. Thus the birch (Betula alba), which, of all European trees, has the greatest number of layers of the epidermis, is also the one which approaches nearest to the snowy summits of the Alps, and extends farthest towards the icy regions of the pole. Specimens of the Abies (pinus) Donglassii have been found with an epidermis nearly two feet in thickness. This tree forms immense forests in N. W. America, between 43° to 52° N. lat. In South America a very remarkable tree is mentioned by Don Ulloa, under the name of quinales, as having about 300 epidermal layers; and several trees in New Holland have barks with layers scarcely less

numerous.

Nor is it merely by these means that the bark is enabled to impart security to the inner structures, since in several instances the superficial layers have

• One species (of Leptospermum) was remarkable for its bark, which was about an inch thick, and composed of a great number of flakes, lying one over another, very easily separable, and as thin as the finest Chinese paper. This singular organisation of the bark occurs only in New Holland: it is nearly the same in the Eucalyptus resinifera; and I had observed it also on the south-west coast of this country, on two large trees, one belonging to the family of Proteacea, the other to the Myrtacea.LABILLARDIERE's Voyage in search of La Perouse, p. 284. London, 1800.

The strata of the bark are in general finer, even in the same species of plant or tree, when growing in cold regions. Thus the layers of bark of the Tilia europaa, or lime-tree, are softer and of closer texture when produced in Russia and Sweden than in Britain, and are therefore preferred by gardeners for matting; just as the fur of animals inhabiting northern countries is softer and denser than those of warm regions, and consequently employed for winter clothing.

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the power of secreting materials which conduce in various ways to the object proposed. The leaves and green parts of the stem of many plants, particularly such as grow along the sea-coast, are observed to be covered with a fine coating of a bluish-green colour (on which account they are termed glaucous), and which is of a waxy or resinous nature, and therefore neither soluble in water, by which it could be washed away by rain, nor easily penetrated by the moisture more or less present in the air surrounding the plant. The same delicate coating forms the bloom seen on many smooth-skinned fruits, such as plums, nectarines, and apples, and which, when once rubbed off, is never renewed by the leaves, though it is so by the fruits before they are ripe. It constitutes an important protection against the injurious effects of the spray of the ocean to some plants, such as the yellow-horned poppy (Glaucium flavum), and the cabbage (Brassica oleracea), which is originally native of the cliffs on the coast, and which has retained the power of forming this secretion even when growing in gardens far inland. Fruits are likewise protected against the absorption of water from the atmosphere, not only when growing, the introduction of which into their tissues would interfere with their ripening and diminish their flavour, but also aids greatly in the preservation of the fruit when plucked, if it be intended to keep them. The bloom should therefore never be wiped off the surface of apples which are wished for winter-use, but, on the contrary, carefully retained, by the most cautious handling of them.

The wax-palm of the Andes (Ceroxylon andicola),— which inhabits the side of the mountain called Quindiu, in lat. 4o 35" north, occupying a zone from the height of 7538 to 9843 feet above the level of the sea, and where the mean temperature varies from 52° to 6440, according to its height, thus soaring far above the usual locality of its kindred, which rarely exceed 3000 feet, is exposed to a degree of cold unknown to the others, and consequently to the deposition on its surface of a quantity of moisture, which would be extremely pernicious, were it not protected by a natural covering of a most efficient kind. The stems of this palm, which are often 150 to 160 feet tall, are coated with a varnish of wax and resin, so thick that it can be scraped off, and which effectually defends the inner portion from wet. "And if," as observes Bonpland, "it be a phenomenon to find a palm growing at the height mentioned, it is much more wonderful that there should exude from it a mixture of wax and resin. This substance, extremely inflammable, which covers all the plant, is the produce of a vegetable juice as insipid and as watery as that which is obtained from the trunk of the cocoa-palm." It cousists of two-thirds of resin and one-third of wax. Where the leaves have fallen off, and where the internal tissues would be exposed, the coat of wax is often about a quarter of an inch in thickness; and as this part has not the power of secreting the compound, it must have flowed from the entire surface immediately above, and so formed a shield against the atmosphere over the wounded portion, which it completely seals.

The arrangements for the protection of aquatic plants are equally remarkable. However necessary a certain quantity of water may be to the well-being and exercise of the functions of a plant, an excess of it is destructive; and to prevent such a casualty, plants which grow under water, and which are devoid of cuticle (though all parts of such plants as rise above the surface are provided with that coat), are surrounded with a glairy liquid, which not only facilitates their movements in the water, and prevents the stem or foliage from being broken by the agitation of the waves, but actually hinders the water from coming in immediate contact with the tissues of the plant. If the flower or leaf-stalk of the water-lily, or any similar plant, be taken up, it can be drawn through the hand

with the greatest ease, being covered with this lubricating material. All aquatic animals, even frogs, have an analogous secretion. The spawn of the frog is preserved against the dissolving power of the water by the like external envelope; and the feathers of swans, ducks, and sea-fowl, have an oily coating over them, which not only keeps them from being saturated with moisture, but enables them to dive with greater facility. In all these winged creatures the sebaceous glands near the surface are of unusually large size.

The stems of plants thus protected progressively extend into the medium in which they are intended to exist for a time; and there unfolding their leaves, which are annual thin expansions of the bark, they exercise an influence on the atmosphere of a most important kind, while they are in turn influenced by that fluid, their reciprocal actions producing the most beneficial results. The length to which the explanation of the mere structure of the stem has proceeded, renders it impossible to detail on the present occasion even a few of the useful effects which flow from the harmonious interchange of their properties, the one gaining in solidity, and the other in purity and fitness for the respiration of animals. These I must reserve for the following paper; only observing at present, that the exposition of them will lead every humble investigator to the conclusion, that they could only have been contrived, as they are maintained in order and perfection, by Him of whom it has been said, "He doeth all things well."

Biography.

LIFE OF REV. H. SCOUGAL.
[Concluded from Number CXCI.]

Ir is the mark of wisdom to know what are the duties to which each particular relation in life calls us, and to address ourselves to those duties. Mr. Scougal possessed this faculty. When he became a professor in the university of which he had been so lately a student, he shewed that "even in this station, 'to him to live was Christ."" Conscientious in all that he undertook, he strove so to behave himself, that he might not only have the satisfaction of knowing that he had done right in each stage of his duties, but he was anxious also to gain the esteem of the youths. This he accomplished by a union of freeness and authority in his intercourse with them. He never had any separate interests of his own; nor did he foment any of those misunderstandings which will spring up in every society of persons; but he always tried to allay and settle them; and when he could not accomplish this, he stood aloof. He was quite uncorrupt in respect of gain, as he shewed when on one occasion some disorderly conduct had been committed by his pupils, for which they were sentenced to pay a fine, and give assurance of their future good conduct. The proud spirits of those young men would not permit them to consent to the payment of the fine; but if Scougal had chosen to have paid it in their name, the matter might have ended. But, kind as he was, he would not be a party to such a transaction, which would have been a connivance at misdemeanour, and would have offered a premium for the commission of offence. The youths were expelled for holding out in their refusal, though their departure was a serious loss to Mr. Scougal's income, as but few were left behind.

One of the principal studies to which he directed the

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minds of his pupils was natural philosophy; for he felt that it would give them enlarged notions of God, to consider his immensely grand works, and the marks of design exhibited by the very smallest creatures. He had another aim in directing them to this class of studies, besides the intrinsic worth of the studies themselves: he wished to take them off from a disputatious, wordy philosophy, and from the conceit of being able to skirmish with the mere terms of an ambitious philosophy, while the principles of solid truth were unknown. He used to employ the evenings of the Lord's day in pious conversation; and he would talk privately with the students, according to the case of each. The ill-disposed he would warn; and where he saw in any the buddings of what was good, he would cherish the opening grace.

When, after due deliberation, Mr. Scougal had entered into holy orders, he was stationed, by God's providence, at Auchterless, a small village about twenty miles from Aberdeen. His stay here was destined to be short; but during it, he gave abundant proofs of his fitness for, and his zeal in, that holy function he had undertaken. He was extremely circumspect in his personal conduct, that his "good might not be evil spoken of," and that no hinderance might arise to the work of his Master from himself. Catechising was a branch of the minister's duty, of which he both felt the necessity, and discharged it with the utmost effect. He was very plain and affectionate in his catechetical teaching; and he found, as many other pastors have done, that parents may be obliquely reached through the instruction which is expressly directed to their children. He took pains to study the dispositions of the people, and adapted himself to each as he found it; and wherever he saw a spark of goodness, he was cheered and encouraged. He endeavoured to bring his people into the habit of attending public worship in good time, because he had a sense in his own mind, not only of the decorum, but of the privilege attaching to an early resort to the Church-service; "thinking it very unfit that the invocation of Almighty God, the reading of some portion of the holy Scriptures, making a confession of our Christian faith, and rehearsing the ten commandments, should be looked upon only as a præludium for ushering in the people to the Church, and the minister to the pulpit." Scougal felt that God's house is a "house of prayer;" and though preaching, as a divine ordinance, is added to worship, it can never be regarded as the principal object for "assembling ourselves together." It is neither expedient nor lawful to draw comparisons between prayer and preaching, to represent one as "more important" than another. Both are to be used, for both are of God's appointment: but since the service of the Church is constructed upon an orderly principle, that notion will be violated (if it ever has been learned,) by those who make a habit of entering the Church when the service has begun. Mr. Scougal's preaching has been thus particularly described by the friend who drew the picture of his character at his funeral :-" A wise man hath lately written an essay how to make a good use of bad sermons: and it were to be wished we were instructed in making good ones; such I mean as might have an influence on men's hearts and lives. And sure I think all that heard him will acknowledge

his practice to be no contemptible pattern. He thought
that it should be a minister's care to choose seasonable
and useful subjects, such as might instruct the people's
minds, and better their lives, not to entertain them
with debates and strifes, of words;-that he should
express himself in the most plain and affectionate man-
ner; not in airy and fanciful words, nor in words too
big with sense, which the people's understanding can-
not reach; nor in philosophical terms and expressions,
which are not familiar to vulgar understandings; nor
in making use of an unusual word where there could
be found one more plain and ordinary to express
the thought as fully. He looked upon it as a most
useful help to make the Sunday's sermon the subject❘
of our meditation and mental prayer for the foregoing
week, that it may thereby sink deep into our own
spirits, and affect our hearts, which would make us
more capable of teaching others. He thought it a fit
expedient for composing us to a serious and affectionate
preaching, to propose to ourselves, in the meditation
of it, purely the glory of God and the good of men's
souls, and to have this always in our eye. And how
conformable was his practice to these rules! The
matter of his discourses was always so useful and sea-
sonable; his words and expressions so plain and well
chosen. I cannot here omit the deep sense he had of
true eloquence, professing he would give all the other
human learning in exchange for it: and he judged
there were two essential defects in our best kind of
eloquence; the one was, that we did not enough re-
flect upon the temper of the persons we were to speak
to, and what kind of words and expressions would
make the best impression upon their minds, and
therefore it was nothing strange that words let fly at
random touched them so little. The other, that our

hearts were not thoroughly endued with those dis-
positions we would work on others by our words, and
therefore it was no wonder all we said made so little
impression on them."

The history of Scougal is not filled with events; what has been recorded of him is rather a delineation of his character, than a lengthened account of important Occurrences. We are accordingly now introduced to the last period of his life. He had ministered at Auchterless but one year, when he was called to Aberdeen, and promoted to the professorship of divinity in King's College there, though not more than twentyfour years old, obtaining that appointment, not by a contested election, but with the unanimous voice of the clergy of the diocese, who choose the professor. So modest was he, that he would not consent to accept the office as soon as he was elected, but took until the next meeting of the clergy to deliberate upon the matter. He entered upon its duties, feeling that "all his sufficiency was of God," and fulfilled them with an assiduity and an efficiency not to be surpassed. He who had "delighted to honour" this young man of such rare excellence, now thought fit to confer upon him unfading distinction among the ranks of the blessed saints in glory. In his twenty-seventh year "he fell into a consumption, which wasted him by slow degrees, and put an end to his valuable life on the 13th of June, 1678. He was buried in King's College church, Old Aberdeen; and a Latin inscription, in the following terms, was put upon his tomb:

Sacred to the memory of

HENRY SCOUGAL,

Son of the Right Reverend Father in Christ,
PATRICK, Bishop of Aberdeen:

For four years Professor of Philosophy in this Royal University,
And during an equal period Professor of Divinity:
For one year that intervened between his acceptance of the
above offices,

Pastor of the Church in Auchterless.
Much in the very brief space of his life.
Did he learn, bestow, and teach:
"For heaven eager, and for heaven ripe."
He died in the year of our Lord 1678,
Aged 28;

And deposited here his mortal remains.
His works are, 1. The Life of God in the Soul of
Man. 2. Nine Discourses on important subjects.
3. Occasional Reflections, and Moral Essays, written
while he was a student at the university. 4. Three
manuscripts in Latin, viz. A short System of Ethics,
or Moral Philosophy; A Preservative against the Ar-
tifices of the Roman Missionaries; and, a Treatise of
the Pastoral Care-the last unfinished.

SUPPORT AND PROTECTION IN THE DAY
OF TRIAL:

A Sermon,

BY THE REV. EDWARD EDWARDS, Curate of Wrexham; and formerly Perpetual Curate of Marsden.

ISAIAH, xliii. 2.

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

IN the holy Scriptures threatenings of deserved wrath, and promises of undeserved blessings, are intermingled ;—the threatenings to excite in us salutary fears, the promises to inspire us with hope. Of this wise intermixture, the text, viewed in connexion with the close of the last chapter, is an instance. From the 22d verse to the end of the 42d chapter, there is a prediction of punishment to be inflicted on the nation of Israel for its repeated sins and provocations, and especially that crowning sin, the rejecting of the Messiah. Of this sin that nation would at last be guilty, and this would fill up the measure of Divine wrath to be poured out on God's ancient people. This sin-the rejection of Christ is the most aggravating of all sins, and surely seals the final damnation of an individual or a people. For if you reject Christ, whether by practice or profession, you reject the only remedy which the great God of heaven and earth hath provided for a ruined world-a world lying in iniquity; if you reject Christ as your Saviour, "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." The prediction of wrath against Israel, as contained in the latter part of the last chapter, is succeeded by very rich and consoling promises in the text, which comes in here just

like the breaking out of the bright and cheering | sun from behind a dark and lowering cloud. "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." We shall notice

I. The people to whom these promises were addressed.

II. The condition of that people, as supposed in the text. And,

III. The promises themselves.

forward, by faith, to Christ who was to come, and they were saved by him, as we look back to Christ through the records given of him; they believed the prophecies and promises of Christ to come, we believe the records of Christ having come; and thus in Christ both believing Jews and believing Gentiles meet, and both are made one in Christ. "There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to

I. The people to whom these promises were the promise" (Gal. iii. 28). addressed.

From the context we learn that Israel was the people to whom the promises were made. The name Israel was given to the patriarch Jacob. It was given to him when, on wrestling with the angel, he prevailed. The name signifies a prince with God, or prevailing with God. "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" (Gen. xxxii. 28). Jacob was at the time in deep distress, from fear of his brother Esau; and the angel of God appeared to him to comfort him. In that distress, Jacob had prayed to his God. The distress that drives us to the throne of grace is a blessed affliction. May we, whenever the name Israel occurs to us, remember the value and efficacy of prayer, and be led, especially in our troubles, and distresses, and undertakings, to strive mightily with God in prayer, as Jacob wrestled with the angel and prevailed!" Call upon me in the day of thy trouble," is the instruction; " and I will deliver thee," is the gracious promise;" and thou shalt glorify me" (Ps. 1. 15), is the grateful return which we are to make. How consoling to the perplexed and distressed mind is it to know that there is a throne of grace, and that on that throne sits the Father of mercies, dispensing his various and needed blessings to all such as, like good old Jacob, call upon him by prayer and supplication! It was the recorded saying of that great man of God, Elliott the missionary, Prayers and pains, through faith in Christ Jesus, can do any thing."

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The name "Israel," by way of distinction, was afterwards given to the descendants of Jacob the people of Israel: that people was elected and called to be the people of God. To that people " were committed the oracles of God;" and the pious portion of that people looked by faith, through types, promises, and prophecies, to the Messiah who was to come; not only "to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, but also to be the glory of his people Israel." They looked

We

Israel of old were primarily the people to whom the promises in the text were made. But as all who believe in Christ are said to be Abraham's seed, or children of Abraham, so they are called Israel-"the Israel of God." "Know ye, therefore, that they who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Indeed, the Church of God under both the old and new dispensation is the same Church, passing under different external modifications. Hence, many of the promises, primarily made to ancient Israel, have an ulterior application to the Christian Church, and to individual members of that Church. conclude, therefore, that the promises contained in the text apply to God's people in all periods of his Church-apply to each one of his people apply to you and to me, if we are among the true Israelitesif we are among those who worship God in spirit and in truth-if we are among those who are not only received by baptism into the visible Church of Christ, but are also lively members of the same - if we are among those who have not only an outward form of godliness, but who also enjoy the power of godliness-if we are among those who not only call Christ "Lord, Lord," but who also do his holy will. For we may have been admitted by baptism into the Church of Christ; yet if the Spirit of Christ be not in us, we belong not to him." If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." And if the Spirit of Christ be in us, the fruit of that Spirit appears and abounds in our walk and conversation. What is that fruit? The apostle tells us (Gal. v. 22), "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."

We proceed to notice,

II. The condition of the people as supposed in the text. Great dangers and afflictions, represented as passing through waters and fire: "when thou passest through the waters, through the rivers, through the fire." The various and heavy oppressions which the people of Israel endured at the hands of theirge

enemies, especially their captivity in Babylon, which the Jews would suffer for seventy years, and the subsequent overthrow and scattering of the nation by the Roman power, were as water-floods overwhelming the people, and threatening their entire destruction.

Waters are frequently mentioned to represent troubles, afflictions, distresses; and fire to represent severe trials or temptations. To pass through waters, rivers, fire, represents in the text the enduring of heavy afflictions and trials. Thus, the Psalmist speaks of the sorrows which heavily pressed on him; "Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me" (Ps. lxix. 1, 2). "All thy waves and billows are gone over me" (Ps. xlii. 7). Again, in writing to the Christians, forewarning them of approaching trials, St. Peter represented those trials as fiery: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you" (1 Pet. iv. 12). So again: "Thou, O God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us, as silver is tried;" "We went through fire and water" (Ps. lxvi. 10, 12).

sink into eternal perdition and woe, beneath the tremendous guilt of idolatry-for covetousness is idolatry-the guilt of having neglected, if not despised, the Gospel of the grace of God. O, be wise, and seek that faith which is more precious than tried gold; that faith which in the day of adversity will cheer you; which in the hour of death, when heart and flesh must fail you, will support you, and bear you triumphantly through death's dark and dreary valley, into the realms of light and life everlasting. From a cursory notice of the condition supposed in the text, we proceed,

III. To the promises made to God's people in that condition.

God's presence is promised: "I will be with thee." Support, protection, and deliverance, are also promised-" the rivers shall not overflow thee;" the fire shall not burn thee-" the flames shall not kindle upon thee."

By God's presence with his people, we do not mean any visible presence or visible divine agent, though sometimes the divine presence with his people in ancient times was visible. Instances of this are recorded in the Old and New Testament. By the presence of God, the text seems to mean his superintending care, his controlling power, and comforting influence, that invisible power of the divine Being which not only sways the vast and numberless bodies that compose the planetary system, and which directs the affairs of the most mighty empires among men, but which also governs the affairs of individual men, even to the numbering of the hairs of their heads; and which also directs, controls, and measures the trials, dangers, sorrows, and consolations of his beloved and redeemed children.

The Christian's afflictions and temptations from without and from within are aptly represented by water-floods and fire. Fire and water, which have destructive qualities, have also cleansing and purifying qualities. Hence the Christian's trials, which tend to improve his graces, as well as to prove the sincerity of his professions and the value of his principles, are spoken of as the fire which refines the gold and silver, but does not destroy them: "Though now, for a season, ye are in heaviness, through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire," the gold, though tried and purified with fire, and though the fire does not destroy the gold, yet the gold itself is among the perishable things of this world, and is not to be put inevitable. competition with the grace of true faith. And yet, strange as it seems, men pursue, grasp, and idolise the gold that perisheth, while they neither value nor seek that faith without which they must perish everlastingly. Ah! what if you could amass and retain to death's dark hour all the gold and the silver which the most greedy heart can covet; what if you could command all the wealth of this world, all could not avert the hour of death; it could not prolong your lives one day; it could not open for you the gate of heaven; it could not close against you the gate of hell; and it would leave you to sink into the grave under the pressure of disease, and to

"Go

Protection and deliverance were experienced by God's ancient people when literally passing through fire and water. In their exodus from the land of their bondage, with Pharaoh and his host behind them, and the Red Sea before them, destruction seemed inThe divine command was, forward." But, whither? To be drowned in the depth of the sea? No; but to see “the salvation of your God." In obedience to the Divine will, the people marched forward, and, through the interposition of the Divine power, they passed "through the waters" as on dry land: when, having sojourned full forty years in the wilderness, they came to Jordan, the same power was there exercised on their behalf.

Were the people to pass through a great wilderness and through hostile lands to take possession of the promised land of Canaan? what was the promise? "Behold, I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way, and

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