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we have found that in the account of the Palo de Vaca there was no exaggeration. The tree thus named is one of a very beautiful appearance. Its flowers we had not an opportunity of seeing: the fruit of it is rather pulpy, and incloses sometimes one, and sometimes two kernels. When incisions are made into the trunk of this tree, which appears to belong to the Sapota tribe of plants, it gives out an abundance of a glutinous, thick kind of milk, void of all acrimony, and exhaling an odour by no means unpleasant. We drank considerable quantities of it, both in the evening be fore we retired to rest, and early in the morning, without experiencing the least inconvenience; it is only the glutinous nature of the fluid in question that occasions its taste to be at all unpleasant. Both the slaves, and others employed upon the plantations, drink it freely, and mix it with the maze and capada plant. The master of the plantation assured us that the slaves always thrived and gained flesh during the season in which the Palo de Vaca furnished them with milk. When this milk is exposed to the air, its surface becomes covered with a strongly animalized substance of a yellowish hue, and of fibrous, stringy appearance, resembling a cheesy matter. This change in the juice is probably produced by an absorption of oxygen from the air. When this membranous substance is separated from the more fluid part of the milk, it proves to be nearly as elastic as caoutchouc ;* but it undergoes, in the course of time, a like putrefaction with galatine. The people of this place call this matter cheese. It becomes sour in four or five days, according to the observations which I made on some portions of it. The milk inclosed in a well-stopped vial had thrown down a small quantity of coagulum, which, far from being fetid, constantly exhaled a sort of balsamic odour.

"This remarkable production, the Palo de Vaca, appears to be confined to the Cordilleras, especially near the lake of Marakabo. It is found also near the town of San Mateo; and according to M. Bredmeyar, it is to be seen in the vale of Caucagua, three days journey east of the Caraccas.

"The inhabitants of the Andes had been in the habit of fabricating wax-lights from the wax which is found on the trunk of the palm-tree, long before the chemists of Europe had discovered quantities of wax in the pollen of flowers, varnish in leaves, and farina in fruits; in like manner the caseum, the basis of cheese, has but recently been detected in the emulsions of almonds; whereas we find that, ages ago, in the mountains of Venezuela, the milk of a tree, and the cheese which separates itself from such milk, were used as aliment. How are we to account for these singularities in regard to the developement of our knowledge of nature's productions? How can we explain the fact, that the people of another hemisphere have discovered and applied properties which had for

VOL. V.

*Indian-Rubber. 18

L

so long a time escaped the penetration of men, whose very occupation it is to search Nature's laws, and penetrate her mysterious operations?

"It would appear that the fact is to be explained partly from the circumstance of the elements and principles of plants being distributed among so many orders and families of the vegetable creation, partly from that difference of quantity, with respect to their essential principles, which is observed in the vegetable world, according as the particular plant is a native of equatorial, or of cold and temperate latitudes, and partly by an ingenuity derived from necessity: which impels uncultivated man to seek for his sustenance in the natural productions by which he is surrounded. Thus the juices, the bark, the roots, and the fruit of trees, become the subjects naturally of instinctive investigation; and when poisonous productions are combined with those that are wholesome and nutritious, man is taught by the same necessity to separate the one principle from the other. The American savage, as well as the inhabitants of the South-Sea Islands, have thus learned to prepare the fecula of plants, by compressing it, and separating its juice. In the milk of plants, as also in the milky emulsions, materials considerably nutrient are intermixed with deleterious ingredients. These combinations vary not only in the different tribes of plants, but also in the respective species of the same genera.

"The lactiferous plants belong principally to the three families of the Euphorbia, the Urticaria, and the Apocyna; and as upon investigating the different distribution of vegetable growth in the several parts of the world, we find that the species of these orders of plants are most numerous in the tropical regions, we infer that a very high temperature is necessary for the proper elaboration of the milky juices, as well as to the complete formation of the caoutchouc, of albumen, and of the caseous principle. The juice of the Palo de Vaca certainly presents one of the most striking examples of a vegetable milk in which the acrid and deleterious are not united to the nutrient principles; but the Euphorbium and Asclepias genera, so generally known by their caustic properties, had before furnished us with some species of which the juice is bland and innocent, as in the instance of the Euphorbia balsamifera of the Canary Isles, and the Asclepias lactifera of Ceylon. BRUMAN has told us that the inhabitants of Ceylon make use of the last in lieu of milk, and that they mix its leaves in cookery with those articles of food that are generally prepared with milk; but it appears probable, that it is only the juice which exudes from the young plant, which is used for the purposes in question, viz. that which flows from the vegetable before the developement of the acrid principle. Indeed in some countries, the first shoots of even the Apocyna are eaten."

Miscellaneous.

IMPORTANCE OF AN EARLY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,

Delivered at the Wesleyan Seminary, by the Rev. William Ross. Whence are we? What are we? What our business? Whither are we going? and what our prospects?

THESE, my brethren, are all important questions. They are questions too, which often recur with force to the man of study and reflection. But of what use could they be, together with all the investigation of which the human mind is capable, if we were not favoured with light from heaven to irradiate our minds and direct our researches?

By light is meant that revelation whereby the Almighty has made known his existence and character, works and will. The world, says the apostle, by wisdom knew not God. The wisdom here referred to, never did, never could bring men to a knowledge of the true God. This declaration is justified by the doctrines of the most learned and intelligent heathens. They had no just idea of the origin and design of the Universe, nor of the existence and perfections of the Supreme Being. Although they had every advantage that the human mind could have, independently of divine revelation, yet they could never find out the Almighty, nor ascertain the sources of true happiness. What then would be our situation if God had not blessed us with his word? Darkness and doubts would be our portion. But thanks be to the Author of our being, and the Father of all our mercies, we have not been left forever to wander in the devious mazes of doubt-We have not been left to spell out our duty to Him, to our fellow-creatures, and to ourselves, by the dim and precarious light of nature; but we are favoured with a revelation whereby we are able to determine our origin and end, our connections and relations, our obligations and responsibilities, our business in this world, and our probable portion in the world to come. These are all subjects of contemplation, which can never be exhausted by the energies of the human mind: and they are all so closely connected with our present and future happiness, that we should never lose sight of them.

But our business this evening is with parents and guardians of youth.

They are to be viewed as standing in one of the most important and useful relations in the Universe. They have the superintendence of beings whose principles and habits are to be formed both for time and eternity.

As God created mankind for happiness, and as all men most ardently desire it, so it is conceived that parents and guardians,

in the education of children, should have special regard to their happiness. The grand question then is,-What course of education is best calculated to secure the happiness of the rising generation?

But here I must acknowledge, that it is with diffidence I undertake the discussion of this subject; not only because of my inability to do it justice, but because also, I am conscious that there is a diversity of sentiment respecting it. However, I will submit to your consideration a few reflections, which, I hope, will not prove altogether uninteresting.

The first thing our children should be taught is,-That they belong to a race of beings who are fallen, deeply fallen from God. We were indeed created in the image of God. And that image, according to St. Paul, consists in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Through sin, our righteousness and holiness are lost: and our intellect is astonishingly enfeebled. We come into the world the degenerate plants of a strange vine. Morally impure, and to use the words of Wesley, In the very image of the devil. Every way prepared, as soon as circumstances will admit, to break out into the most flagrant acts of rebellion against the laws of God and man. We also come into the world in a state of perfect ignorance. Not by any means so well qualified to take care of ourselves, or to act our proper parts among our kind, as brutes of the most stupid species are among theirs. Of the imperfection and miseries of the present state of mankind, even the ancient heathens seem to have been sensible.

Plato says, the soul of man has fallen into a dark cave, where it holds intercourse only with shadows. Pythagoras, represents man as being a stranger in this world; banished from the presence of God. Plotimus, compares the soul to a cinder, or coal, in which the fire is all extinguished. Others, among them, speak of the soul as having her wings enfeebled; so that she cannot fly to God.

But our source of information upon this melancholy subject is the word of God. By that infallible testimony we are assured, that we have sinned against God and come short of his gloryThat we are far gone from original righteousness, and that our understanding is darkened.

Now, as it is necessary a man should be convinced that he is diseased, in order to see the necessity of medical assistance, so in endeavouring to bring the rising generation forward to happiness it is necessary that we convince them of their departure from it.

After having taught our children their fallen and helpless state, it is requisite that we point out to them their method of recovery, and direct their feet in those paths which are best calculated to secure their happiness. They should be taught to look to God, the author of their being, as the only source of real happiness: and to expect that inestimable treasure from Him, only by devoting themselves to the designs and purposes of life according to His direction. In a word, they should be instructed, as early as possible, to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness: with the assurance that this is the only way to secure substantial happiness. And as they are designed to take a part in the scenes of active life, it is of importance that they be so trained as to enable them to act that part with honour and usefulness. In order to this, they should have laid before them, their connections and relations, their responsibilities and obligations.

They may be taught their connection with the natural world. They are inhabitants of it; and from it, they derive those advantages which they should enjoy, and improve in a reasonable and useful manner. For them, the seasons follow one another in regular order, each contributing its share of pleasure and comfort. For them the sun pours forth his genial rays by day, and the moon and stars illuminate and cheer the night. For them all nature is in constant motion, and labours to satisfy their wants and to alleviate their sorrows; while all their powers may be pleasingly and profitably employed, their senses regaled, and all their sensibilites enlivened, refined, and gratified in the contemplation of this boundless source of beauty, majesty and glory. But, lest they should make this connection an object of too great confidence, it is necesary that they be made sensible that it must shortly be dissolved; and that, therefore, it is to be viewed merely as affording them some minor felicities, while passing from this world to a better. Their contemplations then should be directed upwards, through nature to nature's God: while their hearts are taught to adore, and their tongues to praise the ineffable glories of his character.

They are to be educated particularly for social life. Parents, friends and tutors; civil and religious society, all have their respective demands upon them. And those demands must be answered, that the order, harmony, and felicity of the whole may be preserved. While, therefore, they are instructed to reverence and obey their parents and teachers, to be kind and affectionate to their friends, they should also be educated in those principles and duties which will raise them to respectability, and enable them to be useful in the world.

We must shortly follow our fathers to the land of silence. Our names will be borne by our children. And are we willing that our names should be perpetuated by those who must become nuisances in society? This is a point which we ourselves must settle. It is for us, in some sort, to determine whether our children shall be wise and virtuous, or ignorant and vicious. Whether they shall be good and useful members of society, or sordid and depraved wretches, whose names will be infamous, and whose society will be pestilential.

It matters not to what walks in life our offspring are destined; nor is it of importance what callings in life they are to pursue:

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