CARYOPHYLLEÆ.

ரு

Agrostemma Coronaria.

HIS seems to be the plant recognised as the cockle of Job xxxi. 40. It is an Oriental plant, ranging in its growth from the cornfields of the Caucasus to those of the Nile. We have specimens gathered from among the cereals of Samaria; and many have noticed it in various fields throughout Palestine. It is of a smaller size, but of more brilliant flower, than the English and American varieties; yet the same family appears everywhere among the wheat, maize, barley, and other grains. Its name "coronaria" refers not to any thing in the nature or appearance of the flower, but to the fact that among the ancient Greeks and Italians it was the flower used at feasts and woven into the chaplets with which guests were crowned.

The Hebrew word translated "wild grapes" in Isaiah v. 2, 4 is but the plural form of the word here translated "cockle" in Job; and, though the same word has been at various times supposed to be the "blackberry-bush," or "noxious weeds," by some, the "night-shade" by Dr. Mason Good, and by Gesenius the "wolf-bane," or aconitum napellus, yet the use of the word by Job, "Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley," evidently refers us to the cockle, or agrostemma coronaria, which even at present is the most troublesome weed

to the barley. The name "cockle" given in the English version is therefore most appropriate, as has doubtless been evident to all who have trodden upon Oriental soil during corn-harvests and noticed the contrast in quantity between the agrostemma, which grows in abundance, and either of the others named as substitutes, which seldom appear to interfere with the growth of the grain.

The cockle is not in itself unpleasant to the eye or touch, and the five petals of its corolla are prettily variegated in color. Its associations, however, make it unwelcome. Where grains alone are wanted, there the cockle chooses the soil for its most luxuriant growth, either crowding them out entirely or diminishing the produce. Hence the impression of disappointment and loss always attends the appearance of the cockle. It comes just where it is not expected and where it is most unwelcome. This is the sentiment expressed in Isaiah, where it it said a vineyard was planted, and when the vine-dresser looked for grapes it brought forth cockles, which, with their bright colors, seemed to offer themselves in the place of the expected. So in Job xxxi. 40 the significancy is the same,grapes. ṇamely, that of disappointment as well as of loss; and the moral conveyed by the use of the cockle teaches the necessity of performing good acts and speaking pleasant words in proper places. How often are "apples of gold" rendered more precious by appearing in "pictures of silver."

UMBELLIFERÆ.

(Garden coriander.)

Coriandrum Sativum.

HE coriander referred to in Scripture appears generally acknowledged to be the plant recognised under that name at present. It is well known throughout the East, and is chewed by peasant and lord, Mohammedan and Christian, for the agreeable flavor it imparts to the breath. It is supposed to be a native of the Levant and of countries farther east of the Mediterranean. Anciently it was used as a medicine and for seasoning food, and seems to have been brought from Egypt to Rome in the time of Pliny for these purposes.

The only reference to coriander in the Scriptures is in comparison with the manna upon which the Israelites fed in the desert; whence we may infer that it was well known in Egypt before the departure of the children of Israel, and was probably used then as now,-namely, as a condiment to flavor food and please the taste.

CUCURBITACEÆ.

a

(Common cucumber.)

Cucumis sativis.

HERE is no plant known more widely than this; and probably the same kind, or a variety, was the plant or fruit referred to by the murmuring Israelites:-“We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely: the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic." (Numb. xi. 5.) The melons and cucumbers associated in the speech of the people are at the present day planted together in the same fields in various parts both of Egypt and of Palestine; and, as there are no fences surrounding the fields to keep off either cattle or thieves, the little hut or lodge for the guard or watch is still used as anciently. The appropriateness of the figure of the prophet often occurs to the traveller as he sees in the midst of a large field of cucumbers a solitary little hut, scarcely large enough to shield the watchman from the sun. There for hours the gardener sits alone, generally without any thing to amuse or instruct, and unwilling to sleep in the hut or walk in the rays of the scorching sun; and, as no trees or shrubs are allowed upon the field, the little ragged hut has a very desolate appearance as seen above the low and trailing fruit. "The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city."