LEGUMINOSE.

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HIS small pea, though of a coarse and not very agreeable character, is an article of food, and in the great famine of 1555, according to one writer, saved thousands from starvation. In England it is used as green fodder for cattle; and the plant is found wild in almost every country, and admired in some places for its beauty.

Dr. Lowth considers that the fitch of Isaiah was the common dill, apparently from the impression that the mention of the cummin in the same connection required that the word rendered "fitch" should signify a similar plant. It will be seen, however, that the treatment of the cummin, as described by Isaiah, is different from that of the fitch referred to in the same passage; and the manner of threshing suggests that the plant-seeds beaten out with the "stick" would be coarser than those separated by a "rod." This makes it probable that the fitches of Isaiah were coarser than the cummin, and were the same as those of Ezekiel iv. 9, about which there is little doubt that they were vetches, and not rye, as some have supposed,— several circumstances, together with the plural form of the word in the Hebrew, rendering it doubtful whether rye could have been referred to at all.

A distinction was made in favor of the poor among the ancient Israelites, they being required to offer only a pair of doves in redemption of their first-born, while the rich were required to furnish a lamb. Hence, as doves and pigeons derived their principal sustenance from the fitch, it is probable that an extensive cultivation of this plant existed with a view to sustain the numerous flocks of this bird, the cherishing of which must have been gratifying to the Jews. Some writers suppose that the quantity of the seed required for this object was all that gave importance to the plant, since, though nutritious, it was of a character too coarse to be used generally for human food.

There are pleasant associations connected with this plant as referred to in Scripture. It speaks of innocence in itself, and indirectly of maternal love; for it was an unobtrusive plant, seldom growing when not wanted, and easily eradicated if not welcome. It was gathered to feed the most harmless of birds, the dove,-and in this there was not only a religious motive, but a peculiarly pleasant one; for, as we have already said, the dove-the symbol of innocence—was offered at the temple as a redemption for children. Those doves took the place of the lamb, which was itself the symbol of our Saviour, of whom it was said that he called the little ones to himself and blessed them, he "gathered them with his arms and carried them in his bosom." Thus appears more plainly the reason why the lamb was not used in the Jewish ceremonies instead of the dove: it was simply because of the mercy of God in his government, mindful of the wants and need of the poor, who

were not always able to purchase a lamb. Now, as the lamb was the symbol of the Saviour and the dove took the place of the lamb, we may suppose that the dove, being offered for the redemption of the infants, alluded in some way to the redeeming power and affection of the Messiah to come as applied to children. No mother who desired the blessing of God ever neglected the sacrificial dove, the emblematic redemption of her child; and closely associated with this dove, as we have seen, was the cultivation of this little, humble plant. It is supposed that at one time in the history of the Israelites there were nearly half a million births annually. In such a case, the number of birds necessary for offerings would justify the supposition that the cultivation of this plant was correspondingly important and extensive.

(Water-Weeds.)

FLUVIALES.

Cyperus Esculentus, or
Zostera Marina.

T appears that the word "flags" was applied to several waterplants, or fluviales; and the two varieties named above are the most interesting and perhaps the nearest to the Scripture kinds. Two different Hebrew words have been translated "flags:" hence there is some room for a variance of meaning to the word as it occurs in our English version. Moreover, in Gen. xli. 2, 18, and Job viii. 11, the word ahu is first rendered "meadows" and then "flags," and the word, being of Egyptian origin, probably refers to any grassy weed or flag in marshy land or pasture. It is supposed that the cyperus esculentus, a flag bearing an edible root containing both oil and starch and which was eaten formerly as a kind of sweetmeat, represents the plant referred to in the passages mentioned. The other word, suph, occurring in Ex. ii. 3, 5, is probably only a general name for sea-weeds. Hence the Red Sea was called the Sea of Sûph, or Sea of Weeds, from the number which grew around it. Great quantities of this weed float upon the water; and it is supposed to have suggested the name "red" for the sea, from the color of the leaves and