The Mosaic History of the Creation of the World: Illustrated by Discoveries and Experiments Derived from the Present Enlightened State of Science; With Reflections, Intended to Promote Vital and Practical ReligionWood, Thomas
Religion
The Mosaic History of the Creation of the World: Illustrated by Discoveries and Experiments Derived from the Present Enlightened State of Science; With Reflections, Intended to Promote Vital and Practical Religion
Wood, Thomas
Bible and science; Cosmology; Creation; Religion and science
The selection of a few remarkable trees and plants will serve to
impress the reader with a sense of the wisdom and power of God, as
displayed in the vegetable kingdom. As rivers and brooks are very
seldom found in deserts and sandy places, many of the trees growing
there distil water; and, by that means, afford great comfort both to
man and beast. Thus the _Tillandsia_, which is a parasitical plant,
growing on the tops of trees in the deserts of America, has its leaves
turned at the base into the shape of a pitcher, with the extremity
expanded; in these the rain is collected, and preserved for the use of
men, beasts, and birds. The water-tree in Ceylon produces cylindrical
bladders, covered with a lid; into these is secreted a most pure
and refreshing water. There is a kind of cuckow-pint in New France,
of which, if a person break a branch, it will afford him a pint of
excellent water. How wise, how beneficial is the adaptation of plants
to the inhabitants of those countries where they grow!
On the top of a rock, in one of the Canary Islands, says Glass, in
his History, grows the _Fountain Tree_, called, in the language of
the ancient inhabitants, _Garse_, (sacred or holy tree,) which for
many years has been preserved sound, entire, and fresh. Its leaves
constantly distil such a quantity of water as is sufficient to furnish
drink to every living creature in Hierro; nature having provided this
remedy for the drought of the island. It is situated about a league
and a half from the sea. Nobody knows of what species it is, only
that it is called _Til_. It is distinct from other trees, and stands
by itself. The circumference of its trunk is about twelve spans, the
diameter four, and in height from the ground to the top of the highest
branch forty spans: the circumference of all the branches together, is
one hundred and twenty feet. The branches are thick and extended: the
lowest commence an ell from the ground. Its fruit resembles the acorn,
and tastes something like the kernel of a pine-apple, but is softer and
more aromatic. The leaves of this tree resemble those of the laurel,
but are larger, wider, and more curved; they come forth in perpetual
succession, so that the tree always remains green. On the north side
of the trunk, are two large tanks, or cisterns, of rough stone, or
rather one cistern divided, each half being twenty feet square, and
sixteen spans in depth. One of these contains water for the drinking of
the inhabitants; and the other that which they use for their cattle,
washing, and such like purposes. Every morning, near this part of
the island, a cloud or mist arises from the sea, which the south and
easterly winds force against the fore-mentioned steep cliff, so that
the cloud, having no vent but by the gutter, gradually ascends it,
and from thence advances slowly to the extremity of the valley, where
it is stopped and checked by the front of the rock, which terminates
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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