or in the coldest place that can be found, to which the sun has no access. Then form the clamp by erecting a floor of earth of any convenient size. Upon it spread the potatoes in a single layer, so as not to touch each other. Cover them well with earth trampled firm; then form another layer, bed it well in earth as before, and thus go on till the clamp is finished in the usual form. Over all, place earth to the thickness of two feet, banking it up well, treading it firm, and sloping at an angle of 45 degrees. A clamp thus formed will consist of potatoes and earth thoroughly mixed; there will be no access for air, and the temperature will be maintained as low as practicable. It will be much better than removing the crop to stables or other buildings; and there will be no danger from frost, which indeed would do no harm if it reached potatoes in such a situation.-From the "Gardeners' Chronicle." [Sent by M. P.

SHORT REFLECTIONS ON THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF THE EPISTLE GENERAL OF ST. JAMES.

THIS chapter commences with admonitions addressed to rich men, and those who trust in their riches, overlooking the duties they are called on to perform by the bountiful Father who gave them their wealth. The time at which this epistle was written was about eight years before the destruction of Jerusalem; and therefore the apostle's warning may have been addressed to those proud and wealthy men, who despised the words of Christ and His disciples; and who, at the taking of the Holy City, were either slaughtered by the victors, or led away captive into distant provinces. But St. James's warning is equally applicable now to those who have heaped together treasure by fraudulent means, and those who set their hearts upon earthly riches and distinctions rather than God's favour. When their last day shall arrive, how will they "weep and howl" for their miseries which shall come upon them. Their gold and silver then will have cankered; they will be forced to leave what has cost them so much pains, and often, alas! sin, to gather together. They will feel it an incontrovertible truth that "we brought nothing into the

world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." How much better would it have been for them to have laid up for themselves "treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal."

We are much exhorted to wait in patience for the coming of the Lord; and an example is given us in the husbandman, who waits long and patiently, from the time he puts the seed into the ground, till after many months, and many vicissitudes of frost, rain, and sunshine, he reaps the precious fruit of his toil. So ought we, my friends, to work on, hoping for and expecting that glorious day, when, if we are true and faithful followers of the Lord Jesus, we shall receive the reward of our labours, even an incorruptible crown, "which fadeth not away. "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh;" it cannot now be very far distant; we ought therefore to be diligent, to watch and pray, for we know not at what hour the Son of Man may come. Let us then strive so to live, that when He comes, He may not find us sleeping; let us be like the wise virgins, who were ready when the bridegroom arrived, and "went in with him to the marriage.

The Prophets are pointed out to us by the Apostle as examples of afflictions and trials endured with patience. Job suffered many distressing evils; but at last the Lord delivered him out of them all. 66 Behold, we count them happy which endure." This is explained by our Lord's words in the Sermon on the Mount, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.' Our afflictions should be received as coming from God, and as appointed by Him to try our faith, and prove whether we are His children or not. Saint James next reproves the evil practice of swearing and taking God's name in vain, which, unfortunately, is but too common. Our Saviour strongly condemns it in the fifth chapter of Saint Matthew; "Swear not all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool."

The end of the chapter we are considering, which is also the end of the epistle, contains many injunctions to

prayer, and proofs of its efficacy. We are enjoined to pray in faith for the sick, that they may recover; and also for those dead in sin, that they may be raised up, and that their sins may be forgiven them. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." If we pray earnestly and fervently, in the name of our Lord and Saviour, faithfully, and without injurious doubts, we may be certain, that if what we ask is good for us, it will not be denied. What a blessed privilege also is intercessory prayer! Should any of our relations or friends appear to be living without God in the world, let us pray for them; let us offer up our earnest solicitations at the throne of grace in their behalf; and the Lord will undoubtedly hear our prayers, and answer them, for the sake of that Divine Mediator, in whose name they are offered. If, through the grace of God, granted in answer to our humble petitions, some of those whom we pray for should be turned from darkness to light, what joy can be so great as ours! How shall we feel when, appearing at the judgment-seat of God, we see that soul at His right hand, for whom we have offered up our earnest prayers, and think that we have been instrumental, under God, to its salvation! Surely, "he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins;" he shall also enjoy the reward so graciously promised to them that turn many to righteousness; they shall shine "as the stars for ever and ever." X. Y. Z.

PARENTS' DUTY.

A POOR man's daughter was once asked, "Whether she took any care about her soul?" The young woman answered, "I never knew that I had a soul!" The friend desired her to let her mother call on her the next day. When the old woman came, the friend said to her, "How is it that your daughter is now sixteen years of age, and does not know that she has a soul?" The woman answered, "In truth, my lady, I have so much care upon me to find my daughter in clothes and food for her body, that I have no time to talk to her about her soul."

This anecdote will perhaps appear so shocking as quite to surprise many of my readers. But although it was related of a woman who lived many years ago, in days when there was more ignorance than there is now among the people, yet, if the truth is known, the same thing very often takes place at this present day. If the lips do not dare to utter such an awful proof of neglect and irreligion, yet the thing itself is too often true, and the excuse, too, often passes in the heart and conscience when the tongue would be ashamed to admit it in words. Few will nowadays allow that they have neglected to inform their children that they have souls. But nevertheless they have perhaps very often suffered their care for their bodies to blind them to the care of their souls. They have forgotten that, as parents, they had the soul to take care of, by the same law and from a still higher claim, than that which they recognize so generally in the case of the body. Why does the mother look so anxiously upon her infant, and feel so deeply impressed with a fond desire to give it every thing it can want? Why is she so ready to feed it, so laborious in providing its clothes, so watchful of its health, so unable to rest when sickness haunts its pillow? Because it is the child of her affections; she loves the infant as her own, as being herself, and cannot see it want or suffer: but is she not the mother of an immortal child? Has it not a soul from its birth, as well as a body? Is not its soul committed to the parent, as well as the body? Has she not to provide for both alike? And will not the child suffer in its immortal part, if she neglects it, almost as certainly and far more dreadfully than it could in the mortal, if she were to neglect its sustenance and protection? How dreadful then in its consequences is the unbelief which prevents her from caring for that which is unseen equally with that which is seen! She does not heartily believe that her child has a soul; and, perchance, she does not believe in the immortality of her own. parents know their child must live here by their labour and care; but if they have no thought, no earnest desire, no patient labour in teaching, praying for, and endeavouring to save the soul in the eternal state, it is because

The

they have no thought that they have souls themselves. But in the very mode of conveying the simple truths of the Gospel there are many great and important differences, and they may very easily be taught without being ever likely to produce any good effect on the child. Perhaps many will at the last day be held to have taught their children nothing, no spiritual and saving truth, because they have taught them nothing in an impressive and earnest manner.

The duty, be assured, of teaching a child, who is an immortal creature and heir of heaven or hell, the truths which are able to save the soul alive, is a solemn and awful thing. It is not held to be performed at all, if not performed in a right and effectual manner. It is not to be performed by merely telling a child, in a few hasty words, and now and then, certain truths taken out of the Bible, however true and precious in themselves they are all. Neither is it by occasionally frightening them by saying they will go to a bad place that they will be taught to fear the worm that never dieth and the fire that never shall be quenched. The teaching of a child in religion cannot be performed as a lesson in any other kind of knowledge can be given. A lesson in religion should be passed from heart to heart. It should come from that of the teacher pure and sincere, earnest and affectionate, and so be transmitted, through a blessing from on high, to that of the learner; and, if this be the case, it will be a serious matter. It will be an earnestly performed duty, accompanied with every possible solemnity of manner and depth of feeling. The child will see that the parent feels it, and this will be the best means of introducing it. There is no other, humanly speaking, where there is not this. The child weeps when it sees its mother weeping, and rejoices when it sees her rejoice. It believes the face it sees more than the words it hears. It gives its attention more to character than to expressions of the lips. It is taught through feeling more than through speaking. Religion should not be made forbidding, but it must be serious and heartfelt, or it will be rejected. It must come from a deep seat in the soul; and that it is from thence will be evident in the