came from North America even so lately as 1748. In respect to the relative value of these woods, it is only within these thirty years, that the larch has been known to be almost equal to the oak for internal uses. IV. Every soil would produce plants, if those, peculiar to its nature, were planted in it. Even the white sand of Eastern Louisiana produces cedars, pines, and evergreen oaks. The Tartarian box-thorn will grow in sandy soils, replete with nitre; and sycamores will grow among rocks on sea-coasts, where most other trees will wither and perish. In the great desert of Arabia, too, are found stalks of rosemary and lavender, shedding an agreeable perfume over a dreary wilderness, which the wild palm renders comparatively rich. In Chili there are many medicinal plants, which are natural to France and Spain. Trefoil, mallows, and mint are, also, indigenous. In many parts of that country, the fruits of Europe flourish so well, that Frazier assures us they are in bud, in flower, green, and ripe, at the same time. In the Chilian deserts, white strawberries are as large as walnuts; and minerals have no effect whatever upon the life of vegetables. The Madhuca has very peculiar flowers. They resemble berries, which look more like fruits than flowers. They hang in clusters, and never expand. Their seeds are replete with a thick oil, of the consistence of butter. The tree grows in barren soils, and seems to destroy all the brushwood and small trees near it. The fruit and flower are of great use to the poor, and as it yields equally in a dry season, as in a wet one', it ought to be planted throughout the whole Continent of Asia. Many valuable trees might be introduced to this country. Active as we have been to naturalise flowers and shrubs, for their beauty and variety, we have been remiss in this. Had our forefathers been equally so, we should have been destitute of some of our best fruits, and one of our best timber-trees'. The laburnum is scarcely known, except for ornament; and yet so highly is it prized by cabinet-makers, that a considerable quantity was sold at Brechin Castle', at half-a-guinea a foot. Many trees from Van Dieman's Land, New Holland, and Terra del Fuego, might, doubtless, be introduced with advantage. At the limits of the arctic circle there is a breed of cows so small, as not to be larger than sucking calves. Their milk is almost all cream; sweet and delicious: and so thick, that it draws out in strings. This goodness in milk arises from the plant on which the cows feed, viz. the lichen rangeferinus. This lichen has a slight flavour 1 Mr. Hamilton, speaking of this tree in the neighbourhood of Chatra Ramga, observes,-" Notwithstanding the utility of this tree, I have never myself observed, nor can I find any of my acquaintance, who have ever remarked one single tree in this neighbourhood, in its infant state. We can see, every where, full grown trees in great abundance; but we never meet with any young plants and we are all at a loss to know how they came here. Neither can the country people themselves give any rational account of this, although it appears pretty evident, that numbers of them have been cultivated some time or other: every village having many of them. This sufficiently marks the character of the lower orders in their supine indolence. As to the Zemindars, speaking to one of that order, one day, upon the subject, he replied, It is the food of poor people; how then should I know any thing about it?'" 1 The larch. 3 November 1819, Sang's Planter's Calendar, p. 91. *Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 301, 5. of turpentine; it eats something like a lettuce; and its inward part resembles endive, bleached as white as snow. It flourishes best where trees have been conflagrated1; and the rein-deer dig for it in the snow. It is so highly nutritive and agreeable to their palate, that it is both meat and drink to them. This plant might be cultivated in other climates besides those immediately in the arctic circle. V. The vine of Cyprus, so effective in certain disorders, and so agreeable to the palate, as to have had the applause of ancient as well as of modern writers, should be planted in the south of France. Cloves, cinnamon, and nutmegs 3 should be introduced to the Brazils; and the farinaceous palm of the Nicobar Islands, which yields a highly nutritive fruit, and weighs from 17 to 24lbs. might be easily naturalized in the Caribbees and Antilles. St. Lucia, one of the former, had, when first discovered, neither canes, cocoas, nor coffee-trees: but in 1772 it had 978 pieces of land in the cultivation of the cane; 367 plots of coffee; f 1,321,600 cocoa plants; and 5,595,889 coffee trees. The green orange of Arcot, unknown in Europe, and but partially distributed in India, should be planted in every part of that continent. But of all trees, the Mungustan deserves the most assiduous attention, in respect to propagation. The fruit of this tree is acknowledged by all persons 5, who have tasted it,-let their partialities and antipathies be what they may,-to be the most exquisite of all fruits: and yet it has been but little pro* Clarke, Scandinavia, p. 566. 4to. 5 1 Flora Lapponica, p. 332. 3 Brackenbridge, Voy. to South Americ. i. 154. * Garcinia, Mangostana. Dampier, Voy, vol. iii. 124. Crawford, Hist. Ind Archipel. vol. i. 417. pagated. Indeed, it seems to resist almost every attempt of the kind. It was introduced to the Isle of France in 1754; but with little success. It was brought from Bantam to Java; and hence it has been particularly known and described. It bears fruit and blossoms at the same time. The fruit is round; purple; resting in a green calyx; and its top bears a corona. Its flavour has a little sweetness, with a mixture of acid: and it melts in the mouth like whipped cream. If some plants ought to be largely propagated for their uses, others ought to be so for their beauty. In India, there are several flowers, that ought to be cultivated in every practicable region of the earth. Of these may be distinguished the pichula, and the camalata. The former blossoms during the rainy season; and, with the asclepias winding round it, forms one of the most lovely botanical pictures in all India. The latter is so beautiful in its colour and form, and has a scent so exquisite, that the eastern poets fable it to have scented paradise. The same compliment should be paid to the alimucta, the capitt'ha 2, the d'urva 3, and the cusa 4. 3 1 This was the favourite plant of Sacontala, which she very justly called the delight of the woods; for the beauty and fragrance of its flowers give them a title to all the praises, which Ca'lidas and Jayadeva bestow upon them. It is a gigantic climber; but when it meets with nothing to grasp, it assumes the form of a sturdy tree, the highest branches of which display, however, in the air, their natural flexibility and inclination to climb.-Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. 291. 2 Of this plant Sir William Jones says, "I cannot help mentioning a singular fact, which may indeed have been purely accidental: not a single flower, out of hundreds examined by me, had both perfect germs, and anthers visibly fertile; while others, on the same tree, and at the same time, had their anthers profusely covered with pollen, but scarce any styles, and germs to all appearance abortive." (For notes 3 and 4, see next page.) VI. The cocoa tree of Brazil droops when planted in a rich soil. The red star-flower,-one of the finest of African plants,-grows luxuriantly among rocks and sand'; and Scandinavian moss, which is scarcely susceptible of being 3 (See last page) The flowers of this plant, in their perfect state, are among the loveliest objects in the vegetable world, and appear through a lens like minute rubies and emeralds in a constant motion from the least breath of air. It is the sweetest and most nutritious pasture for cattle; and its usefulness, added to its beauty, induced the Hindus, in their Ages, to believe that it was the mansion of a benevolent nymph. Even the Veda celebrates it.- 'May d'urva, which rose from the water of life, which has a hundred roots and a hundred stems, efface a hundred of my sins, and prolong my existence on earth for a hundred years."-Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. p. 252. - 66 4 (See last page.) Every law-book, and almost every poem in Sanschrit are said to contain allusions to this plant. In the fourth Veda is the following address. "Thee, O cusa *, the learned proclaim a divinity, not subject to age or death. Thee they call the armour of Indra, the preserver of regions, the destroyer of enemies, a gem that gives increase to the field. At the time, when the ocean resounded, when the clouds murmured, and lightnings flashed, then was cusa produced, pure as a drop of fine gold." 1 Many plants have the greater virtue from the want of fluidical nourishment. There is a vine producing in Persia what is called the Royal Grape. It is of a gold colour; transparent; and about the size of an olivet. It makes the best wine in that country; and yet it is never watered: and it grows only upon the young branches. Few annual roots possess medicinal properties; and it is curious, that the most effective of drugs are natives of hot countries. Some plants in arid soils have apparently sterile branches, with green leaves. The stems are brittle and dried up; but their leaves imbibe moisture from the dews at night. "The pallassia has for its appropriate soil loose and drifted sand. It grows in Peru ‡, and is known in some parts of Russia §. Darbha. † Chardin. Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. p. 253, 8vo. + Molina. |