serves as a substitute for bread among the inhabitants of Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands, but also, variously dressed, composes the principal part of their food. It grows on a tree that is about the size of a middling oak; its leaves are frequently a foot and a half long, of an oblong shape, deeply sinuated like those of the fig tree, which they resemble in colour and cousistence, and in the exsuding of a milky juice upon being broken. The fruit is about the size and shape of a new-born child's head, and the surface is reticulated, not much unlike a truffle; it is covered with a thin skin, and has a core about it as big as the handle of a small knife. The eatable part lies between the skin and the core; it is as white as snow, and somewhat of the consistence of new bread: it must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into three or four parts; its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke. This fruit is also cooked in a kind of oven, which renders it soft, and something like a boiled potatoe; not quite so farinaceous as a good one, but more so than those of the middling sort. Of the bread-fruit they also make three dishes, by putting either water or the milk of the cocoa-nut to it, then beating it to a paste with a stone pestle, and afterwards mixing it with ripe plantains, bananas, or the sour paste which they call mahie. The unripe artocarpus mahie, is likewise made to serve as a succedaneum for ripe bread-fruit before the season is come on. The fruit of the bread-tree is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe ; and being laid in heaps, is closely covered with leaves: in this state it undergoes a fermentation, and becomes disagreeably sweet; the core is then taken out entire, which is done by gently pulling out the stalk, and the rest of the fruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for that purpose generally in the houses, and neatly lined on the bottom and sides with grass: the whole is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them, in this state it undergoes a second fermentation, and becomes sour, after which it will suffer no change for many months. It is taken out of the hole as it is wanted for use; and being made into balls, it is wrapped up in leaves and baked after it is dressed, it will keep for five or six weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot; and the natives seldom make a meal without it, though to Europeans the taste is as disagreeable as that of a pickled olive generally is the first time it is eaten. To procure this principal article of their food, costs these happy people no trouble or labour, except climbing up a tree: the tree which produces it does not indeed grow spontaneously; but if a man plants ten of them in his life time, which he may do in an hour, he will as completely fulfil his duty to his own and future generations, as the native of our less temperate climate can do, by ploughing in the cold of winter, and reaping in the summer's heat, as often as these seasons return: even if, after he has procured bread for his present household, he should convert a surplus into money, and lay it up for his children. SECTION 111. Fig Tree. Ficus.-LINN. THE species of plants that range in the sexual system under the genus ficus are very numerous, and amount to nearly sixty. Of these there are three that are peculiarly entitled to our present attention: the Banian or Indian fig, ficus Indica of Linnæus; the Sycamoras, or sycamore of the Scriptures; and the Carica, or com mon fig. 1. Banian Tree. This is a native of several parts of the East Indies. It has woody stem, branching to a great height, and prodigious extent, with heart-shaped, entire leaves, ending in acute points. Milton has thus beautifully and correctly described it, as the plant to which Adam advised to have recourse after having eaten the forbidden fruit. Par. Lost, ix. 1099. So counselled he; and both together went lapponicus, they might well find it difficult to say how these plants arrived at the furthest corner of the world. It may be questioned, therefore, whether the great resemblance that these plants bore to those of Europe, did not mislead our great naturalists, in taking them for the same, as they might have distinguishing characters which, for want of comparing them with the European species, they did not suppose. When Linnæus and other botanists state varieties of a plant to exist in different zones, they are not always to be trusted; for it has often been seen that such varieties had more constant characters than many which by them are made species, aud that they did really constitute true species. Why should not Nature, in different degrees of latitude and longitude, have formed species that exceedingly resemble one another? In all countries there occurs a remarkable circumstance in the history of plants, namely, that some grow gregariously, and some singly; that is, some always grow numerously and close together, while others are scattered and grow quite solitarily. The reason of this singular circumstance appears to lie in the seeds themselves, which are either too heavy for the wind to carry away, or too light, so as to be destroyed by it, or the elasticity of the capsule is not strong enough to throw them to a distance. The root too of some vegetables is creeping, so that many plants of such must always stand together. The gregarious plants sometimes occupy great tracts of ground. The common heath (Erica vulgaris), extends often for many miles. The whortleberry, (Vaccinium Myrtillus), the strawberry, (Fragaria vesca), some species of Pyrola, various rushes, (Junci) and some trees are of this kind. Solitary plants are the Turritis glabra, Anthericum Liliago, Lychnis dioica, and many others. But when places are very populous, men have made great alterations in this respect, by planting woods, and bringing plants close together that would have stood separate, &c. The difference be tween gregarious and solitary plants is of consequence to those who generally do not regard it. We give here for instance mosses, which the forester and the economist trouble themselves less about than they ought. Gregarious mosses are the Sphagnum palustre, Dicranum glaucum, Polytrichum commune, and many others. The solitary are, Polytricum piliferum, all the species of Phascum, Weissia paludosa, &c. Plants, like animals, are confined to certain latitudes. Many natives of warm countries can, by degrees, accustom themselves to our climate, and even to those that are colder. Under-shrubs are more easily reconciled to a warm than a cold or even a temperate climate. In high latitudes there falls at the beginning of winter a deep snow, that does not melt till the return of spring, after which, ; no night frosts are to be expected, and the air of which is but a de. gree of temperature above the freezing point. In temperate cli mates, it often freezes strongly without snow having previously fallen, and thus the plants are killed. By this means the polar and alpine plants, which in their native places are covered with snow, are frozen with us, where frosts without suow are frequent. It is only those under-shrubs and annual plants of warm countries, which require a longer time for pushing their shoots and flowers than the short summer of a cold climate permits, that cannot here be inured to the open air, and those which require a great degree of heat. But trees and shrubs seem to be more sensible of cold, because their perennial trunk is raised high above the ground, and thus sooner suffers by the vicissitudes of the weather. Some that are natives of warm climates have become naturalized with us, perhaps because their cellular texture is tougher than that of other plants; but, on the contrary, there are many, that in this respect are unac, commodating, because their organization will endure no great alternation of heat and cold. But the most useful plants, like the domestic animals, are capable of succeeding in very different climates. If there are some which are confined to certain zones, there are others in those regions where these cannot live, to supply their places. Under the equator and within the tropics in similar situations, our kinds of grain do not prosper but, instead of them, there are the rice, (Oryza sativa), Indian sorn, (Holcus Sorghum), and Turkey corn, (Zea Mays), which are proper substitutes for our grain. In Iceland and Green. land neither our corn nor that of the tropical regions will grow; but nature has provided for these countries the Elymus arenarius, in abundance, which, in case of necessity, may be used as rye. In no cold climate are there wanting esculent roots and pulse, Of these many grow wild which remain untried, but of which necessity, if we had not received our garden plants from the East, would have taught us the use. All our kitchen-garden plants are so obedient to the variation of climate, that they have followed the footsteps of men to almost every region. From what has been said, it may naturally be inferred that, after so many and such various changes as plants are subject to, it cannot but be difficult to ascertain the exact point from which each has originated. We shall, however, endeavour to fix something with regard to those of our part of the world, because with these, particularly in the northern part of it, we are better acquainted than with others. As to Greece, we must pass it over, because, in a botanical point of view, it is almost wholly unknown to us. Its Flora, however, seems to originate in the Sardinian mountains the coasts of Asia and Africa, and the islands of the Archipelago. Ac. cording to our former position, plants have descended from the highest mountains to the plains, and we here assume five principal Floras for Europe, namely, the Northern, the Helvetian, the Aus trian, the Pyrenean, and the Apennine. The Northern Flora and the Lapland Alps. high northern latitudes. proceeds from the Norwegian, the Swedish These nourish in common the plants of the The mountains of Scotland seem formerly · to have been connected with those of Norway, for the same plants grow on both. The Helvetic Flora takes its origin from the Swiss, the Bavarian and the Tyrolese mountains. The mountains of Dauphiny, and those of Bohemia and Silesia, are only lateral branches of the same chain. All contain a great number of the same plants. The Austrian Flora originates in the Austrian, the Carinthian and Steyermark Alps. The Carpathian make a part of the same chain. The Pyrenean Flora arises in the Pyrenees. The mountains of Catalonia, Castile, and Valentia, are parts of them. The Apennine Flora is derived from the Apennines, and these send off many secondary branches. The Helvetic Flora takes up the greatest space. The whole of Germany, with exception of the Austrian circles and Moravia, Prussia, Poland, all France, except the southernmost part of it, the Netherlands and Holland, possess this Flora. The Northern Flora extends over Denmark, Sweden, and Russia, and partly over England, |