In regard to the height above the level of the sea at which some kinds of plants will thrive, it will be evident that the southern and midland parts of Great Britain do not contain mountains, or land of sufficient elevation, to afford any striking illustration of this natural distribution of plants; and if we find some of the higher lands on the southern coast devoid of trees, it may rather be attributed to their exposure to sea winds, and, perhaps, the want of congenial soil, than to elevation above the sea level. In the north of England, however, the case is different: the mountains there rise to the height of three thousand feet, and an opportunity is afforded of observing the limits of various species.

The finest oaks are met with in the southern districts of Great Britain, especially in Sussex and Kent, the noble oaks of these counties being regarded as the best timber for the use of the navy.* In the north of England, about lat. 55°, the oak still attains a large size in the valleys, but becomes of stunted growth on the hills at the elevation of sixteen hundred feet; and in Scotland, except in some of the valleys in the south, it generally forms only copse woods. The common elm is not indigenous north of the Tees, its place being supplied by the wych elm, which skirts the mountains at the elevation of two thousand feet. The beech, which forms vast forests in the south of England, also flourishes in the low sheltered valleys in the north, but does not grow on the hills to the same elevation as the oak. The linden, or lime-tree, one species of which appears to be indigenous to the counties bordering on Wales, and another in Lincolnshire, scarcely reaches the northern districts of England. Holly-trees are among the chief ornaments of the woods of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham, in which counties the yew is also abundant. On the other hand, the birch attains a greater size in the north of England than in the southern counties, almost equalling in appearance the birches of Norway and Sweden. In Scotland, however, it becomes stunted at eleven

*The annexed cut is from an original drawing of Sir Philip Sidney's oak, in Penshurst Park, Kent. In this view of the tree, a specimen occurs of the peculiarly-formed diverging branches, to which the term kneetimber has been applied; at one period, in great request in naval architecture.

hundred feet above the sea. It is accompanied by the sycamore-maple and mountain-ash. The dwarf willow grows on

the summit of the loftiest Cumbrian mountains, more than three thousand feet above the sea-level. The pine, or Scotch fir, is a native of Scotland, but is no longer indigenous, or even capable of successful cultivation in South Britain; though from the roots and trunks of very large pines discovered in the peat-mosses on the elevated moors in Cumberland, there is reason to suppose that at some former period it was a native of those districts. This tree constitutes noble forests in the mountainous districts of Scotland, filling the valleys, and affording many specimens of trees attaining towering and magnificent dimensions. In some parts it extends to a considerable elevation on the mountains, but in others, ceases to be of value beyond the elevation of 1050 feet above the sea.

The cerealia cultivated in Britain consist of wheat, rye, oats, barley, and bigg, or bere, a hardy species of barley. It has before been remarked, that wheat will not ripen further north than Inverness, and there, only in valleys near the level of the sea: in the north of England, its successful cultivation extends to about 1000 feet above the level of the sea; whilst oats succeed at about double that elevation, and potatoes may be cultivated at the same elevation as oats.* In Scotland, in latitude 57°, however, oats will not come to perfection beyond 950 feet, and barley-bigg ceases to flourish beyond 1050 feet above the sea.

Our native fruits are few in number. Among these, the principal are the strawberry, raspberry, red and black currant, and gooseberry, all of which are improved by cultivation. The latter fruit appears to arrive at greater perfection in the northern parts of the island, particularly in Aberdeenshire, where gooseberries are said to be peculiarly delicious, far surpassing those of the southern parts of the island. The hazel is indigenous, and grows wild in Scotland, where, in lat. 57°, it ripens its nuts well at the elevation of five hundred feet

It is a remarkable circumstance, that when the soil of the moors in this part is ploughed for the first time, and lime applied, white clover comes up in abundance. The same has been observed in North America, when the woods are cleared away, and the ground broken up.