Chapter M: P. Huber is the only modern author that appears to have been witness to (4)

THE CHEESE-MITE.--This minute creature is a favourite subject for microscopic observations. It is covered with hairs or bristles, which resemble in their structure the awns of barley, being barbed on each side with numerous sharp-pointed processes. The mite is oviparous: from the eggs proceed the young animals, resembling the parents in all respects, except in the number of legs, which at first amount only to six, the pair from the head not making their appearance till after casting their first skin. The eggs, in warm weather, hatch in about a week, and the young animal may be seen sometimes for a day together struggling to get rid of its egg-shell. The mite is a very voracious animal, feasting equally upon animal and vegetable substances. It is also extremely tenacious of life: for, upon the authority of Leuwenhoek, though highly discreditable to his sense of humanity, we are assured that a mite lived eleven weeks after he had glued it to a pin, in order to make his observations.

We shall close the account of the curiosities of insects with a description of THE HYDRA, or POLYPES.--In natural history, this is a genus of the _Vermes Zoophyta_ class and order; an animal fixing itself by the base; linear, gelatinous, naked, contractile, and furnished with setaceous tentaculæ, or feelers; inhabiting fresh waters, and producing its deciduous offspring, or eggs, from the sides. There are five species, _H. gelatinosa_, minute and gelatinous, milk-white, cylindrical, with twelve tentaculæ shorter than the body: it inhabits Denmark, in clusters on the under side of Fuci. But on the viridis, the fusca, and the grisca, the greatest number of experiments have been made by naturalists, to ascertain their true nature and very wonderful habits. They are generally found in ditches. Whoever has carefully examined these, when the sun is very powerful, will find many little transparent lumps of the appearance of jelly, the size of a pea, and flatted upon one side. The same kind of substances are likewise to be met with on the under side of the leaves of plants that grow in such places. These are the polypes in a quiescent state, and apparently inanimate. They are generally fixed by one end to some solid substance, with a large opening, which is the mouth; the other having several arms fixed round it, projecting as rays from the centre. They are slender, pellucid, and capable of contracting themselves into a very small compass, or of extending to a considerable length. The arms are capable of the same contraction and expansion as the body, and with these they lay hold of minute worms and insects, bringing them to the mouth, and swallowing them. The indigestible parts are again thrown out by the mouth.

The green polype was that first discovered by M. Trembley: and the first appearances of spontaneous motion were perceived in its arms, which it can contract, expand, and twist about in various directions. On the first appearance of danger, they contract to such a degree, that they seem little longer than a grain of sand, of a fine green colour, the arms disappearing entirely. Soon afterwards, he found the grisca, and afterwards the fusca. The bodies of the viridis and grisca diminish almost insensibly from the anterior to the posterior extremity; but the fusca is for the most part of an equal size, for two-thirds of its length, from the anterior to the posterior extremities, from which it becomes abruptly smaller, and then continues of a regular size to the end. These three kinds have at least six, and at most twelve or thirteen arms. They can contract themselves till their bodies do not exceed one-fourth of an inch in length, and they can stop at any intermediate degree of expansion or contraction. They are of various sizes, from an inch to an inch and a half long. Their arms are seldom longer than their bodies, though some have them an inch, and some even eight inches long. The thickness of their bodies decreases as they extend themselves, and _vice versâ_; and they may be made to contract themselves, either by agitating the water in which they are contained, or by touching the animals themselves. When taken out of the water, they all contract so much, that they appear only like a little lump of jelly. They can contract or expand one arm, or any number of arms, independently of the rest; and they can likewise bend their bodies or arms in all possible directions. They can also dilate or contract their bodies in various places, and sometimes appear thick set with folds, which, when carelessly viewed, appear like rings. Their progressive motion is performed by that power which they have of contracting and dilating their bodies. When about to move, they bend down their heads and arms; lay hold by means of them, or some other substance to which they design to fasten themselves; then they loosen their tail, and draw it towards the head; then either fix it in that place, or stretching forward their head as before, repeat the same operation. They ascend or descend at pleasure in this manner upon aquatic plants, or upon the sides of the vessel in which they are kept; they sometimes hang by the tail from the surface of the water, or sometimes by one of their arms; and they can walk with ease upon the surface of the water. On examining the tail with a microscope, a small part of it will be found to be dry above the surface of the water, and, as it were, in a little concave space, of which the tail forms the bottom; so that it seems to be suspended on the surface of the water, on the same principle that a small pin or needle is made to swim. When a polype, therefore, means to pass from the sides of the glass to the surface of the water, it has only to put that part out of the water by which it is supported, and to give it time to dry, which it always does upon these occasions; and they attach themselves so firmly by the tail to aquatic plants, stones, &c. that they cannot be easily disengaged: they often further strengthen these attachments by means of one or two of their arms, which serve as a kind of anchors for fixing them to the adjacent substances.

The fusca has the longest arms, and makes use of the most curious manoeuvres to seize its prey. They are best viewed in a glass seven or eight inches deep, when their arms commonly hang down to the bottom. When this or any other kind is hungry, it spreads its arms in a kind of circle to a considerable extent, inclosing in this, as in a net, every insect which has the misfortune to come within the circumference. While the animal is contracted by seizing its prey, the arms are observed to swell like the muscles of the human body when in action. Though no appearance of eyes can be observed in the polype, they certainly have some knowledge of the approach of their prey, and shew the greatest attention to it as soon as it comes near them. It seizes a worm the moment it is touched by one of the arms, and in conveying it to the mouth, it frequently twists the arm into a spiral line like a corkscrew, by which means the insect is brought to the mouth in a much shorter time than otherwise it would be; and so soon are the insects on which the polypes feed killed by them, that M. Fontana thinks they must contain the most powerful kind of poison; for the lips scarcely touch the animal, when it expires, though there cannot be any wound perceived on it when dead. The worm, when swallowed, appears sometimes single, sometimes double, according to circumstances. When full, the polype contracts itself, hangs down as in a kind of stupor, but extends again in proportion as the food is digested, and the excrementitious part is discharged.

The manner in which the polypes propagate, is most perceptible in the grisca and fusca, as being considerably larger than the viridis. If we examine one of them in summer, when the animals are most active, and prepared for propagation, some small tubercles will be found proceeding from its sides, which constantly increase in bulk, until at last, in two or three days, they assume the figure of small polypes. When they first begin to shoot, the excrescence becomes pointed, assuming a conical figure and deeper colour than the rest of the body. In a short time it becomes truncated, and then cylindrical, after which the arms begin to shoot from the anterior end. The tail adheres to the body of the parent animal, but gradually grows smaller, until at last it hangs only by a point, and is then ready to be separated. When this is the case, both the mother and young ones fix themselves to the sides of the glass, and are separated from each other by a sudden jerk. The time requisite for the formation of the young ones is very different, according to the warmth of the weather, and the nature of the food eaten by the mother. Sometimes they are fully formed, and ready to drop off, in twenty-four hours; in other cases, when the weather is cold, fifteen days have been requisite for bringing them to perfection. The polypes produce young ones indiscriminately from all parts of their bodies, and five or six young ones have frequently been produced at once; nay, M. Trembley has observed nine or ten produced at the same time.

When a polype is cut transversely, or longitudinally, into two or three parts, each part in a short time becomes a perfect animal; and so great is this prolific power, that a new animal will be produced, even from a small portion of the skin of the old one. If the young ones be mutilated while they grow upon the parent, the parts so cut off will be re-produced; and the same property belongs to the parent. A truncated portion will send forth young ones before it has acquired a new head and tail of its own, and sometimes the head of the young one supplies the place of that which should have grown out of the old one. If we slit a polype longitudinally through the head to the middle of the body, we shall have one formed with two heads; and by again slitting these in the same manner, we may form one with as many heads as we please. A still more surprising property of these animals is, that they may be grafted together. If the truncated portions of a polype be placed end to end, and gently pushed together, they will unite into a single one. The two portions are first joined together by a slender neck, which gradually fills up and disappears, the food passing from one part into the other; and thus we may form polypes, not only from different portions of the same animal, but from those of different animals. We may fix the head of one to the body of another, and the compound animal will grow, eat, and multiply, as if it had never been divided. By pushing the body of one into the mouth of another, so far that their heads may be brought into contact, and kept in that situation for some time, they will at last unite into one animal, only having double the usual number of arms. The hydra fusca may be turned inside out like a glove, at the same time that it continues to eat and live as before. The lining of the stomach now forms the outer skin, and the former epidermis constitutes the lining of the stomach.

CHAP. XXXIII.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES.

_Curiosities in the Vegetable Kingdom--Germination of
Seeds--Dissemination of Plants--Number of Plants upon the
Earth--Sensibility of Plants--The Sensitive Plant._

Your contemplation further yet pursue;
The wondrous world of vegetables view!
See various trees their various fruits produce,
Some for delightful taste, and some for use.
See sprouting plants enrich the plain and wood,
For physic some, and some design'd for food.
See fragrant flow'rs, with different colours dy'd,
On smiling meads unfold their gaudy pride.
_Blackmore._

CURIOSITIES IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The difference between animals and vegetables is so great, that at first we do not perceive any resemblance between them. Some animals only live in water; others on the earth, or in the air; and some are amphibious, or live equally well in water as upon land. And this is literally the case with vegetables: some of them only grow upon land, others in the water; some can scarcely bear any moisture, others live either in earth or water; and some even are found that exist in the air.

There is a tree in the island of Japan, which, contrary to the nature of all others, to which moisture is necessary, cannot bear the least portion. As soon as it is watered it perishes: the only way to preserve it in such a case, is to cut it off by the root, which is to be dried in the sun, and afterwards planted in a dry and sandy soil. A peculiar species of mushroom, some mosses, and other small plants, float in the air; but what is still more extraordinary, a branch of rosemary, which, as is the custom of some countries, was put in the hand of a corpse, sprouted out to the right and left so vigorously, that after a lapse of some years, the grave being opened, the face of the defunct was overshadowed with rosemary leaves. The vegetation of the truffle is still more singular: this extraordinary tubercle has neither roots, stem, leaves, flowers, nor seeds; it derives its nourishment through the pores of its bark. But it may be asked, how is it produced? why is there commonly no kind of herb in the places where this species of fungus grows? and why is the land there dry and full of crevices? These things have never been explained. No plant so much resembles animals, as that species of membranous moss called nostoch; it is an irregular substance, of a pale green colour, and somewhat transparent; it trembles upon the slightest touch, and easily breaks. It can only be seen after rain, and is then found in many places, particularly in uncultivated soils and sandy roads. It exists in all seasons, even in winter; but is never so abundant as after rain in summer. The most remarkable circumstance about it is, its speedy growth, being formed almost instantaneously: sometimes walking in the garden in summer, not a trace of it is seen, when a sudden shower of rain falling, if the same place is visited in an hour, the walks are entirely covered with it. The nostoch was long supposed to have descended from the sky; but it is now known to be a leaf, which attracts and imbibes water with great avidity. This leaf, to which no root appears to belong, is in its natural state when impregnated with water; but a strong wind or great heat soon dissipating the water, the leaf contracts, and loses its colour and transparency: hence it appears to grow so suddenly, and to be so miraculously produced by a shower of rain; for when the rain falls upon it in its dried and imperceptible state, it becomes reanimated, and appears a fresh production.

We might readily enumerate a variety of plants that bear a resemblance to animals; but there are other peculiarities in vegetables, which solicit our attention. The whole atmosphere is pregnant with plants and invisible seeds, and even the largest grains are dispersed by the wind over the earth; and as soon as they are transported to the places where they may germinate, they become plants, and often so little soil is necessary for this purpose, that we can scarcely conceive whence they derive the necessary degree of nourishment. There are plants, and even trees, which take root and grow in the clefts of rocks, without any soil. Vegetation is sometimes very rapid; of which we have instances in mushrooms, and the common cresses, the seed of which, if put into a wet cloth, will be fit for a salad in twenty-four hours. There are plants that exist with scarcely any perceptible vitality. We often see willows, which are not only hollowed and decayed within, but their external bark is so much injured that very little of it remains; yet from these seemingly sapless trunks, buds sprout in the spring, and they are crowned with leaves and branches. How admirable, that plants should not only imbibe nutriment by their roots, but that their leaves also should assist in this important function, by inspiring air! and an inverted tree will flourish as well as when in its proper position, for the branches will grow in the earth and become roots! The advanced age that some trees attain, is also very wonderful. Some apple-trees are above a thousand years old; and if we calculate the amount of the annual produce of such a tree for the above space of time, we shall find that a single pippin might supply all Europe with trees and fruit.

THE GERMINATION OF SEEDS.--Seeds are composed of different parts, according to the variety of species, the principal of which parts is the germ. Each germ has two parts: the one simple, which becomes the root; and the other laminated, which becomes the stem of the plant. The substance of most seeds is composed of two pieces, called lobes, which contain a farinaceous matter, and serve as seminal leaves to the plants. Mosses have the most simple seed, consisting only of the germ, without pellicle, and without lobes. To make seeds germinate, air, and a certain degree of heat and moisture, are necessary. The augmented heat, and the difference observable in the taste and smell, seem to denote a degree of fermentation; and the farinaceous substance becomes fitted to nourish the tender germ. It has been ascertained by experiments made with coloured fluids, that this substance imbibes a moisture, which, in conjunction with the air and heat, forms a proper nourishment till the plant has acquired strength enough to make use of the juices furnished by the root. The lobes, exhausted of their farinaceous matter, gradually dry, and fall off of themselves in a few weeks, when the plant has no further need of their assistance.--Certain herbs which grow on the mountains are of a very peculiar nature: their duration being very short, it often happens that the seed has not time to ripen; and, that the species may not be lost, the bud which contains the germ is formed upon the top of the plant, puts forth leaves, falls, and takes root. When the delicate plant shoots up from the earth, it would run too great a risk, if it were immediately exposed to the air, and to the influence of the sun. Its parts therefore remain folded close to each other, nearly the same as when in the seed. But as the root grows strong and branches out, it furnishes the superior vessels with an abundance of juice, by means of which all the organs are developed. At first the plant is nearly gelatinous; but it soon acquires more firmness, and continually increases in size.

This short account of the germination of seeds may suffice to shew, to the inquisitive in the wonders of nature, what preparations and means nature uses to produce a single plant. When, therefore, we see a seed that we have placed in the earth sprout, we shall no longer consider it as beneath our notice, but shall rather be disposed to regard it as one of those wonders of nature which have excited the observation and attention of some of the greatest of men.

Go, mark the matchless workings of that Power
That shuts within the seed the future flower;
Bids these in elegance of form excel;
In colour these, and those delight the smell
Sends nature forth, the daughter of the skies,
To dance on earth, and charm all human eyes.
_Cowper._

DISSEMINATION OF PLANTS.--When seeds are come to maturity, their dissemination is absolutely necessary, since without it no future crop would follow. The great Author of nature has wisely provided for this in various ways. The stems of many plants are long and slender, and being raised above the ground, the wind shakes them to and fro, and by this means are the ripe seeds conveyed to a distance. The seed-vessels of most plants are shut till the seeds are ripe, that so the winds may not scatter them prematurely; and when the proper season arrives, many of these open with such a degree of elasticity as to throw the seeds to a considerable distance. Other seeds have a kind of wings given them, by which they are conveyed to a distance of some miles from the parent plant. These wings consist either of a down, as in most of the composite-flowered plants, or of a membrane, as in the birch, alder, ash, elm, &c. Hence woods, which happen to be destroyed by fire, or any other accident, are soon restored again by new plants.

Some seeds are rough, or provided with a sort of hooks, by means of which they are apt to stick to animals that pass by them, and by this means are carried to the mouths of their burrows, where they meet with proper soil and manure for their growth. Berries and other pericarpies are by nature allotted for aliment to animals; but it is on condition that they shall sow the seed while they eat it: this they do by dispersing the seeds as they are eating; and also after eating, by voiding many of them unhurt, and even in a better state for vegetation than they were before. Thus many kinds of nuts are sown; and thus did the doves of the Moluccas replant with nutmegs those islands of the East, which the sordid avarice of the Dutch had destroyed: Providence thereby frustrating, by feeble but certain means, the contemptible selfishness of that commercial people.

In this manner the woods of northern countries are sown with junipers, by the thrushes and other birds which feed upon these heavy berries. The cross-bill lives upon fir-cones, and the hawfinch upon pine-cones; by means of which the fir and the pine, of various species, are continually planted in vast abundance. In our own country, the common rook has been observed, not only to feed on acorns, but to make holes in the ground with the bill, and hide many: probably they mean only to lay in a stock for future necessity by this process; but certain it is, that thousands of oaks are annually planted by this means. Swine, also, in searching for food, turn up the earth; and moles, by throwing up hillocks, prepare the ground for seeds of various kinds. Seas, lakes, and rivers, by their streams and currents, often convey seeds unhurt to distant countries.

In assimilating the animal and vegetable kingdoms, Linnæus denominates seeds the eggs of plants. The fecundity of plants is frequently marvellous: from a single plant or stalk of Indian Turkey wheat, are produced, in one summer, 2000 seeds; of elecampane, 3000; of sun-flower, 4000; of poppy, 32,000; of a spike of cat's-tail, 10,000 and upwards; a single fruit or seed-vessel of tobacco, contains 1000 seeds; that of white poppy, 8000. Mr. Ray relates, from experiments made by himself, that 1012 tobacco seeds are equal in weight to one grain; and that the weight of the whole quantum of seeds in a single tobacco plant, is such as must, according to the above proportion, determine their number to be 360,000. The same author estimates the annual produce of a single stalk of spleen-wort to be upwards of 1,000,000 of seeds.

PRODIGIOUS NUMBER OF PLANTS UPON THE EARTH.--It is said, that there are about 44,000 different plants already discovered, to which new ones are daily added. By means of the microscope, some have been found where they were least expected. The different varieties of mosses and sponges have been classed among vegetables, and have presented to the observation of the naturalist, seeds and flowers before unknown. Freestone is sometimes covered with brown and blackish spots; the mouldy substance which composes them adheres to various other matters, and may be considered as a little garden in vegetation. When we reflect upon the quantity of moss which covers the hardest stones, the trunks of trees, and the most barren places;--when we consider the quantity of vegetables upon the surface of the earth; the different species of flowers which delight and refresh us; the trees and bushes, add to these the aquatic plants, some of which exceed a hair in fineness;--we may be able to form some idea of the multitude of plants in the vegetable kingdom. All these species grow up, and are preserved without detriment or injury, each having that place assigned it, which is most suited to its properties. Such is the wisdom displayed in their distribution over the surface of the earth, that there is no part of it wholly destitute, and no part enjoys them in too great abundance. Some plants require the open field, where, unsheltered by trees, they may receive the sun's rays; others can only exist in water; some grow in the sand; others in marshes and fens, which are frequently covered with water, and some bud on the surface of the earth, whilst others unfold themselves in its bosom. The different strata which compose the soil of the earth, as sand, clay, chalk, &c. favour different vegetables; and hence it is, that in the vast garden of nature nothing is absolutely sterile; from the finest sand to the flinty rock, from the torrid to the frozen zone, each soil and climate supports plants peculiar to itself. Another circumstance highly worthy of attention is: the Creator has so ordered, that, among this immense variety of plants, those which are most proper for food or medicine multiply in greater abundance than those which are of less utility. Herbs are much more numerous than trees and brambles; grass is in greater abundance than oaks; and cherry-trees more plentiful than apricots: had oaks been more frequent than grass, or trees than herbs and roots, it would have been impossible for animals to subsist.

According to the calculation of Baron Von Humboldt, 6000 plants are _agamous_, that is, plants which have no sexual organs, such as champignons, lichens, &c. Of the remainder there are found--

In Europe 7,000
In the temperate regions of Asia 1,500
In Equinoxial Asia, and the adjacent Islands 4,500
In Africa 3,000
In the temperate regions of America, in both hemispheres 4,000
In Equinoxial America 13,000
In New Holland, and the Islands of the Pacific Ocean 5,000
------
Total 38,000
------

SENSIBILITY OF PLANTS.--There are certain motions observable in plants, that make it doubtful whether they are not possessed of sensibility. Some plants shrink and contract their leaves upon being touched; others open and shut their flowers at certain fixed hours in the day, so regularly as to denote with precision the time of day; some assume a peculiar form during the night, folding up their leaves; and these different changes take place whether they are in the open air, or shut up in close apartments. Those which live under water during the time of fecundation, raise their flowers above the surface.

The motions of a marshy plant discovered some time since, in the province of Carolina, are still more singular. Its round leaves are furnished above, and on the sides, with a multitude of notches that are extremely irritable. When an insect happens to creep upon the superior surface of the leaves, they fold up, and inclose the insect till it dies; the leaves then open of themselves. We may daily observe regular motions in some plants in our gardens. Tulips expand their petals when the weather is fine, and close them again at sun-set, or during rain. Vegetables with pods, such as peas and beans, open their shells when dry, and curl themselves up like shavings of wood. Wild oats, when placed upon a table, will move spontaneously, more especially if warmed in the hand. And the heliotrope, or sunflower, with various other plants, always turns towards the sun. These are incontestable facts, of the certainty of which every person may be easily convinced. From them, some conclude that we ought not to deny sensibility to be an attribute of plants; and certainly the facts which are alleged in favour of such an opinion, give it great appearance of probability. But, on the other hand, plants have no other sign of sensibility; and all that they have is entirely mechanical. We plant a shrub and destroy it, without finding any analogy between it and an animal, that we bring up and kill. We see a plant bud, blossom, and bear seed, insensibly, as the hand of a watch runs round the points of the dial. The most exact anatomy of a plant does not unfold to us any organ which has the least relation to those of animal sensibility. When we oppose these observations to those from which we might infer the sensibility of plants, we remain in uncertainty, and we cannot explain the phenomena related above. Our knowledge upon this subject is very imperfect, and is confined to simple conjecture. We neither attribute sensibility to plants, nor deny it to them, with certainty.

THE SENSITIVE PLANT.--This singular plant rises from a slender woody stalk seven or eight feet in height, armed with short recurved thorns; the leaves grow upon long footstalks, which are prickly, each sustaining two pair of wings; from the place where these are inserted, come out small branches, having three or four globular heads of pale purplish flowers coming out from the side, on short peduncles; the principal stalk has many of those heads of flowers on the upper part, for more than a foot in length; this, as also the branches, is terminated by like heads of flowers; the leaves move but slowly when touched, but the footstalks fall, when they are pressed pretty hard. It is a native of Brazil, (_M. pudica_, humble plant,) having the roots composed of many hairy fibres, which mat slowly together; from these come out several woody stalks, declining towards the ground, unless supported; they are armed with short recurved spines, having winged or pinnate leaves; flowers from the axils, on short peduncles, collected in small globular heads, of a yellow colour.

"Naturalists (says Dr. Darwin) have not explained the immediate cause of the collapsing of the sensitive plant; the leaves meet and close in the night, during the sleep of the plant, or when exposed to much cold in the day-time, in the same manner as when they are affected by external violence, folding their upper surfaces together, and in part over each other like scales or tiles, so as to expose as little of the upper surface as may be to the air, but do not, indeed, collapse quite so far; for when touched in the night during their sleep, they fall still further, especially when touched on the footstalks between the stems and the leaflets, which seem to be their most sensitive or irritable part. Now, as their situation after being exposed to external violence resembles their sleep, but with a greater degree of collapsion, may it not be owing to a numbness or paralysis consequent to too violent irritation, like the pantings of animals from pain or fatigue? A sensitive plant being kept in a dark room till some hours after day-break, its leaves and leaf-stalks were collapsed as in its most profound sleep, and on exposing it to the light, above twenty minutes passed before the plant was thoroughly awake, and had quite expanded itself. During this night the upper surfaces of the leaves were oppressed; this would seem to shew that the office of this surface of the leaf was to expose the fluids of the plant to the light, as well as to the air." Dr. Darwin has thus characterized these plants.--

Weak with nice sense the chaste Mimosa stands,
From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands
Oft as light clouds o'erpass the summer glade,
Alarm'd, she trembles at the moving shade;
And feels alive through all her tender form,
The whisper'd murmurs of the gathering storm;
Shuts her sweet eyelids to approaching night,
And hails with freshen'd charms the rising light.

CHAP. XXXIV.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES.--(_Continued._)

_The Cocoa-Nut Tree--The Bread-Fruit Tree--The Bannian Tree--Fountain
Trees--The Tallow Tree--The Paper Tree--The Calabash Tree--Remarkable
Oak--Dimensions, &c. of some of the largest Trees now growing in
England--Upas, or Poison Tree._

Admiration, feeding at the eye,
And still unsated, dwells upon the theme.
_Cowper._

THE COCOA-NUT TREE.

Of all the gifts which Providence has bestowed on the Oriental world, the cocoa-nut tree most deserves our notice: in this single production of nature, what blessings are conveyed to man! It grows a stately column, from thirty to fifty feet in height, crowned by a verdant capital of waving branches, covered with long spiral leaves; under this foliage, branches of blossoms, clusters of green fruit, and others arrived at maturity, appear in mingled beauty. The trunk, though porous, furnishes beams and rafters for our habitations; and the leaves, when platted together, make an excellent thatch, common umbrellas, coarse mats for the floor, and brooms; while their finest fibres are woven into very beautiful mats for the rich. The covering of the young fruit is extremely curious, resembling a piece of thick cloth, in a conical form, close and firm as it came from the loom; it expands after the fruit has burst through its inclosure, and then appears of a coarser texture. The nuts contain a delicious milk, and a kernel sweet as the almond: this, when dried, affords abundance of oil; and when that is expressed, the remains feed cattle and poultry, and make good manure. The shell of the nut furnishes cups, ladles, and other domestic utensils, while the husk which incloses it is of the utmost importance; it is manufactured into ropes and cordage of every kind, from the smallest twine to the largest cable, which are far more durable than those of hemp. In the Nicobar islands, the natives build their vessels, make the sails and cordage, supply them with provisions and necessaries, and provide a cargo of arrack, vinegar, oil, gagpree or coarse sugar, cocoa-nuts, coir, cordage, black paint, and several inferior articles, for foreign markets, entirely from this tree.

Many of the trees are not permitted to bear fruit; but the embryo bud, from which the blossoms and nuts would spring, is tied up, to prevent its expansion; and a small incision being then made at the end, there oozes in gentle drops a cool pleasant liquor, called Trace, or Toddy, the palm wine of the poets. This, when first drawn, is cooling and salutary; but when fermented and distilled, produces an intoxicating spirit. Thus, a plantation of cocoa-nut trees yields the proprietor considerable profits, and generally forms part of the government revenue.

THE BREAD-FRUIT TREE.--The systematic name of this plant is Artocarpus, which is merely the English name translated into Greek. There are several species; particularly _A. incisa_, and _A. integrifolia_.

The genuine bread-fruit tree is the _artocarpus incisa_. In captain Cook's Voyage, it is observed, that the bread-fruit tree is about the size of a middling oak; its leaves are frequently a foot and a half long, oblong, deeply sinuated, like those of the fig-tree, which they resemble in consistence and colour, and in exuding a milky juice when broken. The fruit is the size and shape of a 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 as big as the handle of a small knife; the eatable part lies between the skin and core; it is as white as snow, and 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 Jerusalem artichoke. The fruit not being in season all the year, there is a method of supplying this defect, by reducing it to sour paste, called _makie_; and besides this, cocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, and a great variety of other fruits, come in aid of it. This tree not only supplies food, but also clothing, for the bark is stripped off the suckers, and formed into a kind of cloth. To procure the fruit for food costs the Otaheiteans no trouble or labour, but climbing a tree. This most useful tree is distributed very extensively over the East Indian continent and islands, as well as the innumerable islands of the South Seas. In Otaheite, however, and some others, the evident superiority of the seedless variety for food has caused the other to be neglected, and it is consequently almost worn out.

We are informed by Captain King, that in the Sandwich islands these trees are planted, and flourish with great luxuriance on rising grounds; that they are not indeed in such abundance, but that they produce double the quantity of fruit to those growing on the rich plains of Otaheite; that the trees are nearly of the same height, but that the branches begin to strike out from the trunk much lower, and with greater luxuriance; and that the climate of these islands differs very little from that of the West Indian islands which lie in the same latitude. This reflection probably first suggested the idea of conveying this valuable tree to our islands in the West Indies. For this purpose his Majesty's ship the Bounty sailed for the South Seas, on the 23d of December, 1787, under the command of Lieutenant William Bligh. But a fatal mutiny prevented the accomplishment of this benevolent design. His Majesty, however, not discouraged by the unfortunate event of the voyage, and fully impressed with the importance of securing so useful an article of food as the bread-fruit to our West Indian Islands, determined, in the year 1791, to employ another ship, for a second expedition on this service; and, in order to secure the success of the voyage as much as possible, it was thought proper that two vessels should proceed together on this important business. Accordingly, a ship of 400 tons, named the Providence, was engaged for the purpose, and the command of her given to Captain Bligh; and a small tender, called the Assistant, commanded by Lieut. Nathaniel Portlock. Sir Joseph Banks, as in the former voyage, directed the equipment of the ship for this particular purpose. Two skilful gardeners were appointed to superintend the trees and plants, from their transplantation at Otaheite, to their delivery at Jamaica; and Captain Bligh set sail on the 2d of August, 1791. The number of plants taken on board at Otaheite, was 2634, in 1281 pots, tubs, and cases; and of these 1151 were bread-fruit trees. When they arrived at Coupang, 200 plants were dead, but the rest were in good order. Here they procured ninety-two pots of the fruits of that country. They arrived at St. Helena, with 830 fine bread-fruit trees, besides other plants. Here they left some of them, with different fruits of Otaheite and Timor, besides mountain rice and other seeds; and hence the East Indies may be supplied with them.

On their arrival at St. Vincent's, they had 551 cases, containing 678 bread-fruit trees, besides a great number of other fruits and plants, to the number of 1245. Near half this cargo was deposited here under the care of Mr. Alexander Anderson, the superintendant of his Majesty's botanic garden, for the use of the Windward islands; and the remainder, intended for the Leeward islands, was conveyed to Jamaica, and distributed as the governor and council of Jamaica were pleased to direct. The exact number of bread-fruit trees brought to Jamaica, was 352; out of which, five only were reserved for the botanic garden at Kew. Captain Bligh had the satisfaction, before he quitted Jamaica, of seeing the trees, which he had brought with so much success, in a most flourishing state; insomuch that no doubt remained of their growing well, and speedily producing fruit: an opinion which subsequent reports have confirmed.

The bread-fruit, when perfectly ripe, is pulpy, sweetish, putrescent, and in this state is thought to be too laxative; but when green it is farinaceous, and esteemed a very wholesome food, either baked under the coals, or roasted over them. The taste is not unlike that of wheaten bread, but with some resemblance to that of Jerusalem artichokes or potatoes. It was mentioned before, that a sort of cloth was made of the inner bark: to this we may add, that the wood is used in building boats and houses; the male catkins serve for tinder; the leaves for wrapping their food in, and for wiping their hands instead of towels; and the juice for making bird-lime, and as a cement for filling up the cracks of their vessels, and for holding water. Three trees are supposed to yield sufficient nourishment for one person.

THE BANNIAN TREE.--The bannian, or Indian fig-tree, is a native of several parts of the East Indies, and has a woody stem, branching to a great height and vast extent. It is universally considered as one of the most beautiful of nature's productions; and, contrary to most other things in animal and vegetable nature, appears exempted from decay. Every branch from the main body throws out its own roots, at first in small tender fibres, several yards from the ground, but which thicken considerably before they reach the surface, and then, striking in, they increase to large trunks, and become parent trees, shooting out new branches from the top; these in time suspend their roots, which, swelling into trunks, produce other branches, thus continuing in a progressive state as long as the earth, the common parent of them all, continues her sustenance. The Hindoos are peculiarly fond of the bannian tree; they regard it as an emblem of the Deity, from its long duration and overshadowing beneficence, and almost pay it divine honours. Near this tree their most esteemed pagodas are generally erected; and under their shade the Brahmins spend their days in religious solitude, wandering among the cool recesses and beautiful walks of this umbrageous canopy, impervious to the hottest beams of a tropical sun.

A remarkably fine tree of this kind grows on an island in the river Narbedda, in the province of Guzerat. It is distinguished from others of the same species by the name of Cubbeer Bur, which was given it in honour of a famous saint. It was once much larger than it is at present, high and violent floods having carried away the banks of the island on which it grew, and with them such parts of the tree as have thus far extended its roots. What remains, is two thousand feet in circumference, measured round the principal stems; the overhanging branches, which have not yet struck down, cover a much larger space. The chief trunks of this single tree, each of which in size exceeds our English oaks or elms, amount to 350, the smaller stems to more than 3000, all casting out new branches and hanging roots, to form in time parent trunks. Cubbeer Bur is famed through India for its amazing extent and beauty. The Indian armies frequently encamp around it, and at stated periods solemn festivals are held under its branches, where thousands of votaries repair from various parts of the empire. It is even said that 7000 persons found ample room under its shade. The English gentlemen sometimes form elegant and extensive encampments, where they spend whole weeks together under this delightful pavilion, which is inhabited by green wood-pigeons, doves, and peacocks, and also a variety of feathered songsters; families of monkeys are also in every quarter playing their antic tricks; and bats, to the astonishing size of six feet, from the extremity of one wing to that of the other. This tree not only shelters, but affords sustenance to these numerous inhabitants, being covered, amidst its bright leaves, with small figs of a rich scarlet, on which they regale.

FOUNTAIN TREES.--These are very extraordinary vegetables, growing in one of the Canary Islands, and likewise said to exist in some other places, which distil water from their leaves in such plenty, as to answer all the purposes of the inhabitants who live near them. Of these trees we have the following account, in Glasse's History of the Canary Islands. "There are three fountains of water in the whole island of Hiero, wherein the fountain tree grows. The larger cattle are watered at those fountains, and at a place where water distils from the leaves of a tree. Many writers have made mention of this famous tree, some in such a manner as to make it appear miraculous: others again deny the existence of any such tree; among whom is Father Feyjoo, a modern Spanish author. But he, and those who agree with him in this matter, are as much mistaken as those who would make it appear to be miraculous. The author of the History of the Discovery and Conquest, has given us a particular account of it, which I shall here relate at large.--

"The district in which this tree stands is called Tigulabe; near to which, and in the cliff or steep rocky ascent that surrounds the whole island, is a gutter or gully, which commences at the sea, and continues to the summit of the cliff, where it joins or coincides with a valley, which is terminated by the steep front of a rock. On the top of this rock grows a 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 Hiero, 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 the 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 120 feet. The branches are thick and extended, the lowest commence about the height of 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 a perpetual succession, so that the tree always remains green. Near to it grows a thorn, which fastens on many of its branches, and interweaves with them; and at a small distance from the garse are some beech-trees, bresoes, and thorns. 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 or easterly winds force against the forementioned 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 the valley; and then rests upon the thick leaves and wide spreading branches of the tree, from whence it distils in drops during the remainder of the day, until it is at length exhausted, in the same manner that we see water drip from the leaves of trees after a heavy shower of rain.

"This distillation is not peculiar to the garse or til, for the bresoes, which grow near it, likewise drop water; but their leaves being but few and narrow, the quantity is so trifling, that, though the natives save some of it, yet they make little or no account of any but what distils from the til; which, together with the water of some fountains, and what is saved in the winter season, is sufficient to serve them and their flocks. A person lives on the spot near which this tree grows, to take care of it and its waters; and is allowed a house to live in, with a certain salary. He every day distributes to each family of the district, seven pots or vessels full of water, besides what he gives to the principal people of the island."

Whether the tree which yields water at this present time, be the same as that mentioned in the above description, I cannot determine: but it is probable there has been a succession of them; for Pliny, describing the Fortunate Island, says, "In the mountains of Ombrion, are trees resembling the plant _ferula_, from which water may be procured by pressure. What comes from the black kind is bitter, but that which the white yields is sweet and potable." Trees yielding water are not peculiar to the island of Hiero; for travellers inform us of one of the same kind on the island of St. Thomas, in the bight or gulf of Guinea. In Cockburn's Voyages, we find the following account of a dropping tree, near the mountains of Fera Paz, in America.--

"On the morning of the fourth day, we came out on a large plain, where were great numbers of fine deer; and in the middle stood a tree of unusual size, spreading its branches over a vast compass of ground. Curiosity led us up to it. We had perceived, at some distance, the ground about it to be wet; at which we began to be somewhat surprised, as well knowing there had no rain fallen for nearly six months past, according to the certain course of the season in that latitude: that it was impossible to be occasioned by the fall of dew on the tree, we were convinced, by the sun's having power to exhale away all moisture of that nature a few minutes after its rising. At last, to our great amazement, as well as joy, we saw water dropping, or as it were distilling, fast from the end of every leaf of this wonderful, (nor had it been amiss if I had said miraculous) tree; at least it was so with respect to us, who had been labouring four days through extreme heat, without receiving the least moisture, and were now almost expiring for the want of it. We could not help looking on this as liquor sent from heaven, to comfort us under great extremity. We catched what we could of it in our hands, and drank very plentifully of it; and liked it so well, that we could hardly prevail with ourselves to give over. A matter of this nature could not but incite us to make the strictest observations concerning it; and accordingly we staid under the tree near three hours, and found we could not fathom its body in five times. We observed the soil where it grew to be very strong; and upon the nicest inquiry we could afterwards make, both of the natives of the country and the Spanish inhabitants, we could not learn there was any such tree known throughout New Spain, nor perhaps all America over: but I do not relate this as a prodigy in nature, because I am not philosopher enough to ascribe any natural cause for it; the learned may perhaps give substantial reasons in nature, for what appeared to us a great and marvellous secret, and far beyond our power to account for."