72 
transported into foreign climates, the animals for which they 
served as food seldom or never follow them. ‘To mention a 
few among a multitude of examples in disproof of the above 
position, the leaves of the Calla ZEthiopica, the most acrid of 
plants, are the favourite food of the Sphynz lineata in its larva 
state, In Mauritius, the Blatta Americana devours the leaves 
of the Argemone Mexicana, equally acrid, and more nauseous 
than the Calla. In the same island the fiery berries of the 
Capsicum are eaten by the Gracula tristis or Mayana, and 
greedily devoured by the common poultry. The common 
Nettle, whose sting is poison, is furnished with numerous and - 
well known parasites, and I have no doubt, that if the Upas 
tree itself, of which the learned physiologist has given such a 
terrific description, were closely examined, it would be found 
covered with insects. i 
“ Such being the fact with regard to the inferior animals, 
let us see how matters stand with respect to man. Our East 
Indian commerce furnishes ample proof that the most pungent 
products of the vegetable kingdom afford no security against 
depredation; and the unlimited consumption of opium and 
tobacco is equally conclusive against the infallibility of nar- 
cotic juices. On the contrary, like the half-reasoning parent 
of combs, as Johnson calls him, who is destroyed for the sake 
of his tusks, these vegetables are destroyed in countless mil- 
lions for the sake of those very juices which were given them, 
it seems, for their protection. It savours too much of human 
views of partiality and patronage, to fancy nature conferring 
privileges on certain plants for the purpose of exempting them 
from the common lot of the vegetable creation, which is evi- 
dently intended to serve as food for the higher description of | 
beings, as these, after their death and decomposition, serve in 
their turn as food for vegetables. The plants that appear to 
be the least liable to animal depredation, are certain tribes 
belonging to the class * Cryptogamia, the Ferns, Lichens; 
and Mosses; yet none of these, so far as I know, are furnished 
with deleterious juices." 
He is led to carry the same views farther, by a somewhat 
