258 Picture of Vegeiaiiofi 



vias, everlasting-flowers, kc. ; several of which now shine in our 

 parterres, or form the ornaments of our hot-houses. The spe- 

 cies alone which we possess are so numerous, that we can scarcely 

 believe them to be the productions of a single locality. We count 

 several hundreds of heaths, gerania, &c. 



To form a comprehension of the work of nature, we must 

 observe it in those countries where the ground, abandoned to its 

 natural productions, has not yet been turned up by the hand of 

 man. Wherever this has established its power, it has subjected 

 to his empire all that might contribute to his well-being, or em- 

 belhsh his abode ; the animals have become slaves ; rich harvests 

 and vast meadows have replaced the wildnesses of nature ; ancient 

 forests have fallen under the axe, and the ground, despoiled of 

 its original productions, no longer presents to the eye of the ob- 

 server, but a vast garden created by human industry. The tree 

 of the mountains has descended into the plains, and the exotic 

 plant, more useful or more agreeable, has chased from its native 

 soil the plant which is noxious, or of no utility to man. It is 

 therefore only at a distance from great societies in foreign coun- 

 tries, in lands untouched by man, that vegetation can be studied 

 in its natural state, understood in its modifications, development, 

 and progress. 



There still, however, exist countries in Europe which the pow- 

 er of man has not entirely subjected ; but it is only among tlie 

 proud rocks, and upon the summits of the Alps, that they are to 

 be looked for. There mountains piled upon mountains, rising 

 above the clouds, form so many gardens, each furnished with a 

 vegetation of its own, the character of which changes at each 

 degree of elevation. There, in proportion as we rise, we find 

 succeeding each other the temperatures of various climates, from 

 that of the tropics to that of the poles, as well as several of the 

 vegetables peculiar to each of these climates. 



At the foot of these mountains, and in the lower valleys, ve- 

 getate the plants of the plains, and a part of those of the 

 southern countries of Europe. Forests of oaks occupy the 

 first platform; they rise, but not without losing' a proportional 

 degree of their strength and beauty, to a height of about 

 eight hundred toises, the extreme limit of their habitation. 

 The beech shews itself equally, but the oak has ceased to 



