492 THE BEAUTIFUL IN NATURE. 



chestnut -brown color. Its succulent rind is nearly the fourth of an inch in thick- 

 nesj!. containin,!? a ver}' powerfnl astrintrcnt juice, and, in wet weather, exudinp a 

 yellow cram, wliich is a variety of Ganil)0{'-c. On reinovinp: the rind, its esculent 

 substance appears in the form of a juicy jinlp, having the whiteness and solubility 

 of snow, and a refreshinp:, delicate, delicious (lavor ; this is the l)ulp of the cells, 

 and these separate easily from each other, like the cells or lobes of an orange. 

 ''The flavor," says one who ate of the fruit produced at Syon House, "was deli- 

 cio\is, and compared, by some who partook of it, to that between a first-rate peach 

 and of a good grape." Dr. Abel, when speaking of the fruits of Batavia, says, 

 '■ to define it l)y i)recise language would be dillicult. We were all aiixious to carry 

 away with us some jirccise exiircssion of its (pialitics ; l)ut, after satisfying our- 

 selves that it partook of the compound taste of the pine-apple and peach, we were 

 obliged to confess that it had nuiny other ecpially good, ))ut utterly inexpressible, 

 flavors. From its perfect wholcsomeness, it may Ijc eaten in any quantity ; and, 

 as it possesses no luscious qualities, it does not soon cloy the palate. It is not a 

 little singular that a plant nearly allied to the Gamboge, should yield so wholesome 

 a fruit. The rind is astringent, and employed in cases of dysentery, and the bark 

 of the wood is used as a dye. 



In British stoves, it has attained the height of ten or twelve feet; in the Malay 

 Islands, it is said to be twenty feet. A botanical description will be found in 

 Curtis's Botanical Magazine, vol. ii., 3d series, Plate 4,847. All writers attest 

 its great excellence. 



Fig. 1. Flower. 2. Seed-vessel. 3. Flower-bud. 4. Back view of flower; 

 the fruit, and a section of the interior, are re])resented above, with the leaves. 



There are now, in this country, many plant-houses well calculated to grow the 

 ]\rangosteen, and we hope, by i)ublishing the plate, to induce some of our zealous 

 propagators to attempt it. There are other rare and beautiful fruits yet to be 

 tried among us, such as the nutmeg, a most beautiful shrub and fruit, chocolate, 

 clove, litchis, and vanilla, all of which, ere long, we hoi)e to see gracing our ex- 

 hibition's. 



Some further particulars regarding the Maiigosteen will be found in our last 

 volume, page 498. 



THE BEAUTIFUL IN NATURE. 



BY A. D. G. CLINTON, N. Y. 



WnATEVER definition of beauty we may adopt, the fact of its existence will not 

 be questioned. It greets us on every hand, more abundantly disclosed, indeed, to 

 the cultivated and observing eye, yet visible also to the most superficial and heed- 

 less. Physical beauty — of Avhich alone we now sjjeak — abounds in every depart- 

 ment of nature. In the animal kingdom, for instance, what graceful forms and 

 proj)ortions, what richness and delicacy of colors, wliat sweetness of sounds ! It 

 was not mere utility that fashioned the humming-bird which flits arouTid our door- 

 ways, or the bo!)oiink pouring out his liquid, gurgling melody as he flies over 

 the meadow. " In the commonest human face," says au artist, " there is more 

 beauty than Raphael will take away with him." The eye is not only an admirable 

 contrivance for conveying images of external objects to the mind, but, in its form, 

 colors, and varying expression, is in itself beautiful. Can anything surjiass the 

 tints of an insect's wing, whether viewed by the naked eye, or through the lenses 

 of a microscope ? If we dcrcend into the region of animalcules, the minutest 

 [ living objects examined by the most powerful instruments exhibit the greatest 



