34 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



laws, and by the mere aflion of air, water, and 

 heat, the expanfion of fo many plants, growing on 

 the fame dunghill, of colours, forms, favours, and 

 perfumes fo different. Do they try to decompound 

 the principles of them ? Poifon and food prefent, 

 in their floves, the fame refults. Thus Nature 

 fports herfelf with their art, as with their theory. 

 The corn plant alone, gathered in handfuls only 

 by the vulgar, anfwers a thoufand valuable pur- 

 pofes, while a multitude of vegetables have re- 

 mained entirely ufelefs, in the laboratories of the 

 learned. 



I remember my having read, many years ago, 

 feveral grave difTertations on the manner of em- 

 ploying the horfe-chefnut as food for cattle. Every 

 Academy in Europe has, at leaft, propofed it's 

 own ; and the refult of all their learned difqui- 

 fitions was, that the horfe-chefnut was ufelefs, un- 

 lefs prepared by a very expenfive procefs, and that, 

 even then, it was good only in the manufafture of 

 tapers and hair pov/der. 1 was aftoniflied at this, 

 not that Naturalifts fhould be ignorant of it's ufe, 

 and that they hid ftudied it merely as an article of 

 luxury, but that Nature Ihould have produced a 

 fruit of no ufe even to the brute creation. But I 

 was, at laft, cured of my ignorance, by the brutes 

 themfelves. 1 happened to take my walk, one day, 



to 



