294 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



this direftion they are determined by the aAion of 

 columns cf air. Some, it mufl; be allowed, do 

 follow this dire6lion, as the fir, the ftalk of corn, 

 the reed. But a much greater number deviate 

 from it, fuch as creeping plants of every fpecies, 



vines, liannes, French-beans, &c Olhers afcend 



vertically, and having arrived at a certain height, 

 in an air perfedly unobftrufled, fork off in various 

 tiers, and fend out their branches horizontally, as 

 the apple-tree ; or incline them toward the earth, 

 like firs; or hollow them in form of a cup, like 

 the fafTafras ; or round them into a mufliroom's 

 head, like the pine ; or ftraighten them into a py- 

 ramid, like the poplar; or roll them as wool on 

 the diftaff, like the cyprefs ; or let them float at 

 the difcretion of the winds, like the birch. 



All thefe attitudes may be feen under the fame 

 bearing of the wind. Nay, there are fome which 

 affume forms, that all the art of the gardener could 

 hardly imprefs upon them. Such is the badamier 

 of the Indies, which grows up into the form of a 

 pyramid, and carries it divided into ftories, like 

 the king of the chefs-board. There are plants un- 

 commonly vigorous, which, far from purfuing the 

 vertical line, recede from it the very moment that 

 they get above ground. Such is the falfe potatoe 

 of India, which loves to crawl along the fand of the 

 ihores, in hot countries, covering whole acres in 



it's 



