628 



INDEX. 



UNDULATIONS of water, 530. 

 United States, foreign plants grown 

 in, 66 ; weight of annual harvest in, 72, 

 73; number of quadrupeds in, 88; 

 birds in, 110 ; forests of, 317 ; instabil- 

 ity of life in, 385. 

 Urus or auerochs, domesticated by man, 

 91 ; extirpation of, 91. 



VAL DI CHIANA, improvements in, 

 514 et seq. 



Vapor prevents escape of heat by radia- 

 tion, 170- condenHation of, by snow 

 and ice, 206 ; and cloud attracted by 

 mountains, 213, note. 



Vegetable life, how affected by animals, 

 81. 



Vegetables, cultivated European, not in- 

 digenous, 2 ; acclimation of, 16 ; geo- 

 graphical importance of, 41, 43 ; mete- 

 orological action of, 56 ; domestic 

 origin of, 57, 58, note; modification of, 

 58, note; improvement of, by cultiva- 

 tion, 58, note; early garden, sent from 

 Algeria and Naples, to Northern Eu- 

 rope, 63, note; transfer of, 62, note; 

 foreign, how introduced, 64-68 ; power 

 of accommodation, 68-71 ; American, 

 grown in Europe, 74 ; extirpation of, 

 75 ; indigenous, dying out in America, 

 78. 



Vesuvius crater, wooded inside, 149. 



Vine, in what countries indigenous, 68 ; 

 dimensions of, 69, note; European, in- 

 troduction of, into America, 69 ; Amer- 

 ican, resists the phylloxera, 69, note; 

 injury to,by parasites, not economically 

 iojurious to vine-grower, 77, note. 



Viper, multiplication of, in France, 125, 

 note. 



Vision, extraordinary powers of, in 

 Arabs, 11, note. 



Volcanoes, eruptive matter of, not infer- 

 tile, 148 ; resistance to action of, 611, 



Volga, proposed diversion of, 595. 



WALCHEREN, formation of the isl- 

 and of, 399. 



Wallenstadt, lake of, diversion of Rhine 

 into, 599. 



Walnut tree, oil yielded by, 827, note; 

 consumption of, for gunstocks, 345, 

 note. 



War, instrumentalities of, applied to 

 social and civil purposes, 394, note. 



Ward's cases for plants, 184, note. 



Waste, modem mode of economising, 

 34, 7iote. 



Water, chapter on, 387 et seq. ; land won 

 from, 387 ; evaporative action of, 442, 

 note ; subterranean, 454 et seq. ; infil- 

 tration of, 460 ; fresh on sea-beaches, 

 462, note; not found at great depth in 

 boring, 455, note. 



Weather, action of man upon, 608. 



Weeds, common to Old and New World, 



70, 72, note; beneficial mission of, 70^ 

 note; extirpation of, in China, 77. 



Wells. See Artesian Wells, tubular, 461, 

 note. 



Wild animals, numbers of, 81 ; human 

 victims of, 135, note. 



Whale, food of, 100 ; destruction of, 101. 



Whale-fishery, when first practiced. 99, 

 note; American, 101, note. 



Wheat, its asserted origin, 58; how in- 

 troduced into America, 66. 



Whitney, Prof. J. D., on prairies, 379. 



Wild organic life, superior hardiness of. 



71. ■ 



Winkler, work on dunes, 526, note. 



Winter of 1879-80, 162, note. 



Wolf, increase of the, 90 ; prevalence of, 

 in forests of Prance, 305, note. 



Woodpecker, red-headed, disappearance 

 of, from Eastern States, 139 ; destruc- 

 tion of insects by, 138. 



Woods, native American, permanent char- 

 acter of, 26 ; generally. Chap. III., 

 146 ; general meteorological action of, 

 150 ; electrical infiuence of, 151 ; 

 whether preventive of hail, 151 ; chem- 

 ical influence of, 153 ; of Australia and 

 New Zealand, 153, note; as protection 

 against malaria, 154 ; in Southern Hem- 

 isphere evergreen, 156, note; as a shel- 

 ter to the ground to the leeward, 157 ; 

 as inorganic matter, influence of, on 

 temperature, 164-168 ; specific tempera- 

 ture of, 170-174; evaporation from 

 earth of, 178, note; exhalation of 

 vapor by, 174; intercepting rain by 

 foliage of, 178 ; organic action of, 179 ; 

 balance of confiieting iufiuences of, 

 188 ; influence on precipitation, 169, 

 189-195; on liuraidity of soil, 169, 199; 

 in winter, 205-212 ; influence of, on 

 flow of springs, 215; on inundations 

 and torrents, 227-232; mechanical re- 

 sistance of, to flow of water 169, 231 ; 

 effect of, in disintegration of soil, 236 ; 

 influence of, on drainage, 237 ; protec- 

 tion against avalanches, 283 ; minor 

 uses of, 284 ; utility of, in preserving 

 small plants, 285; protection against 

 locusts, 291 ; summary of influences 

 of, 291 ; general consequences of de- 

 struction of, 292; proper proportion 

 of, 294; in different countries, 296 et 

 seq.; in Great Britain, 298-304; in 

 France, 304-308; in Scotland and In- 

 dia, 303; Southern France, 305, 7iote; 

 legislation on, in France, 308 ; in Italy, 

 310-314; in Russia, 316; in American 

 States, 317 ; diversity of species in, 

 spontaneous, 325, 7iote ; do not furnish 

 food for man, 334 ; first removal of, 

 335 ; burning over for agricultural pur- 

 poses, 335 ; principal causes for de- 

 struction of, 336 ; affected by game 

 laws and French revolution, 339-343 ; 

 restoration of, 856; management of, 

 357 ; cultivation of, 360-368 ; injured 



