99 



th 



e same repose is produced by a mass of lighl foliage, al a 



little distance appearing without shape or colour, as in a bee 



o 



mignionette. 



Thirdly, The Contrast in Texture; some plants and flown 

 appearing as if composed of silk, others of clolh or velvet; some 

 smooth as satin, others harsh, rough, and prickly. 





Fourthly, The contrast of Size; some lik< 



ie 



)c 



* 



ie 



horse-chesnut, or the tulip-tree, bearing their blossoms above 

 the reach of man; and others, like the diminutive rock plants, 



an 



1 



miniatures of Nature, requiring to he raised, or placed on 

 tables, and in flower-pots or baskets. Sometimes plants of the 

 same species assume new dimensions, forming a contrast 

 their more common measurements; as in the diminutive dwarf 

 Burgundy rose, and the gigantic Viola tricolor; which may be 

 used as an example of contrasts in colour and in relative dimen- 



sions. 



* 



In alluding to the contrast from dimensions, I cannot omit some notice of the power 

 of Art over Nature in this respect. 



In China it is a common practice not only to compress the feet of women, hut they 

 have a mode of stinting the growth of trees, by which they can reduce Oaks and Kims 

 to the size of shrubs in garden-pots, to decorate the decks and cabins of their ships. 

 A curious specimen of this kind of dwarf plant may be seen growing from the roof 

 of a conduit, near the road side, betwixt Hyde-Park and Knightsbridge ; where a 

 perfect Elm in miniature has existed, to my knowledge, nearly half a century, with- 

 out being now much bigger than a currant bush. In England we are apt to err in an 

 opposite extreme, endeavouring rather to increase the size, than diminish it; 



thu^ 



we destroy the original stock (witness the gigantic but tasteless Gooseberry of Lan- 

 cashire) ; and often injure the flavour, by increasing the size ; swelling the Pippin to 

 a Pearmain, and the Nonpareil to a Nonsuch. 



