THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 279 



foliage, silent retreats and grand avenues, as at pres- 

 ent ; the wind sang among the branches ; the rays of 

 the sun fell upon the morning and the evening mists, 

 and the whole of nature was full of life and move- 

 ment. But there was no human being to contem- 

 plate these glories, to listen to these harmonies. It 

 is doubtful if the first representatives of animal life 

 had yet awakened into life in the depth of the ocean 

 or by the marshy banks of the rivers. Plants held 

 universal dominion ; the earth was a " vegetable king- 

 dom " and nothing more. 



It would be a mistake to fancy that this primitive 

 vegetation consisted of plants larger, stronger and 

 more beautiful than those that clothed the earth 

 when the reign of man began, and it would be an 

 equal mistake to imagine that those ancient plants 

 were as rich and luxuriant as those we see around us. 

 At the time of the coal formation of which we speak, 

 probably not a single fruit or flower had yet appear- 

 ed upon the earth ; and as to the supposed colossal 

 size of these plants, let us see in what this compara- 

 tive superiority consisted. 



The beautiful trees we have described, the giants 

 of California, the monstrous baobabs, the elegant 

 palms, the gigantic oaks, and the brilliant and odor- 

 ous flowers of our own day had not yet emerged from 

 the mysterious birth-place of beings. The earth 

 hitherto had only seen plants of great simplicity and 

 poverty of form. The plants have at the present day 

 but a few rare representatives, which are not apt to be 

 noticed by the side of richer modern forms. Every 



