6 



INTRODUCTION. 



ous in temper, than those who live on vege- 

 table aliment." The same author says, "The 

 influence of diet is of the most vital im- 

 portance in the prevention and cure of in- 

 sanity. Those living on animal food pre- 

 sent great fulness of the vessels on the sur- 

 face of the body, which is not confined to 

 the visible and external frame, but will be 

 felt in the brain and membranes of those 

 who are afflicted with, or who have a ten- 

 dency to this disease. 



It is to vegetable productions, that com- 

 merce owes its support. They form our 

 ships, cordage, and sails ; and it is for vegeta- 

 ble rarities, principally, that we cross the 

 seas, and explore every clime from the equa- 

 tor to the poles. 



The unlettered countryman examines ve- 

 getation with delight and instruction, The 

 peasant, who is an attentive observer of Na- 

 ture, substitutes the pimpernel and the chick- 

 weed, for a weather-glass ; finding, when 

 these flowers fully expand, that no rain 

 will fall for some hours. The husbandman 

 finds also a barometer in the trefoil, which 

 always contracts its leaves at the approach 

 of a storm. The shepherd, when he sees 

 the thistle-down agitated without an ap- 



