30 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEN. 



The Use of Vegetables. 



Trees. Those stupendous specimens of creating 

 art spread not their wide extended roots, nor lift 

 their lofty heads in vain. Beneath their cooling 

 shades, our flocks and herd's find a c(.mfortable 

 asylum from the scorching rays of the summer sun; 

 the wild stragglers of the forest have a place of re- 

 fuge among their woods and thickets; whilst the 

 feathery songsters of the grove build their little 

 dwellings in security, and sing among their branch- 

 es ; " as for the stork, the fir trees are her house." 



But in what a variety of respects, besides afford- 

 ing the inhabitants of warm climates an agreeable 

 shelter from the mid day heat, do they yield their 

 services, or are made subservient to the use of man. 

 Some, as the bread fruit tree of the Pacific Ocean, 

 the cabbage tree of East Florida, the tea tree of 

 China, the sugarmaple tree of America, the coffee 

 tree and sugar cane in the West Indies, and the nu- 

 merous luxurious fruit bearing trees scattered over 

 the face of the globe, contribute to our wants in form 

 of food. The fountain tree on one of the Canary 

 Islands, is said by voyagers to furnish the inhabitants 

 with a supply of water ; while the paper-mulberry 

 tree of the Southern ocean, and the cotton shrub of 

 America, provide us with materials for clothing. 

 The candle-berry myrtle presents the inhabitants of 

 Nankeen with a substitute for animal tallow. The 

 salt tree of Chili yields a daily supply of fine salt 

 Thf cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and pimento, furnish 



