THE WARMER TEMPERATE ZONE. 159 



of the continent, before and long after the con- 

 quest, the monks appear to have been the only 

 gardeners ; and many an abbey garden yet 

 remains, though in ruins, to attest that the 

 monks, with all their faults, were men of peace 

 and study, and were doing much to improve 

 the world, while the warriors were spending 

 their lives to despoil it. 



It was by the labours of missionaries that 

 European vegetables were introduced into South 

 America, from one end of the continent to the 

 other; and the same course is now pursued by 

 our missionaries in the South Seas and in South 

 Africa. Lastly, commerce has very largely 

 contributed to the comforts and welfare of man, 

 by gathering around his dwelling those fruits 

 which have been scattered by Providence over 

 the most distant parts of the globe. For nearly 

 a century and a half this country has, by means 

 of her widening commerce, steadily proceeded 

 in collecting from every clime and country the 

 fruits and flowers indigenous to each ; and has 

 thus provided, even for the poorer classes, com- 

 forts and luxuries once unknown even to the 

 wealthy of the land ; while it has improved our 

 tastes, and extended our resources as a nation, 

 to a degree which would formerly have been 

 considered impossible. To the same commerce 

 we owe the potatoe and the pine-apple ; the 

 China rose, whose flowers cluster around the 

 cottage porch, and the camellia, which adorns 

 the conservatory j the tea, coffee, and sugar, 

 which are now necessaries of life, and the 



