160 THE GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



cotton, which is the staple of our manufactures. 

 But to return from this digression. 



The moss rose, the damask rose, the cabbage 

 rose, and the French rose, which are universal 

 favourites, are all inhabitants of Persia and 

 Asia Minor, where they abound, and are highly 

 esteemed. " The delight of the east, the theme 

 of the poet in all ages, the praises of the rose 

 have been sung in the language of every nation 

 where it is known. All virtue, all loveliness, 

 has been characterized by it ; from the solemn 

 personification of Scripture of Him whom ' the 

 preacher 7 called ' the Rose of Sharon,' down to 

 the simile of the humblest minstrel that ever 

 * touched the harp of poesy." We might have 

 expected that all Asia, between 30 and 50 lat., 

 would have enjoyed a mild climate ; such, 

 however, is far from being the case, on account 

 of the structure of the continent, which has the 

 highest table-lands and the lowest plains on 

 the globe. The table-land of Thibet, which is 

 not cultivated, is very sterile, and has a most 

 unpropitious climate : frost, snow, and sleet. 

 beginning early in September, and continuing, 

 with little interruption, until May : snow, in- 

 deed, falls every month in the year. The air 

 is always dry, because in winter moisture falls 

 as snow, and in summer is quickly evaporated 

 by the intense heat. The thermometer some- 

 times rises to 144 in the sun ; and even in the 

 winter his direct rays have great power for an 

 houi or two, so that a variation of 100 has 

 occurred in the twenty-four hours. 



