THE WARMER TEMPERATE ZONE. 161 



The most common plants are a species of 

 furze, prickly shrubs, rhubarb, various species 

 of gooseberry and currant, hyssop, rose, assafoe- 

 tida, etc. Three species of wheat, three of 

 barley, and two of buck -wheat, are natives of 

 the lofty table-land, but European grain and 

 fruits can only be cultivated here and there, in 

 sheltered spots. Here, also, grows the Prangos 

 pobularia, an umbelliferous plant, with scented 

 blossoms, of vast value as fodder for sheep. It 

 is capable of flourishing on the most inferior 

 lands, unfit for anything else, and is so nutritious, 

 that sheep will become fat on it in twenty days. 

 Another valuable property it possesses is, that it 

 is fatal to the liver-fluke, (Pascwla hepatica,) 

 which, in England, after a wet autumn, destroys 

 some thousands of sheep by the rot, a disease 

 which has hitherto proved incurable. It is very 

 hardy, most abundant in its produce, and pro- 

 mises, at no distant day, to be one of the most 

 valuable kinds of winter fodder ever brought 

 into cultivation. 



In Japan, and the eastern countries of Asia, 

 figs, oranges, pomegranates, wheat, oats, rice, 

 etc., are exceedingly productive. Here, too, 

 Asiatic species of buckthorn and honeysuckle 

 are. so numerous, as to give a peculiar character 

 to the vegetation. Intermixed with these, and 

 with roses, are thickets of azaleas, of dazzling 

 brightness and beauty. In the United States, 

 several magnolias, the beautiful tulip tree, 

 (Liriodendron,) and a number of noble species 

 of the mimosa tribe, occur in this zone, one of 



