TEMPERATURE. 65 



oak, which in the beauty of its foliage, as well as the 

 utility of its fruit, it far surpasses, the noble chesnut. 



' The Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Caucasus, form the 

 southern limit of the zone, in the more eastern portion of 

 which the lime and the elm contribute greatly to the 

 composition of the forest. In the hop, the ivy, and the 

 clematis, we find here the first representative of the 

 tropical climbers. The smiling green of the meadows 

 alternates with the gloomy shadows of the forest, and man 

 has taken possession of the earth, restricting the wild 

 vegetation of the earth to that absolutely needful for wood 

 and hay, and rich crops reward his industry. 



' Leaving this zone of the deciduous woods to scale the 

 rocky barrier of the Alps, suddenly there appear quite 

 different plants ; with the great woods of trees, the coria- 

 ceous shining leaves of which last through the mild winter, 

 and round the mighty slopes of which climb the vine and 

 flame-coloured begonias, unite the similar bushes of 

 myrtle, tinus, arbutus, and pestialico [pestalozzia ?] 



' Here and there the dwarf palm is met with ; labiate 

 plants and crucifers, and fair-flowered rock roses replace 

 in summer the spring flora of scented hyacinth and nar- 

 cissus ; but rarely, even on the most favoured spots, is the 

 eye dazzled by the brilliancy of evergreen leaves, or the 

 glaring play of colour on the naked, jagged mountain 

 chains, or gladdened by the mild radiance of verdant 

 meadows. In recompense, mankind has, in this zone of 

 evergreen woods, seized upon the first of the Hesperides. 

 It is 



' The land where the citrons blow ; 

 Through the dark-green leaves the gold oranges glow.' 



' Crossing the narrow straits of Gibraltar, and following 

 the western coast of Africa, we soon reach the Canary 

 Islands, on which we find that around sycamores twine 

 mighty cissus stems, while capers and bauhineas interlace 

 in the thickest of balsamic shrubs. The slender date-palm 

 soars aloft, and the baobab grows up into gigantic masses 

 of wood. The wondrous cactus-like forms of the leafless 



F 



