24 



THE BKITISH ISLES. 



plants. The cool summer prevents the ripening of many fruits which flourish in 

 countries having a far lower mean annual temperature, whilst the mildness of winter 

 has rendered it possible to naturalise many plants of southern climes, which the cold 

 winter of the north of Continental Europe would kill. Apricots, peaches, and grapes 

 only ripen, with rare exceptions, when afibrded the shelter of a wall ; yet myrtles 

 and other evergreens flourish in the open air, and the strawberry-tree {Arbutus 

 unedo), with its rich foliage and red berries, forms a charming feature in the 

 woods of Killarney. Many exotics, including even natives of the tropics, have 

 been successfully introduced, and add to the beauty of pleasure grounds and 



Fig. U. — Yuccas on Tresco (Soillï Islands). 



parks. Cacti grow in the rocks near Torquay ; the American aloe flourishes in 

 Salcombe Bay ; magnolias from South America, proteas from the Cape, and 

 camellias from Japan, are successfully cultivated ; and on Tresco, one of the Scilly 

 Islands, we meet with a fine avenue of yuccas. But ornamental plants are not 

 the only exotics, for most of the bread corns, including wheat, barley, and rye ; 

 the potato : much of the produce of the kitchen gardens ; and many other plants 

 now widely cultivated, have been derived from other and warmer climates. 



In Roman and Saxon times a considerable part of the country was covered 

 with forests, formed, as now, of oaks and beeches, birches and Scotch firs, 



