100 



HISTORY OF THK VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



rents of tlie ocean. The mountain stream or 

 torrent washes down to the valley the seeds which 

 may accidentally fall into it, or which it may 

 happen to sweep from its hanks when it suddenly 

 overflows them. The broad and majestic river 

 winding along the extensive plain, and traversing 

 the continents of the world, conveys to the dis- 

 tance of many hundred miles, seeds that may 

 have vegetated at its source. Thus the southern 

 shores of the Baltic are visited by seeds which 

 grew in the interior of Germany, and the west- 

 ern shores of the Atlantic by seeds that have 

 been generated in the interior of America. Even 

 fruits indigenous to America and- the West 

 Indies, have sometimes been found to be swept 

 along by the cuiTents of the ocean to the 

 western shores of Europe. The fruit of mimosa 

 scandens, doliclioj pruriens, genlendcna honduc, 

 and anacardium occidentale, or cashew nut, have 

 been thus known to be driven across the Atlan- 

 tic, to a distance of upwards of 2000 miles; and 

 though the fruits now adduced as examples are 

 not such as could vegetate on the coast on which 

 they were thrown, owing to soil and climate, 

 yet it is to be believed that fruits may have been 

 often thus transported to climates or countries 

 favourable to their vegetation. 



Mr Darwin thus describes the flora in Keeling 

 islands, some of those recently formed out of the 

 coral reefs of the Pacific. "The cocoa-nut tree, 

 at the first glance, seems to compose the whole 

 wood; there are, however, five or six other kinds. 

 One of them grows to a very large size ; but 

 from the extreme softness of its wood, is useless: 

 another sort affords excellent timber for sliip 

 building. Besides the trees, the number of 

 plants is exceedingly limited, and consists of 

 insignificant weeds. The collection amounts to 

 twenty species, without reckoning a moss, lichen, 

 and fungus. To this number two trees must be 

 added, one of which was not in flower, and the 

 other 1 only heard of. The latter is a solitary 

 tree of its kind in the whole group, and grows 

 near the beach, where, without doubt, the one 

 seed was thrown up by the waves. I do not 

 include in the above list the sugar-cane, ban- 

 nana, some other vegetables, fruit trees and im- 

 ported grasses. As these islands consist entirely 

 of coral, and at one time, probably, existed as a 

 mere water-washed reef, all the productions 

 now living here must have been transported by 

 the waves of the sea. In accordance with this, 

 tlie flora has quite the character of a refuge for 

 the destitute. Professor Ilenslow informs us, that 

 of the twentj'' species nineteen belong to different 

 genera, and these often to no less than sixteen 

 orders. Seeds and plants from Sumatra and Java, 

 have been driven up by the surf on the windward 

 side of the other islands. Among these have 

 been found the kimiri, a native of Sumatra 

 and the peninsula of ^Malacca ; the cocoa-nut 



of Balci, known by its shape and size; the dadap, 

 which is planted by the Malays with the pepper 

 vine, the latter intwining round its trunk, and 

 supporting itself by the prickles of its stems; 

 the soap tree, the castor oil plant, tranks of the 

 sago palm, and various kinds of seeds unknown 

 to the Malaj^s who settled on the islands. These 

 are all supposed to be driven on shore by the 

 north west monsoon, from the coast of New Hol- 

 land, and thence to these islands by the south-east 

 trade wind. Sago, masses of Java teak, and 

 yeUow wood, have also been found, besides im- 

 mense trees of red and white cedar, and the blue 

 gum wood of New Holland, in a perfectly 

 sound condition. AU the hardy seeds, such as 

 creepers, retain their germinating power ; hut 

 the softer kinds, among which is the magnolia, 

 are destroyed in the passage. Fishing canoes, 

 apparently from Java, have at times been washed 

 on shore. It is interesting thus to discover how 

 numerous the seeds are, which, coming from 

 several countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. 

 Perhaps all the plants I brought from this island 

 are littoral species, on the Indian islands ; from 

 the direction, however, of the winds and cuixents, 

 it seems scarcely possible that they could have 

 come here in a direct line ; it has been suggested 

 that they may have been first carried to the 

 coast of New Holland, and drifted back again, 

 together with the productions of that country. 

 In this way the seeds, before germinating, must 

 have travelled a distance of 1800, or 2400 miles. 

 Chamesso, when describing the Radack Ar- 

 chipelago, situated in the central part of the 

 western Pacific, states that 'the sea brings to 

 these islands the seeds and fniits of many trees, 

 most of which have not j'et grown here ; the 

 greater part of these seeds appear to have not 

 yet lost the capability of growing.' It is also 

 said that trunks of northern firs are washed on 

 shore, which must have been floated from an 

 immense distance." 



Uses of fruits and seeds. The fruits, and es- 

 pecially the seeds of many plants, contain ali- 

 mentary substances possessed of the most nutri- 

 tious qualities, and frequently medicines of the 

 greatest power. The family of Gramiiiem, in- 

 cluding the grains and grasses, is unquestionably 

 one of those from which man procures the most 

 abundant supplies of food, and herbivorous ani- 

 mals their most usual pasture. All the civilized 

 nations of Europe, and of the other parts of the 

 world, make use of bread, which is prepared 

 from the farinaceous endosperm of the wheat, 

 the barley, and many other gramineae. For this 

 reason alone, had it no other claims upon our 

 notice, this natural family of plants is one of 

 the most interesting in the vegetable kingdom. 



The pericarps of many fi-uits furnish food as 

 agreeable as useful. Every one knows the eco- 

 nomical uses to which many fleshy fiidts, such 



