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. 
a ‘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 
Seok. The wondrous cactus-like forms of the leafless 
F 
