382 Scientific Intelligence. — Botany. 



33. — The Plants considered as characteristic of Nations. By 

 Schouw. — In the South Sea Islands, the bread-fruit tree, and cocoa- 

 nut palm supply important articles of food and clothing. New 

 Zealand flax is characteristic of the island whence it derives its name. 

 Among the Malays of the Indian Islands, the clove tree, nutmeg, 

 pepper, and ginger, are the principal characteristic plants, and these 

 are also common in India. Maize, which gives the most abundant, 

 and also the most uncertain of all crops, was originally confined to 

 America, which was also the case with the Potato. The Maguey 

 plant (Agave potatorum), is a valuable product of Mexico, and may 

 be called the vine of the Mexicans ; while Agave americana is use- 

 ful for clothing. Chenopodium Quinoa is a plant used for food in 

 the high districts of Mexico, Peru, and Chili ; the Mauritia palm is 

 an important means of subsistence to the tribes of the Orinoco ; 

 the Date Palm is equally useful in the south of Africa, and in the 

 Arabian deserts. The Coffee tree characterizes the south of Arabia 

 and Abyssinia. Rice and cotton were two important plants for the 

 Hindoos ; the Tea plant for the Chinese ; Wheat, barley, rye, and 

 oats, to the Indo-Caucasian races of Western Asia and Europe ; 

 the olive and the vine for the inhabitants of Mediterranean districts ; 

 and the Rein-deer Moss for the Laplanders. — (Professor Balfour 's 

 Class-Book of Botany, Part II. p. 990.) 



34. The Statistics of Vegetation over the Globe. — This subject 

 involves the consideration of the number of known vegetable species 

 in the world, their numerical distribution, and the relative propor- 

 tion of classes, orders, genera, and species in different countries. 

 In the present imperfect state of our knowledge of the floras of 

 different countries, it is impossible to tell the exact number of 

 species of plants in the globe. Those known at the present day, 

 fdescribed and undescribed, amount probably to nearly 120,000, and 

 rom this estimates have been made of the total vegetation, the num- 

 ber varying from 150,000 to 200,000. Hinds, reckoning the species 

 at 134,000, gives the following conjectural distribution as compared 

 with surface : — 





Species. 



Extent of Surface 

 GeOg. sq. miles. 



Europe, 



. 11,200 ... 



... 2,793,000 



Asia, 



. 36,000 ... 



... 12,118,000 



Africa, . 



. 25,200 ... 



8,500,000 



N. America, 



. 14,400 ... 



7400,000 



S. America, 



. 40,000 ... 



6,500,000 



Australasia, 



. 7,200 ... 



3,100.000 



134,000 40,411,000 



The following is the estimated number of known and described 

 plants : — 



