OF THE VINE. 



75 



receive as much of the sun's influence as pos- 

 sible. 



The sun is the primary cause, the very life and 

 soul of vegetation ; and by a certain kind of natural 

 magnetism, plants, in general, have almost as great 

 a propensity to tend to that glorious luminary, as 

 all the various bodies surrounding the earth have, 

 by their gravity, a tendency to its centre. 



In the spring, after a dark season, when the sun 

 chances to break forth in a serene evening, it is 

 pleasing to observe small seedling plants, of all 

 kinds, bending with their little faces towards the 

 sun, as if straining and desirous to partake, as much 

 as possible, of his divine influence. 



From hence it is not difficult to conceive the 

 reason why, on this side of the equator, our 

 plants in general, (I speak of those in the open air,) 

 should have a certain inclination to the south, and 

 even so as to render their forms (particularly trees) 

 crooked. But it must be considered, that in the 

 summer, when vegetation is in its full career, the 

 sun's rays fall daily almost on every side of plants. 

 Besides the above cause, plants growing in the 

 open air are also greatly agitated by the wind, 

 which, by its variableness, constantly moves them 

 to and from every side ; and it is from these two 

 causes in conjunction, that plants grow erect and 

 branch out, as we see they do almost equally on 

 every side. 



But now plants in the hot-house have a far 

 greater propensity to incline to the south than 



