OF SELBORNE. 



347 



In some of our smaller islands in the 

 West-Indies, if I mistake not, there are no 

 springs or rivers : but the people are sup- 

 plied with that necessary element, water, 

 merely by the dripping of some large tall 

 trees, which, standing in the bosom of a 

 mountain, keep their heads constantly 

 enveloped with fogs and clouds, from which 

 they dispense their kindly never-ceasing 

 moisture; and so render those districts 

 habitable by condensation alone. 



Trees in leaf have such a vast proportion 

 more of surface than those that are naked, 

 that, in theory, their condensations should 

 greatly exceed those that are stripped of 

 their leaves : but, as the former imbibe also 

 a great quantity of moisture, it is difficult 

 to say which drip most : but this I know, 

 that deciduous trees that are entwined with 

 much ivy seem to distil the greatest quan- 

 tity. Ivy leaves are smooth, and thick and 

 cold, and therefore condense very fast ; 

 and besides ever- greens imbibe very little. 

 These facts may furnish the intelligent with 

 hints concerning what sorts of trees they 



