Influence of Climate on the Fruitfidiiess of Plants, 39 



nutriment enough to support, in the eminent way in which they 

 are susceptible, animal life In the south, a forcing sun brings 

 the potatoe to fructification before the roots have had time to 

 attain their proper size, or ripen into the proper qualities for 

 nourishment. In Ireland the plant grows slow, through a long 

 and cool season, giving time for its juices to be elaborated, and 

 properly digested ; hence that fine farina and flavour which cha- 

 racterizes them. The sweet potatoe produces larger, better fla- 

 voured, and more numerous roots in Carolina, where it never 

 flowers, than in the West Indies. In the latter place this plant 

 runs wild, covers the whole face of the earth with its vines, and 

 is so taken up in making foliage, that the root becomes neglected, 

 and is small and woody. — In order to have the onion in per- 

 fection, it must grow through two years, swelling all the time its 

 bulbs. In the south, however, it seeds in one year, and before it 

 has made much bulb. Beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, radishes, 

 and other roots, are equally affected by a hot sun, and scarcely 

 worth cultivating far to the south. They all fructify before they 

 have formed perfect roots, and make foliage at the expense of 

 their bulbs ; hence they will always be articles of commerce ; 

 the south will have to depend upon the north for them. 



The sallad plants are in like manner affected by climate, and 

 give further proofs of our assumption. Cabbages, lettuces, endive, 

 cellery, spinage, plants whose leaves only are eat, to protect 

 their germs from cold, (through a kind of instinct,) wrap them up 

 in leaves, which form heads, and render many of their other parts 

 tender and crisp for use. These leaves, thus protected, are not 

 only tender, but more nutritious, because their growth has been 

 slow, and their juices well digested. In the south, a relaxing sun 

 lays open the very buds of such plants, gives a toughness and 

 thinness to the leaves, and they are too unsubstantial for animal 

 support, because of such quick and rapid developement. 

 i The delicious and pulpy fruits are, in a still more striking way, 

 illustrative of our principle. The peach, nectarine, plumb, ap- 

 ple, cherry, currant, gooseberry, apricot, and many other such 

 families, are not in perfection in the south. It is in Pennsylvania, 

 Virginia, Maryland, Jersey, and in the north of Europe, that we 

 enjoy them, although, originall}'^, they came from places near the 

 tropics. The peach of the Carolinas is full of larvae, gum, and 

 knots, and too stringy and forced to be juicy and flavoured. The 



