bellished by the contrasts displayed in the foli- 

 age of the trees, and particularly by the great 

 number of those with pinnate leaves*. The 

 ash, the service-tree, the inga, the acacia of the 

 United States, the gleditsia, the tamarind, the 

 mimosas, the desmanthus, have all pinnate 

 leaves, with foliolae more or less long, slender, 

 tough, and shining. But can a group of ashes, 

 service-trees, or sumach, recall to our imagina- 

 tion the picturesque effect produced by the 

 shade of tamarinds or mimosas, when the azure 

 of the sky appears through their small, slender, 

 and delicately pinnated leaves ? These conside- 

 rations are more important, than they may at 

 first seem. The forms of plants determine the 

 physiognomy of nature ; and this physiognomy 

 influences the moral dispositions of nations. 

 Every type comprehends species, which, while 

 of the same appearance in their general mien, 

 differ in the varied developement of the similar 

 organs. The palm-trees, the scitamineae, the 

 malvaceae, the trees with pinnate leaves, do not 

 all display the same picturesque beauties ; and 

 generally the most beautiful species of each 

 type, in plants as in animals, belong to the 

 equinoctial zone. 



* Foliis pinnatis. AU the forms, from the fraxinus to the 

 desmanthus, have been arranged in order, according as the 

 foliolae become smaller. 



