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SECOND BOOK. 
island, how plants seem to have their favourite 
spots. The cocoa-nut palms fringe the shore, delight- 
ing in the force of the ocean breeze, while some 
crops need bands of taller trees to screen them 
from the wind; the sugar-cane or mango flourishes 
in the warm lowlands, the Blue Mountain coffee in 
the cooler uplands, and cocoa and nutmegs grow 
richly in the moisture of shady glens. 
6. The life and healthy growth of plants depend 
upon light, heat, and moisture. These, however, 
are not needed in the same degree by all plants, 
whose position on the earth is therefore regulated 
by the climate. 
7 . In speaking of climate we consider chiefly heat 
and cold, drought and moisture, the winds that 
prevail, &c. ; but it is the amount of heat more 
than anything else in the climate which helps or 
hinders the growth of plants. 
8. Next in importance comes moisture. The 
mangrove of the swamps and the cactus (or dildo) 
of the plains show us how widely different are the 
plants where moisture abounds from those in dry 
regions. The amount of rain that falls is very great 
in some parts, while others are rainless; and some 
countries have their wet and dry seasons regularly, 
upon which the crops largely depend. 
9 . Even the moisture present in the air has much 
to do with plant-life on the soil. At night, when 
the sun has ceased to pour its warmth upon the 
