HABITATION OF PLANTS. 
267 
to their tents. He remarks, that it seems an inestimable bles- 
sing of Povidence in a country burnt up by the sun, and inun- 
dated by rains for six months of the year. In our climate du- 
ring the warm seasons, Providence bestows upon us a variety of 
juicy and acid fruits, cherries, peaches, plums, melons, and ber- 
ries ; the nuts and many fruits are fitted for preservation during 
the winter, so that we are never destitute of these bounties. 
A remarkable instance of the care of Providence in providing 
for the wants of man, appears in what is related of a plant 
found amidst the burning deserts of Africa ; the leaf of which 
is said to be in the form of a cruet, and to possess the property 
of secreting moisture to such a degree as to form a quantity of 
water sufficient for a draught to a thirsty person ;f the end of 
the leaf is folded over the throat, as if to prevent the evapora- 
tion of the fluid. Various plants and trees, in hot regions, fur- 
nish refreshing draughts to the thirsty traveller. 
These remarks might be pursued to an extent as great as the 
vastness of the vegetable kingdom, and wants of man ; we have 
merely glanced at the subject of the adaptation of plants to the 
wants of animal life, hoping that as the subject has been sug- 
gested, you may be led to trace, from your own observation of 
the works of nature, the great designing mind, which rules and 
governs all with infinite wisdom and benevolence. 
The earth, then, we find to be covered with a multitude of 
species of plants, differing not more by their external forms, 
than by their internal structure, each endowed with peculiar 
habits and instincts. 
Some species seem adapted to the mountain, some to the val- 
leys, and others to the plains ; some require an argillaceous or 
clayey soil, others a calcareous soil, or a soil impregnated with 
lime ; others aquartzose or sandy soil, and some will only grow 
where the earth contains soda or marine salts. Many plants 
will only grow in water ; we find here such as are peculiar to 
the marsh, the lake, the river, and the sea. Many plants re- 
quire a very elevated temperature, some will grow only in mild 
and temperate climates, and others only in the midst of frosts 
and snows. 
Thus every country where man is to be found has its vegeta- 
tion. Some species of plants, with respect to localities, are con- 
fined to narrow limits. 
A species of Origanum, the tournefortii, discovered by 
t This plant, from the general description of the leaf, would seem to be 
the Sarracenia ; this, however, only grows in marshes. 
Ditfercnt species of plants require different kinds of situations and soils 
— Some grow in water, &c. 
