16 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF PLANTS. 
not exceed twenty feet ; and at its northern limit, 
the great Slave Lake, in lat. 62°, it is reduced to 
a shrub of five feet. Again, in ascending a lofty 
mountain in tropical regions, we have exhibited 
to our admiring gaze the different forms of vege- 
tation which are to he seen in all countries, from 
the bananas, the palms, bamboos, &c., of the 
plains, to the oaks, beeches, &c., of temperate 
climes, and the berry-hearing plants of Arctic 
regions up to the red snow. But we need neither 
travel to America, nor ascend mountains for in- 
stances of this sort ; we have them everywhere 
about us. I have gathered on the chalky borders 
of a wood in Kent, perfect specimens, in full 
flower, of Erythrcea centaurium, consisting of one 
or two pairs of most minute leaves, with one soli- 
tary flower ; these were growing on the bare 
chalk, fully exposed to the sun. By tracing the 
plant towards, and in, the wood, I found it gra- 
dually increasing in size, until its full develop- 
ment was attained in the open parts of the wood, 
where it became a glorious plant, four or five 
feet in elevation, and covered with hundreds of 
flowers. Let us pause here a moment and reflect 
deeply on the wonders around us. We shall find 
a continued succession of beauties throughout 
the year, beginning with the primrose, the violet, 
and the anemone ; these giving place to the or- 
