THE NATURAL CONDITIONS OF PLANTS® 63 
the beautiful description of the palm groves given 
by Desfontaines in his u Flora Atlantica®” 
ec These palm-groves, being impervious to the 
sun’s rays, afford a hospitable shade both to man 
and other animals, in a region which would other- 
wise be intolerable from the intense heat® And 
under this shelter, the orange, the lemon, the 
pomegranate, the olive, the almond and the vine 
grow in wild luxuriance, producing, notwith- 
standing they are so shaded, the most delicious 
fruit® And here, while the eyes are fed with 
the endless variety of flowers which deck these 
sylvan scenes, the ears are at the same time ra- 
vished with the melodious notes of numerous 
birds, which are attracted to these groves by the 
cool springs and the food which they there find®” 
There are many other situations where these 
cases would be useful, as on ship-board, or where 
there exists a necessity for economizing water, 
as in the island of Ascension® 
In very cold countries too it is of great moment 
to make the best use of the little sun they pos- 
sess, and to protect the plants from searching 
winds® The cabbages of Iceland and Labrador 
would surely exceed their present size of one or 
two inches in diameter, if thus protected® 
As to the cases themselves — they admit of 
almost endless diversity of shape and size, from 
