34 
PLANTS. 
Lastly, we may observe that the plants which 
are of the most benefit to mankind are dispersed 
in the greatest abundance ; and that even in some 
of the desert parts of the world, there are vege- 
tables which, by distilling water from their bo- 
dies, afford to thirsty animals the greatest possible 
luxury. 
How solicitous has Nature been about the pre- 
servation of grasses, which, though not directly, are 
certainly indirectly of the utmost consequence to 
our welfare. They contribute, almost entirely, to 
sustain our most useful animals ; their seeds afford 
nourishment to birds ; and their leaves cover the 
earth, like a carpet, with a colour of all others the 
most refreshing to our sight. They are calculated 
to grow in almost any situation, and to bear the 
hardest treatment without being destroyed. The 
more they are trodden upon, the thicker they grow, 
and their roots increase in proportion as their leaves 
are consumed. Neither the scorching summer’s 
sun, nor the severest attacks of winter, destroy these 
plants : for, on the return of spring, they begin to 
sprout afresh, and seem, as it were, with an officious 
haste, to deck the earth with a green livery, that, 
thus adorned in all her glory, she may invite us to 
go forth into the fields and enjoy the scene. But 
the care of Providence to preserve these very es- 
sential vegetables, is particularly evident in an ob- 
servation which has frequently been made: viz. that 
herbivorous animals attach themselves to the leaves 
