68 
(ECONOMY 
void, none barren. But fince all countries 
have not the fame changes of feafons, and 
every foil is not equally fit for every plant, He 
therefore, that no place fhoulcl be without 
how all vegetables and animals might in this ifland have a 
foil and climate proper for each, only by fuppofing it to be 
placed under the sequator, and crowned with a very high 
mountain. For it is well known that the fame plants are 
found on the Swifs, the Pyrenean, the Scotch alps, on 
Olympus, Lebanon, Ida, as on the Lapland and Green- 
land alps. And Tournefort found at the bottom of mount 
Ararat the common plants of Armenia, a little way up 
thofe of Italy, higher thofe which grow about Paris, af- 
terwards the Swedifh plants, and laftly on the top the 
Lapland alpine plants ; and i myfelf, adds the author, from 
the plants growing on the Dalecarlian alps could colled 
how much lower they were than the alps of Lapland. He 
then proceeds to fhew how from one plant of each fpecies 
the immenfe number of individuals now exiting might 
arife. He gives fome inftances of the furprifing fertility of 
certain plants, v. g. the elecampane, one plant of which 
produced 3000 feeds, of fpelt, 2000, of the funflower 
4000, of the poppy 3200, of tobacco 40320. But fup- 
pofing any annual plant producing yearly only two feeds., 
even of this after 20 years there would be 1,048,576 indi- 
( viduals. For they would increafe yearly in a duple pro- 
portion, viz. 2, 4, &, 16, 3 a, &c. He then gives fome in- 
llances of plants brought from America, that are now 
become common over many parts of Europe. Laftly ho 
enters upon the fubjed for which he is quoted in the 
text, where the detail he gives of the feveral methods 
which nature has taken to propagate vegetables is ex- 
tremely curious, but too long to infert in this place. 
feme* 
