204 
Observations on the Flora 
“is to confine ourselves to collecting and arranging 
facts, leaving to those who may follow us the charge of 
discovering and developing the theory.” 
Sir William J. Hooker has remarked, that botanical 
geography is yet in its infancy, and that much remains 
he known relative to this important branch of science. 
That certain vegetables are confined to certain districts 
or limits, depending in a great measure, but by no 
means altogether, upon soil and climate, must be familiar 
to the most careless enquirer into the works of Nature; 
and that almost every country possesses a vegetation pe¬ 
culiar to itself, is also well known ; and this is particularly 
the case with countries whose natural boundaries are 
formed by mountains, seas, or deserts, either in the 
same or different degrees of latitude. Europe exhibits a 
widely different class of plants from that part of North 
America which lies immediately opposite to it. The 
botany of Southern Africa has little or no resemblance 
to that of the same parallels in South America, or to that 
of New Holland. Even in Britain some plants are 
confined to the eastern, and some to the western side of the 
kingdom. Nature has constituted the barrier, for by art 
they may be cultivated as well on one as the other side of 
the island. 
Vegetable geography is intimately connected with hor¬ 
ticulture. Our gardens will be better stocked with vege¬ 
tables and fruits, our forests with trees, our fields with 
corn, and our pastures with grasses, in proportion to 
our knowledge of the relation of plants with the exterior 
elements. Tiie systematic botanist may also derive 
benefit from the same source ; for he will be better able 
to determine whether certain kinds of plants are species 
or varieties: he will consider that a different lociil situa¬ 
tion produces different effects upon them; that those 
growing in wet situations are less hairy or downy than 
