462 
EXTRACTS. 
as useless, and their study proscribed as a useless occupation. But is 
it so ? Are they altogether useless ? Are there not functions per¬ 
formed by these, and many other plants as worthless, which are of vast 
importance in the general economy of nature—functions which indi¬ 
rectly, if not directly, minister to the comforts and conveniences of 
man? The uses which nature makes of plants are often more beneficial 
to us than any uses we can make of them ourselves: and should aught 
created be despised as useless by those whose ignorance alone it is 
that, in all likelihood, prevents them from discovering its utility ? 
“ But there is use in studying the works of the Creator far beyond 
the discovery of the uses to which these, his creatures, may be applied ; 
far beyond the discovery even of the blessings he has provided for our 
enjoyment; for, when they afford neither sustenance nor physic for 
the body, they yield both food and medicine for the mind. * Do not, 
therefore, depreciate a pursuit which leads man to contemplate the works 
of God.’ To the merchant, the courtier, or the book-worm, the journal 
of a naturalist may appear to contain memoranda of little importance; 
but to such, if they scorn his' labours, he may answer in the words of 
Southey, that he has f in his pursuit, as they in theirs, an object that 
occupies his time, and fills his mind and satisfies his heart. It is at 
least as innocent as theirs, and as disinterested—perhaps more so, 
because it is not so ambitious/ Nor can the pleasure he feels in the 
discovery of a plant, or in the investigation of its wonderful structure, 
be less pure or less worthy than what they derive from the perusal of 
the noblest productions of human genius—nay, is it not likely to be 
both more pure and more worthy ? 
“ The Jungermannise, like other humble genera of the class Crypto - 
gamia , are of much more importance than is generally supposed ; they, 
with the lichens, fungi, algae, &c., form the first earthy crust on the 
naked rock, and, after years of growth and decomposition, form 
at last a bed of earth for the sustentation of shrubs and trees. These 
plants and their immediate allies, which often appear to have so sud¬ 
denly clothed a barren heath, or overspread a dry wall with verdure, 
have the peculiar property of remaining in a dormant state for a con¬ 
siderable length of time, and to revive from their parched condition, as 
if awaked from sleep, on the access of moisture, to all their pristine 
beauty, spreading abroad their delicate leaf-like expansions, and their 
beautiful apologies for blossoms. 
“ In elegance and delicacy of structure, mosses are not exceeded by 
any plants that grow; and an intimate examination of these minute 
vegetables would almost, if not altogether, lead the observer to believe 
that, however admirable Nature may be in every particular, yet that, in 
