STRAWBERRY. 
119 
STRAWBERRY. 
PERFECTION. 
One of the most eminent French authors 
conceived the plan of writing a general history 
of nature, after the model of the ancients and of 
several moderns. A Strawberry plant, which 
by chance grew under his window, deterred 
him from this rash design. He investigated 
the Strawberry, and, in doing so, discovered so 
many wonders, that he felt convinced that the 
study of a single plant, and of its inhabitants, 
was sufficient to occupy a whole life. He there¬ 
fore relinquished his design, gave up the am¬ 
bitious title which he meditated for his work, 
and contented himself with modestly calling it 
“ Studies of Nature.” 
From this hook, worthy of Pliny and of 
Plato, may he derived a taste for observation 
and for the higher class of literature ; and it is 
there especially that the student will find a 
