5 
are, with a single exception,* all nutritious and 
wholesome, and probably attracted the attention of 
mankind at a very early period. ‘Through the inat- 
tention of man to any thing except that which de- 
pended on his immediate physical wants, and this at 
first from imperious necessity, and then from careless 
indifference, the very native countries of many of our 
now valued plants are unknown. ‘The potato, so 
generally cultivated over the civilized world, in its 
endless varieties, was, for a long time, lost as a spe- 
cies, until very recent discoveries have detected it in 
South-America, as an almost worthless plant.t The 
effect of soil, climate and other circumstances, on the 
vegetable kingdom, seem a wise provision of Nature, — 
in favor of the industry and enterprise of man; but, 
although thus liberal in her gifts, she retains the right 
of reducing to original forms, these very changes, 
when uncontrolled by art. 
However interesting such inquiries may be, it is | 
equally vain as idle, to enter into speculations on 
these points, as conjectures and theory must necessa- 
rily supply the want of trath. 
From mere articles indispensable for food and nu-— 
triment, the vegetable kingdom became subservient 
to the luxury of the human race, and rare and cu- 
rious plants, and their cultivation, were sought out, 
to add comfort and beauty to necessity. ‘The sacred 
scriptures give us vivid descriptions of the advance of 
Horticultural taste and knowledge among the Jewish 
nation, and the relics of antiquity serve to show that 
* Lolium temulentum. 
t+ Journal of Science and Arts: London, No. 31, pp. 262—3. Ibid. No. 19, pp. 25—7. 
Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, Vol. XVI. p. 192, 
