ALTITUDE. 
the modifications between a mean temperature 
and extreme cold. The plants which belong to 
dark and humid abodes, such Boletus ceratopho- 
gus, and botrytes, Lichen verticillatus, Gymnoderma 
sinuata, and Byssus speciosa, are found on the 
vaults of caverns and the woodwork of mines, 
as well in Mexico as in Germany, England, and 
Italy. Concealed within the bowels of the earth, 
these less perfect species constitute the last zone 
of vegetation. Next come the plants which be- 
long to fresh-water and salt-water. Of these, a 
great portion grow without preference in every 
degree of latitude; the medium in which they 
exist preserving a more equable temperature than 
the atmosphere. Duck-weed (Lemna minor), and 
the Greater reedmace or cat’s-tail (Uypha latifo- 
lia), grow in the marshes both of Asia, Europe, 
and America. The Zypha latifolia belongs in 
common to Jamaica, China, and Bengal. Pro- 
bably there is no region on the globe where the 
gray bog-moss (Sphagnum palustre) is not to be 
found. This indifference to climate is still more 
remarkable in the sea-plants, such as the Fuci, 
Lavers, and Ceramia. The gulf-weed (Mucus na- 
tans), detaching itself from the rocks on which 
it grew, and forming shoals of an immense extent 
at the surface of the water, obstructs the way of 
the ships as well towards the poles as under the 
line. On a level with the sea to the height of 
1,000 yards, we find the palms, the liliaceous 
plants, the plantain trees, the Scitamineze, the 
genera Theophrasta, Musseenda, Plumeria, Ceesal- 
pinia, Hymenzea, the Cecropia peltata, the balsam 
of Tolu, the cusparé or cinchona of Carony, with 
| crowds of other species which grow only in a very 
hot temperature. Thisis the zone of the palms; a 
tribe conspicuous for the elegance and grandeur 
of part of its species, and forming one of the chief 
ornaments of the scorching plains that lie be- 
tween the tropics. Some of them thrive, how- 
ever, in more temperate regions. The Ceroxylan 
andicola, a fine palm, rising .60 yards in height, 
grows in the Andes at Tolima and Quindiu, in 
the 4° 25’ of northern latitude, setting off at 1,860 
yards above the sea, and continuing to the height 
of 2,870, an elevation where the atmosphere is at 
a moderate degree of warmth. Another species 
has been discovered at the straits of Magellan, 
towards the 53° of southern latitude. Two sorts, 
the fan-palm (Chamerops humilis) and date-tree, 
are even seen to grow on our side of Europe, 
upon the coasts of the Mediterranean, and not 
far from the foot of the Pyrenees, thus advancing 
their tribe to beneath the 43d degree of northern 
latitude. But these are the exceptions; the 
palms in general confining themselves to the hot- 
test parts of the globe, and none being met with 
towards the polar regions. The zone of the ar- 
borescent Ferns and the Cinchonas succeeds to 
that of the Palms and Scitaminese. The ferns 
begin at 400 yards, and end at 1,600. The cin- 
chonas grow to about 2,900 yards high. The 
gute begin to appear at 1,700 yards. These are 
145 
deciduous, and by their periodical evolutions from 
the bud, remind the European, while wandering 
in these distant regions, of the mild springs of 
his native land. Trees cease to grow at the ele- 
vation of 3,500 yards, where the shrubs, which 
before had formed but a small part of the vege- 
tation, take their place, and cover the whole soil. 
A good deal lower, at about 2,000 yards, the Gen- 
tians, Lobelias, Crowfoots, or Ranunculuses, &c., 
which answer to our Alpine plants, have already 
begun to show themselves, and keep on from 
thence to 4,100 yards. At this point, where snow 
occasionally falls, the grasses, whose numerous 
species were mingled in the vegetation of the 
lower steps of the amphitheatre, begin to reign 
alone. The oat-grasses (Avena), bent-grasses 
(Agrostis), cock’s-foot-grasses (Dactylis), panic- 
grasses (Panicum), feather-grasses (Stipa), Jarava, 
&c., here cover the face of the mountains, and con- 
tinue their career up to 4,600 yards, the point at 
which phzenogamous vegetation ceases.” 
Any considerable altitude of the site of an in- 
tended plantation above sea-level, will so greatly 
influence vegetation, even in spite of the utmost 
possible suitableness of soil and culture, as to 
render the rejection of the less hardy kinds of 
trees indispensable. The birch genus and some 
of the pine or fir tribe were found by Humboldt 
to grow at higher altitudes than any other kind 
of trees. In latitude 20°, the pine grows at alti- 
tudes of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet above sea- 
level, while oak has not been observed at an alti- 
tude of more than 10,300. The hooked pine, 
Pinus uncinatus, the red spruce fir, Adies rubra, 
and the common birch, Betula alba, occur at higher 
altitudes than any other trees, and nearest to the 
limits of perpetual snow, on Mount Caucasus and 
on the Pyrenees; but in latitudes 45° and 46° 
upon the Alps, the common spruce is not found 
at a higher altitude than about 5,900 feet,—and 
in latitudes 67° and 70° in Lapland, the birch is 
found at the altitude of 1,600 feet. The influence 
of different altitudes on the distribution and 
growth of forest trees, is evident even in the 
woodlands of Great Britain. The pine, the fir, 
and the birch occupy regions of even British 
uplands which are not inhabitable by other trees ; 
the sycamore and the mountain ash grow in a 
zone below the regions of pines; and the oak, 
the beech, the poplar, the ash, and the chestnut, 
grow on hilly grounds lower than the zone of 
the sycamore, and higher than can be inhabited 
by numerous acclimated exotic trees. When, 
therefore, the ground intended for a plantation 
is so high in England or so far north in Scotland 
as to belong to the alpine zone of climate, the 
only species of plants selected for it ought to be 
the Scotch fir, the Norway spruce, the larch, the 
hooked pine, the common birch, the sycamore, 
and the mountain ash. 
Any considerable altitude in the position of a 
farm, not alone affects it with a lower tempera- 
ture, a greater moisture, and stronger winds than 
