tary shrubs of various leaf, colour, and form to Great Britain; and few are the fpots where they can be feen flourishing in a manner more nearly approaching the verdure and luxuriance of their native foils, than in the delightful pleafure-grounds of the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim, and the Marquis of Buckingham at Stow. Or if the traveller wishes to behold nature in her original ftate, where the hand of art has not clothed her with exotic ornaments, let him repair to the New Foreft, to the woods that overhang the foaming ftreams of the Derwent, reflect their images in the lakes of Winander Mere, and Ullfwater, or diverfify the romantic profpects of Duncombe and Piercefield :-fuch wild and folemn fcenes may fuggest the pleafing recollection of the firft age of the world, when the parents of the human race, bleffed with unfpotted innocence, roved amid the blooming flowers and fhady groves of paradife, and there enjoyed the fociety of angels, and even of the great Creator himself. vrai, que la beauté des fleurs ne tend qu'à infpirer la joie, et que les plus belles, après bien des épreuves, ne fe font trouvées propres qu'à repaître nos yeux. Auffi la vue en eft-elle fi touchante, et le pouvoir fi sûr, que la plupart des arts, qui veulent plaire, ne croient jamais mieux réuffir, qu'en empruntant leur fecours. La fculpture les imite dans fes ornemens les plus légers, l'architecture embellit fouvent de feuillages et des feftons les colonnes et les faces trop nues de fes édifices, &c." Tom. ii. p. 9. "Thefe "These are the haunts of meditation; thefe The scenes where ancient bards th' infpiring breath Convers'd with angels, and immortal forms, The principles of Botany are fufficiently regular, to give it the form and precifion of a fcience. And yet the lover of Botany fhould not reft fatisfied with reading books upon the fubject, or looking at engravings of plants. Linnæus, Curtis, and Withering, are authors whofe works may be ftudied to great advantage, and the information they convey ought to be confirmed and enlarged by converfation with experienced Botanifts. To range the country in fearch of plants, and examine their correfpondence when they are found, with their defcriptions, is a fource of the highest gratification which the fcience can bestow; as it proves the truth of the principles upon which it depends. The botanift follows nature into her moft retired abodes, and views her in her fimple tafte, and native majefty. He remarks fome of her productions disfigured by cultivation in gardens, where amid all the varieties of the apple and the pear, however diftinguished by their colour, fize, and tafte, he obferves, that there is but one original fpecies of each, and that they have refpectively but one radical character. By culture, the ftamina of plants Thomfon's Summer. may may be converted into petals, and thus form what are called double flowers. Thefe, by farther cultivation, may be converted into proliferous flowers, or one growing on another, as is fometimes feen in the daify, ranunculus, and rofe. He beholds the wonderful prodigality of nature, even in the common daify, which confifts of more than two hundred flowers, each including its respective corolla, stamina, piftil, and feed, as perfectly formed as thofe of a complete lily, or hyacinth. And he fees this diverfity fully illuftrated in the different forts of grafs, a term which, although it commonly conveys only one notion to the vulgar mind, and one object to the undifcerning eye, confifts of five hundred different fpecies, each formed with infinite beauty and variety. From others he particularly diftinguishes the elegant briza media, or middle quaking grafs, fo common in the fields, and fo remarkable for its delicate hair-like stem, trembling at every breeze; the Anthoxanthum odoratum, or fweet fcented Spring grafs, which gives its fragrance to the new-mown hay; and the Stipa, pennata, or foft feather grafs, with its waving plumes refembling the long feathers of the bird of paradife. The botanift enjoys a pleafing and innocent amusement, which makes every walk and ride peculiarly interefting in the moft delightful feason of the year. Whether he explores the low incadows, or climbs the lofty mountains; whether he penetrates into the thick woods, or traverses the open plains, he finds numerous fubjects for his refearches, researches, adapted to the various nature of the foils; and while he purfues his favourite fcience, and provides ftores for his Hortus ficcus, he contributes to the ftock of his health and fpirits, and confirms his love of rural fcenes and occupations. CHAPTER CHAPTER VI. The Mineral Kingdom. THE active curiofity of man urges him to contemplate nature even in her meaneft productions, and to purfue her into her moft fecret receffes. After he has furveyed the wonders of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, he is led to examine the ruder and lefs organized parts of the creation; and from confidering the fymmetry and mechanifm of the feveral bodies prefented to his view, he proceeds to inquire of what materials they are compofed. Hence have refulted the fciences of mineralogy and chemistry. Mineralogy is a fcience of which the object is to defcribe and arrange inorganic bodies, that is, all bodies which belong to our globe, except animal and vegetable fubftances. The bufinefs of this fcience must therefore confist, 1. in defcribing the different appearances and characters of minerals with accuracy and precifion. 2. In arranging and claffifying the feveral minerals according to the moft obvious relations which a clear and comprehenfive defcription may fuggeft. By a fyftem founded upon thefe two proceffes, the mineralogift is enabled not only to refer every fubftance which falls in his way to its proper genus |