Outlines of the Geography of Plants

Nature in each zone of the earth has peculiar beauties, whether it be in the sunny isles of the South Sea, under the cool shade of the northern oaks, in the lovely well-watered mountain valleys, on the picturesque glaciers of the higher ranges, or in the midst of the Lybian deserts. But nature is silent to the unobservant man, and that rich spring of enjoyment escapes him, which has power to delight and cheer us, even when suffering from the severest blows of fate.If we ask ourselves, what it peculiarly is, by which Nature speaks to us, we shall find that it is indeed by the whole aspect of the earth’s surface ; but that it is chiefly its living covering, the presence or absence of vegetation, that makes so deep an impression on our minds. The whole mass of species of plants is in a certain proportion to the different latitudes of the earth’s surface. The proportion increases as we approach the equator, and decreases as we remove from it.