The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-07-16
is something moro than rere primrose to him.
The following extract II Oh ~. o. fair spec men Of

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The following extract IL abn: - fair specimen Of
Mis- style a. We can select
Plants satisfy the common necessities Of man
and beast. They nourish mans body in health, they
restore him in sickness; they give him the c ,thing
that covers him, the varied h1es tina. delight his
eye, and the odors which refresh his senses; the
timber Of which his houses his factories his ships
are partly or wholly consIucted-al these are but
0 few Of the many benefits which the vegetable
world confers upon man. Wherever we look, We
see in IL great resource even our railroads and
our mines could not exist, were We not masters OF
food that becomes nutritious only by the aid Of fire,
would be useless; the power Of steam would not
carry us from land to land and over the broad
ocean, il We had no trees. The very destruction
the wisdom and foreth0ught Of the Creator IL in this
also manifest, that, whilst plants invest and 0rna-
ment the earth, animals browse and trim them TO
check their luxuriance, 80 as to maintain the whole
system OF creation in order and beauty. And yet
this In but the humblest purpose that plants serve
earth the bumbest because IT only satisfies ma.
terial requirements however we ourselves may have
refined and vanished them over. Only in one point
Of view does this important end Of their existence
obtain higher value.
It Is true plants are there for man. for the count
less poor, and God said:-Thou shalt eat the herb
has since been turned into blessing from above.
II he does labor in the sweat Of his brow, to
eat the herb of the feld--how abundant
ly ID he rewarded! Ola mere thorn he has made,
as II by enchantment, the beautiful and fragrant
rose. Before he thus labored, the olive was dry
Asd otJensive the peach bitter, the pear had but
hard, woody aesh, and the apple tree was full OF
thornA Man labored and the thorns fell, the rose
doubled and trebled it's brilliant crown, the peach
and the pear filed with perfumed juice, the olive
lost its bitterness and the wild grasses were con-
ve'ted into waving fields Of DEMONSTRATING grain.
The influence which the vegetable world thus
cises on the civilization OF man. Is a. yet but little
noticed, only in the great outline has 1t been OBJ
served that wherever the Productions of
the earth supply him with food, he Ia completely
vage-only y degree farther advanced where he
plants the palm and the banana-but where grain Is
his prhcipalsupport, industry and intelligence are
most perfectly developed, as In the temperate zone.
II is thus shown that the rich heir ID not the
happiest but hat the child of the poor man. gifted
with industry and indomitable will, has tar more
power over prosperity.
Modern science has taught us Of late higher duty
and . nobler purpose for which the plant lives.
Working In masses they regulate the numerous and
comprehensive physical processes Of the earth
Theirs is the duty to keep the atmosphere dry or
moist. as may be required. On them depends the
warmth or the codness and the fertility Of our soil
they alter the climate change the course Of local
winds, increase or diminish the quantity Of rain,
and soften the rigorof the seasons 1t ia not merely
that whole countries and regions look to certain
plants tor their sole support or that the life Of en-
tire nations is bound up with that Of single tree,
like the Mauritius palm, but whole races of men,
through numberless generations live only where
tpleases under Providence, certain plants to grow
! and TO prosper.
| By fur the noblest and most exalted purpose for
which plants live is. however, to ad0rn the surface
Of our beautiful EARTH and thus to make manifest to
in their very existence, and in all their thousand
wonders, the Almighty Creator Of heaven and earth.
in this aspect only that plants the types Of
4 ture acquire their highest significance. They be-
come then, not our friends and supporters only but
4 our kindly teachers Also Whether we look down
upon soft moses that creep over the rock and
Il nj rvik mr. Unyo
up at the giant tree Of the forest every where
mind is lifted up, in awe and wonder, 70 that Intel,
bgencc which watches over the dcstnies Of the
universe, and gives us here already faint gm ose
Of the great plan Of creation and its great author
| Clearly, however, We oil feel the impressions
which the vegetable world, and especially the con-
produces upon mind, II is extremely difficult to
1 explain the caufes, or even to determine and ex.
/ press them In words, clearly and distinctly. The
mere farmer, 1t is true, sees nothing but tons OF
i hay in o f0wery meadow, and SO many bushels Of
wheat in glorious field Of golden grain-the majestic
4 forests represent TO him but many cords Of WOOD
and the broadbraDched elm, in all It's lovely beauty,
| shades his land, and is nuisance. On the other
the most astdous taste that enjoys the beauties Of
/ the veg table world most and best. The humble
/ men OF st. Kilda, we are told, who went 10 pay
their duty to their nrd in the far southern" island
| cause the "trees- such beautiful things they had
| never seen even in their dreams-the trees kept
pulling them back" 1t il, moreover evidently not
the mere mass Of foliage, nor the depth and variety
Of color that affects our senses, but the almost i.
perceptbe and unconscious effect of oil these ele
ents together on soul. The rosa does not please
us merely because Of its tender glow and delicate
hue, but because our imagination connects with
1t The idea OF blooming youth, and a thousand
other rlages float around THE. The landscape,
with its various parts and beauties, acts upon man.
upon his tone Of mind, and thus impercep tbly upon
his entire inward developement, How different
nrsf ha fha nf In htr,t ,rp
tanned his first impressions from the solemn evc,
green pine woods o. the North, overshadoving O.
Bordering upon deep blue lakes and vast granite
strewn plains, and to the happier man. whose early
the fragrant laurel, rejecting the sky OF the
South Even in the same land, how differently il
the mind affected by the dark shade Of beech wood
the strange sight Of few scattered pines en- lone.
y hill, signing sadly in the ful gusts OF wind or Of
broad green pasture lands where the breeze rustles
gently through the tn milling foliage Of birches Our
hearts beat gladly and joyousy when fields Of flow
ers are lighted up in bright sunshine our spirits
dr0op when We see them look sad and forlorn on q
rainy, melancholy day. Peace and quiet happiness
teach their gentle lessons 10 him who dwels in fer
tile valleys, with velvet lawns their bottom, and
the sides tufted with the ash the cheerful beech or
the feathery juniper, shaded, it may be- by the soft
dark verdurc OF ancient yew trees, whose venerable
trunks were slender saplings In the age when Duids
worsbipptd there. Men live not SO on the bound.
less prairie where the wolf chases the swift crane
where the cloud after cloud and the white man
wages war against the red man. Free and bold, be-
yond all Others breathes the mountaineer bred In the
fierce, incessant worae with the rigor of Alpine win
tiers and the dangers Of the chamois hunt; defying
all earthly power he looks down from his lofty
home, proud that liberty dwells on mountain
heights, and that the foul breath Of the grave does
not reach up into the clear blue ether around him
The effect is varied when we take not the whole
vast scenery Of landscape, but its more isolated
parts Few will look upon the incffable beauty aud
sweetness Of flo wers, that rich jewelry With which
heaven has adorned the bosom Of our motherearth,
without feelings Of elevating and refining deli sht
with his mind intent his heart alive there Is no re-
ssting their unconscious unfolding, their peiccful,
childlike life, their gentle, resigned and hopeful
dropping. Who has not in bis life also some days OF
COY and sunny spring when be loved to look upon
flowers az dear &c him, full OF hope aud love, when
be felt for them and with them as they would ever
look fondly upward to the clear, blue heavens
above smiling on the sun that cheered them, rising