Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1866-02-24
GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Progression Of Vegetable and AMI
NAL Lie.


NAL Lie.
1t is curious to consider the progress of
vegetable and animal life, and If not too
Enciful, to trace the analogy of the laws
which regulate the migration of trees and
plants as well as the human family SIhe
discovery of this country is comparatively
too recent to furnish such marked illustra-
tons of the progress of vegetable or animal
distribution as the old world. But look,
for example, to England, where, two thou
sand years ago, its north plains did not
Weld the elm, the linden, the sycamore,
the poplar, the acacia, the cultivated fruit
trees and plants of every kind which now
loads its fields with plenty and where the
rich pines and frs, which now beautify the
landscape, were poorly substituted by such
eyergreens as the box, the yew and the
holly SO with Greece. the hardy plants OF
its ancient Flora have receded from the
plains to the mountains, or almost entirely
disappeared, and the linden and the yew,
the beach and horn-bean, have given place
to another class of plants, thick leaved,
hard leaved, thorny and prickly, for the
most part evergreens, carOb trees, oleasters,
arbutus, pistachios, oleanders, myrtle anu
stately pines.
From the plains of Italy the beach forests
have retreated to the gorges OF the Apen-
mines, and have given place to the luxullant
chestnut, which now clothes with thick
forests the lower slopes of the mountain.
The chestnut seems to have been an especi-
al fayorite with the climate, as its fruit has
been with the people of Italy. Introduced
there about two centuries before the Chris
tiau era, it has become the characteristic
tree of the lower mountain regions OF Italy.
So the orange, the lemon and the, cltr0n,
now tiomesticated throughout Italy, were
comparatively unknown TO the anclents.
The citron was known to the Italians as
the rNIedian Apple and was not introduce
ed until the third century after Christ,
while lemons were brought by the Saracens.
and oranges by the Portuguese from their
tropical possessions in the East Maize
and rice were unknown to the ancient
Italians. while cotton is of recent introduce
tion. and is now cultivated in large fields at
the southern foot of Vesuvius. And so the
white or silkworm mulberry, brought about
the sixth century from the East, is now
fine commonest of all trees in the richer
parts of Italy, furnishing the crude material
out of which the rich velvets OF Genoa are
made, and giving to every peasant woman
the luxury which a Roman empress would
have enyied-silk stockings. Wherever the
of the tropical sun, under conditions
of climate endurable by both, the greater
vitality of the latter gives it the mastery in
The great battle for existence. The progress
of vegetables is especially shown IN the
cereal productions, the law of their deyel-
opment having always been from the CEN
trail and temperate towards the colder re-
gions of the earth. The Indian corn and
the potato of America have spread from the
tropics 10 the frozen seas OF Europe, and
the cabbage, belonging originally to the
Mediterranean region, is now the principal
food of the Russian peasant.
The PROCESSION OF the human race, like
that of the vegetable kingdom, has been
from the centre towards the colder regions.
Not to speak of the first great emigration
of Japheth, who carried with him the
..promise of enlargement" whose immedi-
ate descendants founded Joppa, or Jatfa,
ON the Mediterranean shore, the Oldest
city in the world after Jerusalem, as they
passed from Asia to the subjugation OF
Europe, let us consider the relative power
of those of his descendants, who, having
passed to the colder regions OF the North,
returned with the rofluent wave OF conquest
upon their brethren whom they had left be-
hind in the first migration. With harder
frames and more commanding aspects.
they return to the conquest OF the so-called
feebler races of the South, but in the midst
of their conquests they perish and are ex-
tinguished. The children OF Inc oouth
gradually penetrate northward Their more
prolific multiplication, and tougher, more
essentially vigorous nature finally FREEDOM
mates they efface the type ofthe Northern
race. and ultimately it disappears. Look
at the hordes which descended and spread
over the regions adjacent to the Mediterra-
mean upon the fall OF the Roman empire.
They have vanished, or are. scarcely TO be
Recognized by antiquarians among the de-
scendants of their former subjects. The tall
figures, golden hair, powerful frame anu
blue eve OF the historic Gaul may possibly
he found in the marshes of Flanders, hut
the unciyiliZed, brown skinned, black hair
ed. restless, active being who inhablts his
ancient possessions, the province OF France,
has supplanted and rooted out the former
proprietors. Where are the purer Northern
breed of Germany? Driven back to the
shores of the Baltic they have yielded to
the general European type-the olive skin
land dark hair. But the original Greek
transplanted into Provence, the Moor into
Spain, few in number originally, have inn
pressed their characteristics upon The gen.
eral population. So with the Norman and
the Saxon-the former has never Ielin-
ouished the conquest which he achieved
over the latter in Great Britain. The law
seems to be universal for vegetable, animal
and intellectual life. From the centre to
the circumference the pressure is always
outward, and whenever the rehuent wave
returns from too great accumulation OF its
volume, it is only to be mingled and alb
sorbed in the original mass, perhaps again
with its restored qualities of nitrous fire
and reproductive energy, to return, once
more to spread over inhospitable wastes.
The analogies of ocean currents furnish the
eompletest as well as the happiest lllustra-
ton of the all-pervading law. Piled up
under the tropical sun, the great ocean
wave turns first towards the Gulf, and
flowing northward, its warm current is dis
persed upon the shores of NewfOundland,
and passing around by Iceland, thence a
cross to the northwest coast of Europe, il
comes skirting the North Sea, and so down,
until it is lost again in the great volume OF
the Atlantic Thus all nature shows that
from the centre to the circumference, and
from circumference to centre, the harmoni-
GUS procession of activity is maintained. .Dd
The Whaling Fleet at the Hawaiian Is
8. - land i