spurge which is so noxious to man, is eaten up by caterpillars. But how do animals know what will do them good, and what will poison them? That is a difficult question, Edward; I know not what to reply; except, that God has given to them such a correctness of taste and smell, that they readily distinguish the one from the other. We know it is fact, that they do so. Horses will eat the grass which cows will not crop; cows will take some kinds which the horse leaves; and sheep will live on that which is neglected both by the horse and the cow. You have often remarked, Papa, that God has created things suitable to the different climates. This is the case in very many instances. Such is the talipot-tree in Ceylon. (See p. 29). Its leaf is sufficient to shelter eight or ten persons from the heat of the sun in that sultry climate; or from the rain. You mentioned this one day in our walk, and said it was a sort of great-coat tree! There is the water-tree in the same island, which produces bladders in the shape of a cylinder, covered with a lid. These are usually filled with a pure, refreshing, and delicious water; which travellers have likened to nectar. In New France, there is a kind of cuckoo-pint tree, which will yield, when a single branch is broken, a full pint of excellent water. In the most desert parts of America, there is a parasitical, or creeping plant, whose leaves are shaped into the form of a pitcher; these collect, and retain the rain, for the use of insects, birds, and beasts; and even men have been benefited by it. The plant is a kind of misseltoe, and is called tillandsia. The abundance of juicy and cooling fruits, which are produced in hot climates, are also evidently among the merciful provisions which God has appointed for their inhabitants. And is not the banyan-tree, Papa, an article of the same description? It is, this tree is a species of the fig, of the Polygynia class, having male, female, and both sexes in the same species; it is one of the most beautiful and wonderful productions of the east. This tree is constantly increasing, and seems never to decay. The branches throw out shoots from their tops, that grow till they reach the earth, in which they take root, and form other trees in succession, as long as they find any soil for their sustenance. There is one in the island of Herbedda, in the province of Guzerat, the remains of which, for much has been carried away by high floods,-is two thousand feet in circumference. The chief trunks of this tree, which amount to three hundred and fifty, are much larger than our elms and oaks; the smaller stems are more than three thou sand. Seven thousand persons have found ample room to repose beneath its shade, which is impervious to the beams of the vertical sun. What a tree it must be, Papa! to walk under it. How I should like In so hot a climate it has, of course, always been a favourite. "The English gentlemen, on their hunting and shooting parties, used to form extensive encampments, and spend weeks together under this delightful pavilion, which is generally filled with green wood-pigeons, doves, peacocks, and a variety of feathered songsters; together with families of monkeys, and bats of a large size. This tree not only affords shelter, but food for all its inhabitants, being covered amidst its bright foliage with small figs of a rich scarlet, on which they all regale with delight!" Our sublime poet, Milton, has beautifully described this tree, as "Spreading her arms, t Branching so broad and long, that in the ground |