, as well as the exceeding beauty, of the
works of the Creator. The highest understanding does not stoop when
occupied in observing the brilliant colour of a blossom, or the
graceful form of a leaf. Hogarth, the great moral painter, a man in
all respects of real and original genius, writes thus to his friend
Ellis, a distinguished traveller and naturalist:--'As for your pretty
little seed-cups, or vases, they are a sweet confirmation of the
pleasure Nature seems to take in superadding an elegance of form to
most of her works, wherever you find them. How poor and bungling are
all the imitations of Art! When I have the pleasure of seeing you
next, we will sit down, _nay, kneel down if you will_, and admire
these things.'

* * * * *

"It is one of the proudest attributes of man, and one which is most
important for him to know, that he can improve every production
of nature, if he will but once make it his own by possession and
attachment. A conviction of this truth has rendered the cultivation of
fruits, in the more polished countries of Europe, as successful as we
now behold it."

The work then divides into _Fruits of the Temperate Climates_, and
of _Tropical Climates_; the first are subdivided into Fleshy, Pulpy,
and Stone Fruits and Nuts, in preference to a strict geographical
arrangement. Under "the Apple" occur some very judicious observations
on

_CIDER._

"The cider counties of England have always been considered as highly
interesting. They lie something in the form of a horse-shoe round
the Bristol Channel; and the best are, Worcester and Hereford, on
the north of the channel, and Somerset and Devon on the south. In
appearance, they have a considerable advantage over those counties
in which grain alone is cultivated. The blossoms cover an extensive
district with a profusion of flowers in the spring, and the fruit is
beautiful in autumn. Some of the orchards occupy a space of forty or
fifty acres; and the trees being at considerable intervals, the land
is also kept in tillage. A great deal of practical acquaintance with
the qualities of soil is required in the culture of apple and pear
trees; and his skill in the adaptation of trees to their situation
principally determines the success of the manufacturer of cider
and perry. The produce of the orchards is very fluctuating; and the
growers seldom expect an abundant crop more than once in three years.
The quantity of apples requi