ordinary strata of our globe, is uniform and almost identical as regards themselves. What part these mysterious bodies act in the system of the universe, we cannot tell,-perhaps we may never be able even to conjecture; but we may well learn from the analogy of objects with which we are acquainted, that even they are not useless appendages of our solar system; and, at all events, we are bound confidently to believe that such bodies are as much under the control of the Creator, as every other part of the creation, and can never, independent of the Divine fiat, disturb the equilibrium of our planet, or interfere with the happiness of its inhabitants. It is the delightful result of religious belief to be assured, that, however threatening may be the aspect assumed by scientific discoveries, there is not an object in nature left to the reckless sway of chance ;that all things are adjusted with unerring wisdom, managed by infinite power, and overruled for good with paternal care. SECOND WEEK-THURSDAY. VARIETY OF CLIMATES. THE difference of climates arises, as I have already observed, from the spherical figure and inclined position of the earth, which turns a single ring on its surface to the direct rays of the sun, oscillating between two defined limits, and subjects all the rest, more or less, to his oblique, and therefore less powerful, influence. The effect of this is, the production of all the varieties of heat and cold, from the fervid glow of the tropics, to the perpetual ice and snow in the regions of the poles. The adaptation of plants and animals to these diversities, forms a most curious subject of consideration, which will be afterwards examined with reference to the respective seasons; but as allusion has, in a preceding paper, been made to the advantages derived from a variety of climates, it may be useful here to pursue this subject a little further. It has been with truth observed, that the developement of the human powers depends mainly upon our wants, either natural or artificial, and these again are increased or restrained in proportion to the means of indulgence, so that the influence is reciprocal. We are naturally indolent, but stand in need of activity, for giving vigor both to our mental and physical powers. We, therefore, require a strong stimulus to exertion; and that stimulus is to be found in our wants, a circumstance which has given rise to the wellknown proverb,-Necessity is the mother of invention. Were all the productions of the earth to be spontaneous and abundant, it may well be questioned if man would ever rise above the level of the most degraded savage. This observation is strikingly sustained and illustrated by history, which informs us, that a prostration of all the energies of body and mind has been uniformly found among the native inhabitants of tropical regions, where nature is lavish of her stores, and that it is to the dwellers in countries where the necessaries of life are more scantily produced, that we are to look for a race, hardy, vigorous, and intelligent. To what extent the direct influence of an intense heat cooperates with the more indirect cause we are now considering, in producing this enervated state, it may be difficult to determine; but that it is not the only, or indeed the chief agent, cannot be doubted. While the natives of regions where plenty reigns, indulging their natural appetites without exertion and without restraint, sink deeper and deeper in indolence and effeminacy, those of less bountiful countries, finding an increased population pressing hard on the means of subsistence, are stimulated by their wants to vigorous exertion, and from sheer necessity are rendered active, ingenious, and enterprising. Among the first effects, which history describes as produced by this difference in character and circumstances, are the warlike irruptions SECOND WEEK-FRIDAY. PRACTICAL EFFECT OF THE COMMERCIAL SPIRIT PRODUCED BY A VARIETY OF CLIMATES. Ir It would be very interesting to trace the progress of a mercantile spirit, arising from the wants of one climate, and the superabundance of another; but this is a speculation which I cannot at present stop to pursue in its various bearings; and I must confine myself to a rapid view of the practical effects actually produced by it in European countries. The desire to possess, when once thoroughly awakened, becomes insatiable; and this, again, gives a proportionate stimulus to the spirit of enterprise, which induces the traveller to urge his discoveries, and the trader to compass sea and land in the transport of produce from country to country; while the artificer, the manufacturer, and the agriculturist, each in his own department, exert their industry, skill, and ingenuity, in turning to account the knowledge and the materials which thus flow in upon them. It is because neither the climate nor the soil of any one country is naturally suited to the production of all the luxuries and conveniences which man covets, and because, even where these objects of desire might be produced by human industry, they are not naturally to be found, that the intercourse between distant countries takes place, on which so much of the civilization of the world depends. The ingenuity of man being thus stimulated, produces the most surprising changes, and promotes, in an astonishing degree, the means of human subsistence and enjoyment. It is not merely that the varied riches of other lands are imported, but that an essential alteration is effected in the actual produce of the soil. It is a remarkable fact, noticed by Mr. Whewell, that where man is an active cultivator, he scarcely ever bestows much of his care on those vegetables which the land would produce in a state of nature. He improves the soil, he even improves the climate, by his skilful labors, and he thus renders both fit for sustaining and nourishing more useful plants. He, therefore, does not generally select some of the natural productions, and improve them by careful culture, but, for the most part, he expels the native possessors of the land, and introduces colonies of strangers. This remark he proceeds to exemplify in the condition of his own country, England. "Scarcely one of the plants," he says, "which occupy our fields and gardens, is indigenous to the country. The walnut and the peach come to us from Persia ; the apricot from Armenia. From Asia Minor and Syria, we have the cherry-tree, the fig, the pear, the pomegranate, the olive, the plum, and the mulberry. The vine which is now cultivated, is not a native of Europe; it is found wild on the shores of the Caspian, in Armenia, and Caramania. The most useful species of plants, the cereal vegetables, are certainly strangers, though their birthplace seems to be an impenetrable secret. have fancied that barley is found wild on the banks of the Semara, in Tartary; rye in Crete; wheat at Baschkiros, in Asia; but this is held by the best botanists to be very doubtful. The potato, which has been so widely dif fused over the world, in modern times, and has added so much to the resources of life in many countries, has been found equally difficult to trace back to its wild condition. 99* Some "In our own country," Mr. Whewell goes on to observe, "a higher state of the arts of life is marked by a more ready and extensive adoption of foreign productions. Our fields are covered with herbs from Holland, * Whewell's Bridgewater Treatise, p. 71.-He observes in a note, that it appears now to be ascertained that the edible potato is found wild in the neighborhood of Valparaiso. [See a paper in the fifth volume of the Transactions of the London Horticultural Society, on the Native Country of the Wild Potato, by Joseph Sabine, Esq. This gentleman cultivated with success sonie specimens sent to him from the locality mentioned above.-AM. ED.] I. 5 VII. and roots from Germany; with Flemish farming, and Swedish turnips; our hills with forests of the firs of Norway. The chestnut and the poplar of the south of Europe adorn our lawns, and below them flourish shrubs and flowers, from every clime, in profusion. In the meantime, Arabia improves our horses, China our pigs, North America our poultry, Spain our sheep, and almost every country sends its dog. The products which are ingredients in our luxuries, and which we cannot naturalize at home, we raise in our colonies; the cotton, coffee, and sugar of the East, are thus transplanted to the furthest West; and man lives in the middle of a rich and varied abundance, which depends on the facility with which plants, and animals, and modes of culture can be transferred into lands far removed from those in which nature had placed them. And this plenty and variety of material comforts, is the companion and the mark of advantages and improvements in social life, of progress in art and science, of activity of thought, of energy of purpose, and of ascendency of character. Com [Governor Everett, of Massachusetts, in one of his eloquent Addresses, thus applies a similar train of remark to the people of our United States-who, it may be observed, are supplied with the productions of various climates in a very considerable measure by their own coasting trade, and internal communications. As individuals," he says, "differ in their capacities, countries differ in soil and climate; and this difference leads to infinite variety of fabrics and productions, artificial and natural. merce perceives this diversity, and organizes a boundless system of exchanges, the object of which is to supply the greatest possible amount of want and desire, and to effect the widest possible diffusion of useful and convenient products. The extent to which this exchange of products is carried in highly-civilized countries, is truly wonderful. There are probably few individuals in this assembly who took their morning's meal this day, without the use of articles brought from almost every part of the world. The table on which it was served was made froin a tree which grew on the Spanish main |