File:Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of (14576785400).jpg

Identifier: picturesqueameri01brya (find matches)
Title: Picturesque America; or, The land we live in. A delineation by pen and pencil of the mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, water-falls, shores, cañons, valleys, cities, and other picturesque features of our country
Year: 1872 (1870s)
Authors: Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878, editor Bunce, Oliver Bell, 1828-1890
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton
Contributing Library: University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Digitizing Sponsor: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
vegetation, interspersed with tracts of apparently barren sands. It is a land ofpeculiar scenery, which the pencil of the artist has heretofore scarcely touched. Its mainfeatures illustrate the absurdity of the common notion that the landscapes of tropical andsemi-tropical latitudes are superior in luxuriance of vegetable production to those of thetemperate zones. The truth is, that in the hot regions it is only where there is constantmoisture that there is a strong and rank growth of plants. Generally, aridity prevails, thehill-sides are bereft of vegetation, and an air of parched-up and suffering Nature charac-terizes all that is seen. It is only when we come North that our landscapes glow withuniversal vegetable profusion ; that the forests stand out in bold relief on the hill-sides;that the earth is carpeted with vernal green, and prodigality of vegetation reigns supreme.In the tropical landscape, the abundance of flowers, which are supposed to be peculiar to PICTURESQUE AMERICA.
Text Appearing After Image:
warm climates, are exceptionalphases. They exist, but it is inthe recesses of the swamp, wherethe burning sun is checked in itseffulgency. In these recesses, andfavored by springs of water, wehave in Florida the wildest ef-fects. We have flowers, andvines, and strange leafings, andgigantic trees, as nowhere else tobe seen ; but they are always inhidden places; the open tropicallandscape, we repeat, is arid anddesolate. Originally starting out forthe avowed purpose of huntingthe picturesque, we sailed for themouth of the St. Johns—a riverthat reaches into the very heartof the peninsula, and from theill-defined shores of which youcan branch off into the verywildest of this, in one sense, des-olate region. The approach ofthe mouth of the harbor, as isthe case with all our Southernrivers, is interrupted by a bar^over which the surf beats alwaysmore or less wildly. Extra facil-ities being afforded us, we safelypassed the rough places, andwith impatience sought a look-out from Pelican Ban

Note About Images