To the s. of the Altaian mountains, the flora of Asia corresponds in part with that of the great eastern plain of Europe; but it exhibits also peculiarities which may in some measure be ascribed to the saline character of large districts, the stony or desola lieu of others, and the elevation of the great central plateau. The flora of Asia Minor and of Syria has a general resemblance to that of the s. of Europe, although exhibit ing also features which belong rather to that of India or of Africa. Shrubby labiatm are particularly characteristic of this region, from which not a few of them have found their way into the gardens of Europe and of other parts of the world, upon account of their fragrance, their medicinal qualities, or their use for the grateful seasoning of food. The tropical flora of Arabia abounds in trees which yield fragrant balsams and resins, par ticularly of the natural order amyridaccee. Indeed, both the warmer temperate and the tropical regions of Asia excel other parts of the world in the number and variety of the odoriferous drugs which they produce, with odors of the most various characters, from myrrh and frankincense to asafetida. Arabia has long been noted for the produc tion of coffee, which is now also pretty extensively cultivated in other warm parts of A. The date-pahn is as characteristic of Arabia as it is of Egypt. Acacias and mimosas also abound.—The flora of Persia in part resembles that of Arabia, although it is less tropical, and the altitude of its mountains gives to it in some places an extremely different char acter. The abundance of scitaminece is regarded as particularly characteristic of India; and plants of this order yield ginger, galangal, cardamoms, turmeric, and other articles of commerce, amongst which not the least important is a kind of arrowroot. Its leguntEnox are also very numerons, both herbaceous and shrubby, or arborescent, many of them exhibiting great beauty of foliage and splendor of flowers; some producing use ful kinds of pulse; others timber, gum, medicines, etc. The number of valuable medici nal plants which belong to the Indian flora is very great, as is also that of dycwoods; and it abounds in fine fruits, of which the mango and mangostcen may be particularly noticed. Caturbitaeze (gourds) arc very numerous; as are also trees of the genus pus (fig), some of which produce caoutchouc, and amongst which are the sacred peepul and the banian-tree, so remarkable for the roots which descend from its branches to become new stems, and for the extent of ground which it canopies. Palms are numerous in the tropical parts of A., and particularly in its south-eastern regions, but less numerous than in the tropical parts of South America.. The cocoa-nut is one of the most common palms in the vicinity of the sea: Some of the Asiatic palms are valuable for the sago which they yield. The natural order dipterdeaa is one of those that are peculiar to India and south-eastern A., and includes some of the noblest timber-trees; but the Indian teak, so valuable for ship-building, is of the order The flora of the eastern peninsula, Siam, Cochin-China, and the south-eastern part of A. generally, differs considerably front that of India, and exhibits, if possible, a richer variety. The change from the Indian flora is still greater in the islands, and a resemblance to that of Polynesia and of Australia begins to appear. The bread-fruit takes the place of its congener, the jack of India.. These regions produce nutmegs, cloves, and other spices. The lauraces are abundant, yielding cinnamon, cassia, and camphor. Gutta-percha has recently been added to the number of the most valuable exports. China and .Japan have many plants peculiar to themselves, and are remarkable for the prevalence of the tern8tralniacece, the natural order to which the tea-plant and the camellia belong. It is scarcely necessary to mention how extensively tea is cultivated in China, and how important' it is in the commerce of the world. The diversity of climate, however, both in China and Japan, is so considera ble, as to imply no small diversity of productions. In like manner, the I limalaya moun tains possess a flora very different from that of the Indian plains, and which in some of its most characteristic features, particularly in the prevalence of large rhododendrons and magnolias, has been found remarkably to agree with the flora of the southern parts of the United States; whilst at still greater altitudes there is a strong resemblance to that of more northern regions, or of the European Alps; forests of pines appear, and along with them the deodar, a cedar scarcely, if at all, different from tho cedar of Lebanon. The mountains of Java also produce oaks and other trees resembling those of the temperate zone, although the species are peculiar. But many parts of A. have as yet been very im perfectly explored.
Many of the cultivated plants ofEurope are known to be natives of A., and others
are supposed to be so. As the cradle of the human race, and the scene of the earliest civilization, it is natural to suppose that it supplied the first units and other vegetable productions which man sought to improve by cultivation: and of some which, as the apple and the cherry, are probably natives of Europe, it seems probable that the first improved varieties were introduced from A. We do not know with certainty of what part of the earth sonic of the principal cereal plants or grains are natives—as wheat, barley, oats, and rye; but there seems great probability in the supposition that they arc of Asiatic origin. Rice certainly is. It has been cultivated from time immemorial in some of the warm parts of A.; and its introduction into other quarters of the world is comparatively recent. Maize—introduced from America—is now to be reckoned among the most important cultivated plants of A., and its cultivation is rapidly extend ing, as is that of the potato. Wheat, oats, barley, rye, beans, peas, and buckwheat, are the principal crops of regions similar in climate to those in which they are cultivated in Europe. Barley and buckwheat are cultivated in the Himalayas at the extraordinary elevation of almost 12,000 ft., and crops of barley are to be seen even at 15,000 ft. above the sea. Millet of different kinds, durra, and other grains of inferior importance, are cultivated to some extent in India and other warm regions; also different kinds of pulse. The banana and plantain are of the same importance as in other tropical countries; and the yam and cocco or cddoes contribute largely to the supply of human food. The is cultivated in the warm parts of A., but not with so much spirit or success as in America, although it is it native of the East-and not of the West Indies. Pepper is one of the native productions of the East Indies, and is extensively cultivated. Tobacco, whether or not any species of it is indigenous to A., is now produced in large quantities. Indigo is extensively cultivated in India, and the opium poppy too extensively. Differ ent species of cotton arc natives of India and have long been cultivated there and in China. Hemp is cultivated in India, not for its fiber but to afford the means of intoxi cation; and flax chiefly for the oil of its seeds; but both hemp and flax are extensively cultivated for their fibers in other parts of A.; and India and the other tropical regions produce many plants valuable for their fibers, among which are species of mesa, corchorus (yielding the jute of commerce), and urtica (nettle). Among the crops of India is sesa mum, valued fur the oil of its seeds.
It seems probable that we are indebted to the warmer temperate parts of A. not only for the.orange, the lemon, and all the other species of the. genus citrus, but also for the olive, the peach, and nectarine, the apricot, the fig, the mulberry, and the vine, with many other of the fruits now most generally esteemed and cultivated. China and Japan being the seats of an ancient civilization, many useful plants have long been cultivated there. which have scarcely yet found their way into other parts of the world. Floricul ture has been practiced there with great assiduity from a remote antiquity; and varieties of hydrangea, camellia, tree peony, chrysanthemum, etc., have, from time immemorial, been scarcely, if at all, less numerous than those of the tulip and hyacinth in Holland.
The zoology of A. is not less interesting than its Untrly. Amongst domestic animals, the most important are the ox and buffalo, the sheep, the goat, the horse, the ass, the camel, and the elephant. A number of species of ox and buffalo are natives of A., from more than one of which the domesticated races appear to have derived their origin. Very distinct from all the others is the yak (q.v.) of Thibet, a creature which is of great use to the inhabitants of the elevated regions of the Himalayas, and is to them almost what the reindeer is to the Laplander. The sheep and goat arc natives of the mountainous parts of central A. The horse and the ass seem to belong to the same regions; and all of these have been domesticated from the earliest times. The camel is of incalculable value us a beast of burden in the regions of heat and drought, and as affording the means of traversing the great deserts. It is used principally in the s.w. of A. and in India. The elephant 'is a native of the tropical parts of A., hut is of a different species from that of Africa. The reindeer constitutes the chief wealth of some of the tribes of the n. Dogs are also used by some of the Siberian tribes for drawing their sledges. Different races of dogs are domesticated in different parts of A., and a small kind is fattened for its flesh in China; but in the Mohammedan parts of A., the dog is reckoned an unclean animal, and is known chiefly as a prowler about towns and villages, and a devourer of offal.