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The botanic garden, a poem

In two parts. Part I. Containing The economy of Vegetation, Part II. The Loves of the plants. With philosophical notes. The fourth edition. [by Erasmus Darwin]
Darwin, Erasmus (1731-1802)
  
[epigraph]

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[section]
  
TO THE AUTHOR OF THE POEM ON THE LOVES OF THE PLANTS.
  
TO Dr. DARWIN.
  
TO Dr. DARWIN.
  
TO Dr. DARWIN.
  
Address to the River Derwent, on whose Banks the Author of the Botanic Garden resides.
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THE BOTANIC GARDEN.
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PART I. CONTAINING THE ECONOMY OF VEGETATION
 I. 
CANTO I.
 I. 
I.
 II. 
II.
 III. 
III.
 IV. 
IV.
 V. 
V.
 VI. 
VI.
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VII.
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2.
 3. 
3.
 VIII. 
VIII.
 IX. 
IX.
 X. 
X.
 XI. 
XI.
 XII. 
XII.
  
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CANTO II.
  
[prologue]
 I. 
I.
 II. 
II.
 III. 
III.
 IV. 
IV.
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V.
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1.
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2.
 3. 
3.
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4.
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VI.
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1.
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2.
 VII. 
VII.
 VIII. 
VIII.
 IX. 
IX.
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X.
 XI. 
XI.
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CANTO III.
  
[prologue]
 I. 
I.
 II. 
II.
 III. 
III.
 IV. 
IV.
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V.
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1.
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2.
 VI. 
VI.
 VII. 
VII.
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VIII.
 IX. 
IX.
 X. 
X.
 XI. 
XI.
 XII. 
XII.
 XIII. 
XIII.
 XIV. 
XIV.
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CANTO IV.
  
[prologue]
 I. 
I.
 II. 
II.
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III.
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1.
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2.
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IV.
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1.
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2.
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V.
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VI.
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VII.
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VIII.
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IX.
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X.
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2.
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3.
 XI. 
XI.
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XII.
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2.
 XIII. 
XIII.
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XIV.
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1.
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2.
 XV. 
XV.
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PART II. CONTAINING THE LOVES OF THE PLANTS
 I. 
CANTO I.
 II. 
CANTO II.
 III. 
CANTO III.
 IV. 
CANTO IV.

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XII.

1.

“If prouder branches with exuberance rude
Point their green germs, their barren shoots protrude;
Wound them, ye Sylphs! with little knives, or bind
A wiry ringlet round the swelling rind;
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Bisect with chissel fine the root below,
Or bend to earth the inhospitable bough.
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So shall each Germ with new prolific power
Delay the leaf-bud, and expand the flower;
224

Closed in the Style the tender Pith shall end,
The lengthening Wood in circling Stamens bend;
The smoother Rind its soft embroidery spread
In vaulted Petals o'er the gorgeous bed;
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The wrinkled bark, in filmy mazes roll'd,
Form the green Calyx, fold including fold;
Each widening Bracte expand it's foliage hard,
And hem the bright pavillion, Floral Guard.
—So the cold rill from Cintra's steepy sides,
Headlong, abrupt, in barren channels glides;
Round the rent cliffs the bark-bound Suber spreads,
And lazy monks recline on corky beds;
Till, led by art, the wondering water moves
Through vine hung avenues, and citron groves;
Green slopes the velvet round it's silver source,
And flowers, and fruits, and foliage mark it's course.
At breezy eve, along the irriguous plain
The fair Beckfordia leads her virgin train;
Seeks the cool grot, the shadowy rocks among,
And tunes the mountain-echoes to her song;
Or prints with graceful steps the margin green,
And brighter glories gild the inchanted scene.

2.

“Where cruder juices swell the leafy vein,
Stint the young germ, the tender blossom stain;
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On each lopp'd shoot a softer scion bind,
Pith press'd to pith, and rind applied to rind,
So shall the trunk with loftier crest ascend,
And wide in air it's happier arms extend;
Nurse the new buds, admire the leaves unknown,
And blushing bend with fruitage not it's own.
“Thus when in holy triumph Aaron trod,
And offer'd on the shrine his mystic rod;
227

First a new bark it's silken tissue weaves,
New buds emerging widen into leaves;
Fair fruits protrude, enascent flowers expand,
And blush and tremble round the living wand.
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