Beautiful Flowering Trees.

—In the tropicsvegetation is generally of a fresher verdure, more luxu-riant and succulent, and adorned with larger and moreshining leaves than in our northern climates. The“social plants,” which often impart so uniform andmonotonous a character to European countries, arealmost entirely absent in the equatorial regions. Treesalmost as lofty as our oaks are adorned with flowersas large and as beautiful as our lilies. On the shadybanks of the Rio Magdalena in South America, thereglows a climing Aristolochia bearing flowers four feetin circumference, which the Indian boys draw overtheir heads in sport, and wear as hats or helmets. Inthe islands of the Indian Archipelago, the flower of theRafflesia is nearly three feet in diameter, and weighsabove 14 pounds.— Humboldt’s Aspects of Nature.