mals. Thus plants, in stoves and greenhouses, although they have sufficient heat and nourishment, are slender and weak, lose the colour of their leaves, and seem to languish for want of motion. And trees surrounded by high walls or buildings, and confined within narrow bounds, are slender, and grow tall, but not strong. From the observations, moreover, of some celebrated naturalists, a great similarity appears between the mechanism of plants and that of animals; the parts of the former bear some analogy to those of the latter; and the vegetable and animal economy appear to be formed on the same model.

The structure of plants is next to be considered. The roots, stalk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, comprise all that is most remarkable in their external parts. The roots, by means of their different kinds of hinges, tuberosities, and ramifications, keep the plant fixed to the earth; while their pores imbibe an exceedingly fine slime, which the water liquefies, and carries with it. From the root

springs the stalk, to which the plant partly owes its strength and beauty. Being sometimes shaped like a pipe, the stalk is fortified by knots skilfully disposed. As it is sometimes too weak to support itself, it twists round a solid prop, fastening by means of the little hands with which it is furnished. In some it appears a strong pillar, rearing its proud head aloft in the air, and braving all the fury of storms and tempests.

The branches shoot forth like so many arms, from the trunk and stalk, on which they are distributed with great regularity. They are divided and subdivided into many small boughs; the subdivisions observing the same order as the principal divisions.

Those leaves, those charming ornaments of plants,

are disposed round the stalk and branches with the same symmetry. Some are simple, others compound, or formed of various foliage. One sort is plain, another indented. Some of them are

very thin; others hard, soft, plump, smooth, rough, hairy, &c.

The flowers, whose beautiful enamel is one of the principal glories of Nature, are not less diver sified than the leaves. Some have only a single leaf, or petal; others several. Here it appears like a large vessel gracefully opening: there it forms some grotesque figure, in imitation of a muzzle, head-piece, or cowl. Here it is a butterfly, a star, a crown, a radiant sun. Some are scattered on the plant without any art: some compose nosegays, globes, tufts of feathers, garlands, pyramids, &c. The greater part of them are furnished with a calyx; sometimes plain and simple; sometimes consisting of several pieces, or properly cut. From the centre of the flower proceeds one or more little pillars, called pistils, which are either smooth or channelled, rounded at top, or terminating in a point. These commonly encircle other smaller pillars, called stamina, which carry on the upper part of them a sort of small bladders, full of an exceedingly fine powder, called the pollen, or fertilizing dust; every grain of which, viewed through a microscope, appears of a very regular figure, but varied according to its species. In some they are small smooth globes; in others they are thickly set with prickles, like the covering of a chesnut; and sometimes they resemble small prisms, or some other regular body. The flowers are succeeded by an infinite profusion of fruit and seed'.

See No. XXVI. for an account of the Anatomy of Flowers, and the sexual system of plants.

mals. Thus plants, in stoves and greenhouses. although they have sufficient heat and nourish ment, are slender and weak, lose the colour their leaves, and seem to languish for want motion. And trees surrounded by high walls buildings, and confined within narrow boun are slender, and grow tall, but not stro From the observations, moreover, of some ce brated naturalists, a great similarity appears tween the mechanism of plants and that of mals; the parts of the former bear some anal to those of the latter; and the vegetable animal economy appear to be formed on the s model.

The structure of plants is next to be conside The roots, stalk, branches, leaves, flowers, fruit, comprise all that is most remarkable in external parts. The roots, by means of the ferent kinds of hinges, tuberosities, and ran tions, keep the plant fixed to the earth; while pores imbibe an exceedingly fine slime, whic water liquefies, and carries with it. From tl: springs the stalk, to which the plant partly ov strength and beauty. Being sometimes s like a pipe, the stalk is fortified by knot fully disposed. As it is sometimes too w support itself, it twists round a solid prop, 1 ing by means of the little hands with whic furnished. In some it appears a strong rearing its proud head aloft in the air, and all the fury of storms and tempests.

The branches shoot forth like so many from the trunk and stalk, on which they are buted with great regularity. They are. and subdivided into many small boughs; t divisions observing the same order as the p divisions.

Those leaves, those charming ornaments o.

aspose a rout · for stalk and branches wrið tà. Dome are sungle, other

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antur intented, Some of them sv ULBETA MAT“, 2014, plump, smooth, vera N

All fruits and seeds have this in common, that they inclose under one or more coverings the germ of the future plants. Some have only such coverings as immediately infold the germ, whose outside is of the strongest contexture; and, among these, there are some that are provided with wings, tufts, plumes of feathers, &c. by means of which they are conveyed in the air or water, so as to be transported and sown in different parts. Others are better clothed: being lodged in seeds or pods, inclosed in a kind of box, having one or more partitions. A third sort, under a delicious fruit, which is rendered still more agreeable by its beautiful colour, contain a stone and kernel. Others are inclosed in shells, which are either armed with prickles, abound with a bitter juice, or are adorned with a very fine down or hair. The outside of fruits and seeds, moreover, do not afford less variety than that of the leaves and flowers, there being scarcely any figure whatever, of which they do not exhibit an exact repre

sentation.

Such are the exterior parts of plants: the internal are composed of four orders of vessels, namely, the ligneous fibres, the utriculi or little bags, the proper vases, and the trachea or air vessels.

The ligneous fibres are very small channels deposited according to the length of the plant, and consisting of little tubes placed near each other. Sometimes these vessels are parallel, and at others are separated, leaving between them intervals, or oblong spaces, which are filled by the utriculi, a kind of membraneous bladders, horizontally disposed, and communicating with each other. The proper vessels are a kind of ligneous fibres, that differ from the rest principally from their juice, which is of a deeper colour, or thicker.