THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



345 



alive in certain aquatic plants. Lastly, M. Trecul has re- 

 cently demonstrated at the Academy of Sciences 1 that the 

 cellular tissue of the Caladium is sometimes invaded by 

 numerous rudimentary plants, the appearance of which, ac- 

 cording to this savant, in the midst of this tissue so entirely 



158. Fruit of the Bread-Fruit Tree: Artocnrpus incisa. Very much reduced in size. 



cut off from connection with the outer world, cannot possi- 

 bly be explained except by spontaneous generation. 



But the substance most frequently met with in the in- 

 terior of the cellular tissue is our alimentary fecula. Each 

 of the microscopic cells is sometimes quite filled with it. 

 We observe it in all the organs, root, stem, and flower. 



1 Dr. Charles Musset, who has acquired a certain amount of celebrity in the 

 great discussions on spontaneous generation, has had an opportunity of verifying 

 the exactness of the facts put forward by M. Trecul. 



