Rev. P. Keith on the Structure of Living Fabrics, 9 



that attract your notice. Thus the animal is elevated in the 

 scale of existence to a rank surpassing that of the vegetable; 

 first, by means of the organs of sense and of intellection, by 

 which it holds communication with the external world, and 

 is rendered conscious of its own individuality ; and secondly, 

 by means of the organs of locomotion, by which it ranges in 

 pursuit of new gratifications, and transports itself even to di- 

 stant regions. 



But each kingdom has a gradation within itself, from the 

 highest or most organized orders, to the lowest or least or- 

 ganized orders, — from the Vertebrata to the Infusoria, on the 

 one hand ; and from the trees of the forest, to the fungus that 

 gives colour to the Polar snows, on the other. This will be 

 rendered evident from a survey of the structure, whether of 

 plants or of animals. —We will begin by taking a survey Of 

 the Structure of Plants. 



The simplest view of the structure of plants is, perhaps, that 

 by which they are regarded as consisting of two essentially 

 distinct parts; namely, an axis, and its appendages; — the 

 axis including both the caudex ascendens and descendens of 

 Linnaeus; and the appendages, by whatever name designated, 

 being presumed to be merely modifications of leaf. Whether 

 this presumption is well founded or not, we do not at present 

 stop to inquire; though it appears to us that flower and fruit 

 are something very different from mere modifications of leaf: 

 but whether they are so or not, they are, at all events, appen- 

 dages to the axis. If the axis is itself complete, that is, fur- 

 nished with the full complement of appendages common to 

 vegetables in general, the plant is said to be Perfect. It is 

 also said to be Pha?nogamous, as being furnished with conspi- 

 cuous flowers ; because conspicuous flowers are the glory of 

 the plant, and in many plants they are wanting. If the axis 

 is itself incomplete, that is, destitute of one or more of the 

 organs common to vegetables in general, the plant is said to 

 be Imperfect. It is also said to be Cryptogamous, that is, de- 

 stitute of conspicuous flowers, because in plants called Imper- 

 fect, conspicuous flowers are wanting. 



We are aware that the propriety of the division of plants 

 into Perfect and Imperfect has been lately called in question 

 by a Professor of Botany of the present day. Mr. G. Burnett 

 of King's College, London, says that plants have been re- 

 garded as Imperfect, merely because they were imperfectly 

 considered; — since a plant that has no visible root, has still 

 a potential root*. We do not regard the objection as being 



* Joum. of Royal Instit. 1831, p. 84. 



Third Series. Vol. 2. No. 7. Jan. 1833. C . 



