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gard to number and proportion ? Far from it. Though Plato of old called the 

 Creator the Divine Geometrician, modern philosophers have been slow to observe 

 the numberless instances of the operation of his adjusting mind, which all his 

 works display. Indeed it has not been remarked in the animal kingdom till our 

 own day, and the merit of observing it, promulgating, and establishing it is due to 

 Mr. William Macleay, who, though young in years at the time of his discovery, 

 was ripe in the power of penetration and spirit of arrangement. He has demon- 

 strated that the whole animal kingdom is constructed in a series, which form cir- 

 cles of fives, (hence quinary arrangement as this is termed), five of the subordi- 

 nate circles making one primary circle, the amount or number of these primary 

 circles being also five. — (See Macleay, Horce Entomologies J. 



The remark that Jive was a favourite number in nature, was made by Sir 

 Thomas Brown, (see his Quincunx), in 1656, and he supported its correctness by 

 numerous instances drawn from the vegetable kingdom. Its applicability to an 

 entire section of that kingdom was not, however, observed or demonstrated till a 

 much later date ; and now it is a well-ascertained principle, that, of the three great 

 sections into which plants may be divided, according to their internal structure 

 and mode of growth, each has a predominating number, which is displayed in the 

 portions which constitute the flower (in the vascular or flowering plants), and 

 along with which prevailing number certain properties are invariably found to be 

 conjoined. For instance, the first or lowest section of the vegetable kingdom con- 

 sists of plants exclusively formed of cellular tissue, (hence called cellular plants); 

 the prevailing number of the parts of which is two, or some regular multiple of 

 two, as is best exemplified in the number of the teeth of the peristome of mosses, 

 which are either, 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64. Such plants are remarkable, in general, for 

 their freedom from any very active principle, and consequently scarcely any of 

 them are poisonous : (fungi or mushrooms seem exceptions ; but it is doubtful 

 whether these singular productions belong to the vegetable kingdom). Hence 

 though a few of them yield dyeing principles, the greater number of them are 

 xmly employed as food for man or animals, and may, in most instances be fear- 

 lessly partaken of by any one in danger of perishing for want of other kinds of 

 food. 



The next section of the vegetable kingdom possesses vessels of different kinds, 

 in addition to the cellular tissue of the former, and are characterized by a particu- 

 lar mode of growth — namely, by additions to the interior, (hence called Endogens), 

 which accounts for the circumference of the stem when once formed, never vary- 

 ing or encreasing in diameter. These plants are at all times distinguishable by 

 the manner in which the veins of the leaf run (i. e. always in parallel lines), and 

 have the portions of the flower arranged in threes, or regular multiples of three. 

 (See flowers of Crocus, Hyacinth, Lilies, or Tulips). This section contains plants 

 which are scarcely more active than the former ; and having neither bark nor 



