1857.] Cincinnati Horticultural Society — Proceedings. 229 



and darkness, could be changed into a living fructuous branch ! — 

 Yet such is the dogma proclaimed, and voices are heard attesting the 

 verity of the occurrence — declaring that they have seen the paren- 

 chyma become green, the spongioles opening their tiny mouths and 

 eructating buds and leaves, and even clusters of fruit hang along the 

 main roots — and holding the converse as true that the leaf-buds 

 would elongate, not into branches, but into roots. 



Resuming, he said : Professor Ward had sought illustrations for 

 the change of root into branch and branch into root among the low- 

 er order of plants ; but even there he will find that his principle 

 will not apply, for no instance»can be given, among them all, of a 

 root becoming plumule, nor of plumules changed into roots. He 

 then proceeded to consider a statement of Professor Ward in rela- 

 tion to the knot, as when the branch grows down into the parent 

 stem as a rooi. Mr. C. said he was somewhat surprised at a state- 

 ment so unphilosophical as this, from one so learned as Professor 

 Ward, and claimed that this view could not be sustained either by 

 observation or authority. He maintained that it never " grew down 

 into the trunk;" that it never extends beyond the wood-zone upon 

 wliich the bud originated ; and the appearance of insertion is caused 

 entirely by the successive layers of outer-growth, and not by extend- 

 ing the growth of the branch downward into the parent stem. He de- 

 sired to be distinctly understood and represented as saying that pro- 

 visionally and by accommodation a root may become a branch, and 

 in the same way a branch may become a root ; but never is the one 

 converted into the other in structure nor function. What is devel- 

 oped from them or iipon them may have these characteristics; hence 

 the root 'may he made to develop buds, and the branch roots; hut in- 

 crementitious roots, can never become normal branches, nor the Imds he- 

 come normal roots ; their struct m'c', their manner of growth, their func- 

 tions, the elements whence their nutrition is derived, all forbid such a 

 perfect transmutation of character as Professor Ward's doctrine must 

 needs inculcate. ■ 



Professor Cary claimed that "authorities" are material in mat- 

 ters of science, and to teach only what each one knew was not all of 

 knowledge. Men, as authors, may be in error, and it argues well for 

 the soundness of their philosophy, that they frankly admit their 

 mistake when shown. For it is in vain to contend against truth ; 

 in fishtino; aerainst truth we do but contend against GrOD; and who-, 

 so contends with God, as manifested either in his works or his word, 



