INTRODUCTION 



TO 



PHYSIOLOGICAL AND SYSTEMATICAL 



BOTANY. 



CHAPTER I. 



©ISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ANIMALS, VEGETABLES, AND FOS- 

 SILS—ON THE VITAL PRINCIPLE ESSENTIAL TO THE TWO 

 FORMER. 



JL HOSE who with a philosophical eye have contempla- 

 ted the productions of Nature, have all, by common 

 consent, divided them into three great classes, called the 

 Animal, the Vegetable, and the Mineral or Fossil King- 

 doms. These terms are still in general use, and the 

 most superficial observer must be struck with their 

 propriety. The application of them seems at first sight 

 perfectly easy, and in general it is so. Difficulties 

 occur to those only who look very deeply into the 

 subject. 



Animals have an organized structure which regularly 

 unfolds itself, and is nourished and supported by air 

 and food ; they consequently possess life, and are sub- 

 ject to death ; they are moreover endowed with sensa- 

 tion, and with spontaneous, as well as voluntary, motion. 



