in Organized Beings. 105 



permeable cuticle (I think it probable that absorption of fluid 

 does not take place through the stomata, but by the general 

 surface) ; but they extend this, when occasioli requires, by the 

 formation of numberless lymphatic hairs, which, like the radi- 

 cal hairs of mosses, &c., have a strong attraction for atmosplie- 

 ric moisture. DecandoUe has remarked in his Theorie Ele- 

 mentaire, " That when any part of a plant cannot, from pe- 

 culiar circumstances, discharge the duty appropriated to it, 

 the function is performed, wholly or in part, by some other or- 

 gan. It is evident, that this is but a result of the general 

 principle I have above laid down ; and the reason tliat plants 

 differ in this respect from animals is, simply, that in the former 

 the specialization of function is in no instance carried so far as 

 in the latter ; so that, any part of the general surface can per- 

 form, in a considerable degree, the function of all the rest. In 

 the animal kingdom, we perceive that the external surface of 

 most aquatic tribes forms part of the general absorbent system ; 

 but that in the inhabitants of the air, its function is partly 

 changed, and it is rather an organ of exhalation. The expe- 

 riments of Dr Edwards, however, shew the importance of cuta- 

 neous absorption both in fishes and reptiles ; and the human 

 body, in certain states both of healtli and disease, is greatly de- 

 pendent upon it. A curious instance of the extent to which it 

 may take place fi-om atmospheric moisture alone, was related 

 to me a few years ago whilst in the West Indies, by the gover- 

 nor of the island in which I was residing. A. jockey, who had 

 been in training for a particular race, being much depressed by 

 thirst, on the morning on which he Avas to ride, drank a single 

 cup of tea ; the stimulus to the cutaneous system was so great, 

 that he increased in weight 6 lbs., of which 5 lbs. must have 

 been from atmospheric moisture. The facility with which ab- 

 sorption takes place through the lungs (which are to be regard- 

 ed as excreting organs) is another example of the same fact ; 

 and I think that the present state of belief derived from expe- 

 rimental inquiry, with respect to the relative functions of the 

 veins and absorbents, might have been anticipated by a know- 

 ledge of the principles I have been attempting to demonstrate. 

 In retracing the ground over which we have passed, we re- 



