THE 



PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE. 



I. Resrarches respecting the Organhatton of Leaves. By 

 A. JuRiNE, Member of the Soiieti/ of Phijsics and Na- 

 tural History at Geneva *. 



When two naturalists study the same subject without 

 communicating to each other the result of their labours, 

 two certain advaiitagcs arise to science- The first is, that 

 when they agree in their manner of considering the same 

 object, tii'eir opinion excites a greater degree of confidence : 

 «hc second is, that when their opinions differ it induces 

 them to make new researches. 



The imp<^rtant discoveries published by Saussure, Hed- 

 wig, and other botanists, in regard to the organization of 

 leaves, inspired me with a desire of examining after them 

 objects so mteresting- I therefore repeated their observa- 

 tions, and made new ones, \-hich gave me difterent results. 

 Of these I proposed to publish a detailed account, when I 

 rciid in the Journal de Fliysique the memoirs of C. Mirbel 

 on the anatomy of vegetables: and as my ideas in regard 

 to these objects approach vcr\' near to hie, I shall here only 

 give an extract, as it were, of my researches on that sub- 

 ject, excluding all hvjxjthetical reasoning. 



Though the opinion of the celebrated men above men- 

 tioned ib'of great weight, I will venture to say that it ought 

 r.ot to be so far respected as to make one afraid of enter- 

 taining a contrary opinion, wlicn it is founded, as I be- 

 lieve, on facts well established. When my ideas, there- 

 fore, are diHerent from theirs, I shall enter into some de- 

 tails, in order to show better on what the diversity of our 

 opinions is founded. 



The existence of the epidermis of leaves is a question of 

 loo much importance in the physiology of vegetables to be 

 iT'glected- I iiave therefore examined it with the greater 

 i'.ii'e, as C. Mirbel has ^iven an opinion entirely different 

 iVoiji that of most botanists. 



• From the Juurnul tk Pl-'vsiquf, Ventose, an. ii. 



A 2 D<? 



