A new View of Vegetable Life. 283 



additional discovery, and evey new view we take, prove, that of 

 the form and proceedings of vegetable life we before knew 

 nothina; all our facts have proved false ; all our conjectures 

 mistakes', and that we must begin by banishing every former 

 idea that respects the real nature of a vegetable; except the 

 inimitable and well observed sexual system, and the observations 

 of many authors on seeds, which have been really dissected. 

 As to the nomenclature and gener;il arrangement of plants, and 

 all that part of l)otany, I touch not on tliem. — I respect them 

 as I ought, and only admire. All this will, I fear, appear bold 

 language, especially in a woman: but it is necessary sometimes to 

 be bold in the cause of truth ; and I am assured I am defending 

 it. That no person had ever torn down a plant for examination, 

 or followed a plant in the interior from day to day, and from 

 year to year, I am perfectly persuaded; and these progressive 

 steps are the only means of coming at the secrets of nature, 

 and viewing the rising of its seeds from the first moment of their 

 protrusion in their mother's womb, and the formation of flowers 

 from their beginning. But let me not be misunderstood : — I do 

 not mean to say that innumerable mistakes will not be found in 

 this general plan of the foundation of plants. As I enter into 

 the details, I have no doubt there will. But I have watched 

 with such carefulness, that I hope they will be few. Hitherto 

 I have been most fortunate in not discovering one ^ross error ; 

 since I am so particular not to declare a truth till I have inves- 

 tigated it in so many ways, and placed it in so many different 

 lights, that I hope the mistakes will not be serious at least. The 

 present truth would not (but for so kind and perfect a voucher) 

 have made its way to the public notice till next year. 



It is most curious, that in examining sea weeds I have also 

 discovered the flowers and leaves either filling up the midrib or 

 concealed between the cuticles : but they do not run from the 

 root upwards, they are divided into little separate plants with a 

 sort of root to each. See fig. 9. the fucus bulbosus, where they 

 are to be taken from the midrib by numbers, as when that is torn 

 up a number fall out, and will grow on the glass as long as you 

 please to supply them with drops of salt water administered with 

 the fingers. They grow also in the interior of the dulse, or 

 fucus pin?iati/tdus; and if the coralline is first taken off by 

 scraping it with a knife on each side, the flowers will be plainly 

 seen ; for, thin as the dulse is, it is covered by a double coralline 

 and many layers of net, besides having the young plants in the 

 interior. These evidently take their nutriment from the lumps 

 of jelly which forms their apparent root, within which grows also 

 a small piece of sea weed — the whole appearing like Mocha 

 stone or Egyptian pebble. (See fig. 8.) 



At 



