A new View of Vegelalle Life. 285 



Still the vegetable draws its source from a totally differcnl 

 power, from the v'llality of that line on which its life and cx- 

 ister^.ce depend. When the wing of the fly grew, it was visibly 

 from tiie juice, and began where the juice fell, and joined itself 

 to the wiug afterwards. But the vegetal)!e requires livo t/u/igs, 

 the double line and the liquid, without which it cannot increaser 

 for I have v/atched with care where the juice was when no line 

 came to it, and it evaporated without any increase; it is there- 

 fore merely the effect of the moisture on the continued line of 

 life, that creates and excites it to further growth, and the con- 

 tinuation of vegetable life. 



I am now going to undertake the leaf awA flower-hud. — Va- 

 rious dissections will be placed before the public, which delinea- 

 tions will, I ho])e, clear uj) the Avhole of tiiis subject, and make 

 it impossible for the most unbelieving really to doubt the facts 

 I have shown, I shall pursue the inquiry in a regular series, by 

 taking the buds from the first of their appearing till thev burst 

 out into leaf and flower; — ascertaining every three or four days 

 tlie contents, and taking drawings of them every week. For 

 this purpose, I shall fix on the ash, the lime, and the oak. I 

 shall also begin this week with the sea-kale and cabbage, to as- 

 cert.iin the interior flnicer of the herbaceous plants, — and the 

 result will all be laid before the public. 

 ,1 am, sir. 



Your obliged servant, 

 Dawlibh, Sept. '.'0,1816. Agnks IbBKTSON, 



Description of the Piute, No. 3. [Plate IV.] 



Fig. 1 . A specimen of the wood of the cupressus cut longi- 

 tudinally. 



Fig. 2. A specimen of the matter which grew on the glass. 



Fig. 3. That which increased from fig. 2 in three days. 



Fig. 4. The specimen which was drawn and measured for Sir 

 Williim Herschel's inspection. 



Fig. 5. The same specimen of the vi^ood of the Scotch fir, 

 which increased on the glass from fig. 4 to the present size. 



Fit;. {]. A specimen of the wood of the ciipressus cut hori- 

 zoutallv. 



Fig. 7. A specimen of an herbaceous plant cut longitudinally. 



Fig. 9. A specimen of the fucus htdhoaus growing on the 

 glass. 



Fig. H. A specimen of the /i/a/.? pinnati/idus. 



The herljaceous plant has its flower running up from the root 

 inclo-ed within a circular vcvhI : which is not the case in trees 



or' 



