﻿Prof. Bailey on the Crystals found in Plants. 31 



the forests, not only in this, but in all countries, are as full of 

 these bodies as the example I have just taken. 



The establishment of the fact of the general production of 

 oxalate of lime by plants in such vast amount, is not then, un- 

 important. Such facts have important causes and consequences, 

 many of which may in time be determined. In the present case 

 the inquiry into the cause of the general phenomena we have 

 mentioned, is not without interest. 



The questions, Whence come the oxalic acid and lime ? Is the 

 former produced by the oxidation of starch and sugar in the plant ? 

 or what is the way by which it, and the lime are introduced ? are 

 all important, but cannot be answered with certainty at present. 



The consequences too, present a wide field of inquiry. 



Has the development of heat and electricity, which must at- 

 tend the formation of each of these crystals, any important effect 

 on the plants? 



For what purpose in the economy of nature, is this enormous 

 production of oxalate of lime? Is this salt a fertilizer? 



Are the fall of the leaves, the shedding of the bark, and the 

 rotting of wood, Nature's beautiful methods of distributing this 

 fertilizer over the soil ? 



Do the lichens upon trees extract their oxalate of lime from 

 them? What change does the salt undergo during the decom- 

 positions of vegetable matter? Can it be detected unchanged 

 in soil ? 



These and many other problems grow out of the subject, and 

 present an ample field for future investigation. 



Although in this paper I have shown that the crystalline mat- 

 ter in plants, is usually oxalate of lime, 1 would not be under- 

 stood to assert that it is always so. Forms incompatible with 

 those belonging to this salt, occur in some plants; thus beautiful 

 little cubes occur sparingly among the starch globules in the 

 tubers of the potato, (see fig. 17,) and in the outer coverings of 

 the bulbs of the onion, and all the species of the genus Allium, ele- 

 gant right square prisms are disposed in the cells, as shown in fig. 

 18. In Rhus typhifia, also, are found flattened octahedrons, and 

 right square prisms; (see figures 19,20,21.) Bunches (form C) also 

 occur in the same plant. The crystals in potato and onion, may 

 possibly be one of the phosphates of lime, as phosphoric acid has 

 been detected in both these vegetables. The crystals in Rhus 

 may be malate of lime, as this salt is produced uoon the berries 



