PAET I. 



HYPERTROPHT. 



The term hypertrophy may serve as a general one 

 to comprise all the instances of excessive growth and 

 increased size of organs, whether the increase be general 

 or in one direction merely. General hypertrophy is 

 more a variation than a deformity, unless indeed it be 

 caused by insect puncture or the presence of a fungus, 

 in which case the excessive size results from a diseased 

 condition. For our present purpose hypertrophy may 

 be considered as it affects the axile or the foliar organs, 

 and also according to the way in which the increased size 

 is manifested, as by increased thickness or swelling 

 intumescence, or by augmented length-elongation, by 

 expansion or flattening, or, lastly, by the formation of 

 excrescences or outgrowths, which may be classed 

 under the head of luxuriance or enation. 



As size must be considered in this place relatively, 

 it is not possible to lay down any precise line separating 

 what are considered to be the normal dimensions from 

 those which are abnormal. 



In practice no inconvenience will be found to accrue 

 from this inability to establish a fixed rule, and we may 

 say that an hypertrophied organ is one which, from 

 some cause or other, attains dimensions which are not 

 habitual to the plant in its usual, healthy, well-formed 

 8tat. 



It will be seen that under this general head of 

 hypertrophy, increase of size, however brought about, 

 is included ; thus, not only increase in length, but also 

 in thickness ; alterations of substance or consistence, 

 no less than of dimensions, are here grouped together. 



