ON THE USE AND OFFICES, &C. 83 



the possibility of such circulation, or even the 

 existence of such vessels. 



Bradley says, " The many curious observa- 

 " tions which have been made concerning the 

 " structure of animal bodies, and what Dr. 

 ** Grew, Malpigius, and myself have remarked, 

 " in the structure of vegetables, may ascertain 

 " to us, that life, whether it be animal or vege- 

 ** table, must be maintained by a due circula- 

 " tion and distribution of juices in the bodies 

 " they are to support." 



" The sap circulates in the vessels of plants 

 " much after the same manner as the blood 

 " doth in the bodies of animals." And after a 

 variety of abstruse arguments, he says, " In 

 " fine, a plant is like an alembic, which distils 

 " the juices of the earth j as, for example, the 

 " roots having sucked in the salts of the earth, 

 " and thereby filled itself with proper juices for 

 " the nourishment of the tree, these juices then 

 " are set in motion by the heat, that is, they 

 ** are made to evaporate into steam, as the mat- 

 " ter in a still will do when it begins to warm. 

 " Now as soon as this steam, or vapour, rises 

 ** from the root, its own natural quality carries 

 " it upwards to meet the air ; it enters then the 

 *' mouths of the several arterial vessels, arrives 

 *♦ at the extreme parts of them, i. e, the buds 



G 2 



