70 MEMBRANOUS TEXTURE. [LECT. III. 



Under the solids are comprehended, i. The 

 general solid components of the vegetable organi- 

 zation ; viz. the membranous, the cellular, the 

 vascular and the glandular textures, the ligneous 

 Jibre, and the epidermis : ii. The organs necessary 

 for the preservation of the individual ; the root, 

 the trunk, the branch and the leafwiih their fulcra 

 or appendages : iii. The organs requisite for the 

 reproduction of the individual; the flower and 

 the fruit with their appendages : and, iv. Organs 

 which hold a kind of dubious character, being in a 

 certain degree both conservative and reproductive ; 

 bulbs, gems, and gongyli. 



Under the fluids are comprehended the sap and 

 the proper juice ; both of which may be regarded 

 as general components. 



Let us endeavour to acquire an accurate idea 

 of each of these parts, without adhering strictly 

 to the order in which they have been enumerated. 



1. GENERAL SOLID COMPONENTS. 



The first of these, the Membranous texture, is an 

 exquisitely thin, transparent, colourless, film-like 

 membrane or pellicle, which is found in every in- 

 dividual of the vegetable kingdom. Du Hamel, 

 and some other authors, have asserted that it is 

 composed of organic fibres, arranged parallel to 

 each other, and united by a glutinous substance ; 

 but, as Mirbel has justly remarked, " this is one 



