LECT. VII.J ANATOMY OF STEMS. 31 L 



" within the surface of the earth, a leaf is pro- 

 " duced ; from which rises the principal or central 

 " bud, and around it many new buds, which 

 " strike their roots into the soil. After this cen- 

 " tral bud, and those around it, have risen six or 

 " eight inches, a new leaf and a new leaf-bud 

 " rises on each of them, producing a second joint of 

 " the stem ; and lastly a flower-bud is generated 

 " at the summit, which are all evidently distinct 

 " vegetable beings, as there is a division across 

 " the stem at each joint, which shows there is no 

 " connexion of the pith or brain, or spinal mar- 

 " row, between the lower and upper joints. That 

 " a new bud thus constitutes each joint of the 

 " stem of Wheat and other grasses is further 

 " evinced ; first, by the existence of a leaf at each 

 " joint without a lateral bud in its axilla, as oc- 

 " curs in other vegetables : secondly, because for 

 " the nourishment of this new leaf-bud a reservoir 

 " of sweet juice is prepared in the new joint ; as 

 " in the bulbs of many plants : and thirdly, be- 

 " cause the lower leaf dies, and the sweet juice is 

 " absorbed, as the upper leaf becomes vegete *." 

 Setting aside the fanciful allusions to the brain and 

 spinal marrow, there is much plausibility in this 

 theory ; and it even appears supported by the ana- 

 tomy of the knots of these stems, as far as that can 



* Phytologia, sect. ix. 3, 1. 



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