157 



is scattered. If a quantity of this be laid on a paper, 

 the seminal vesicles burst, and are' seen by a mi- 

 croscope, projecting the seeds to a considerable dis- 

 tance. 



The seeds of the several species of Fern, were whol- 

 ly unknown to th& ancients. But it is now well known 

 that in the female Fern, the whole surface of the leaf 

 on the under side is covered with a congeries of seeds,so 

 that they guard one another, and need no other co- 

 vering. And in the common male fern, there are 

 found at the proper season, several brown spots, placed 

 in a very regular manner. These are a fungous 

 matter, round which the small seed vessels are in- 

 serted. 



The fruitfulness of plants, in producing seed, tran- 

 scends all imagination. An elm living a hundred 

 years, ordinarily produces thirty-three* millions ofseeds. 

 Add, that if its head be cut off, it puts forth as many 

 branches within half an inch of the place where it 

 was cut as it had before. And at whatever height it 

 is cut <.ff, the effect will be the same. Hence it ap- 

 pears that the whole trunk, from the ground to the 

 rise of the branches, is full of embryo- branches, each 

 of which will actually spring forth, if the head be 

 lopped oft' just over it. Now if these had sprung 

 out they would have borne an equal number of seeds 

 with those that did. These seeds therefore are already 

 contained in them ; and if so, the tree really con. 

 tains 15 810,000,000 seeds, wherewith to multiply 

 itself as many times. But what shall we say, if each 

 seed contain another tree, containing the same num. 

 ber of seeds ? And if we can never come, either at a 

 seed whicn does not contain trees, or a tree which 

 does not contain seed. 



Timber-trees of any kind, might certainly be 

 planted to more advantage than t -y g -u -rally are. 

 There is a forest two miles from St. Loe in iNorman- 

 dy, planted chiefly with oaks, many u; wiucu are 

 but of a moderate height, though of a large circum- 

 ference, jBut near its entrance from St. Loe> thm 



