CHAP. I. THE ROOT. 30 



ment, a violent attachment to the wearer in the 

 breast of any one he pleased. And this belief is still 

 a vulgar error among the ignorant and supersti- 

 tious ; though the sinking of the one knob, and the 

 swimming of the other, have been accounted for from 

 the regular operation of natural causes, and the mys- 

 tery and magic charm of the phenomenon altogether 

 dissolved. 



From the swimming knob which was generated in 

 the course of the preceding year, the plant of the 

 present year, together with the sinking knob, has 

 sprung ; but by this means the substance of the swim- 

 ming knob has become exhausted, and specifically 

 lighter than water, and on this account it swims. The 

 sinking knob, which is still firm and solid, is of 

 course specifically heavier than the water, and on 

 this account it sinks ; but in the succeeding year 

 it also will produce a new plant and knob, and will 

 then become the swimming knob itself, and fade and 

 decay in its turn. 



Sometimes the knobs are palmate, that is, consist- 

 ing of several divisions that have in the aggregate a 

 slight resemblance in shape to thatof the human hand, 

 an example of which variety may be seen in the root 

 of Orchis latifolia. Sometimes they are arranged in 

 clusters, of which the individuals are cylindrical, as in 

 the root ofOphrys Nidus avis or Bird's-nest Ophrys. 

 Sometimes they are crowded together in clusters of 

 which the individuals are small and globular, as in 

 the root ofSajrifraga granulata or White Saxifrage ; 



