518 CASUALTIES OF VEGETABLES. CHAP. XII. 



with difficulty, as well as the assimilation of the 

 proper juice, the descent of which is almost totally 

 obstructed ; the bark becomes thick and woody, and 

 covered with Moss or Lichens ; the shoot becomes 

 stunted and diminutive; and the fruits palpably dege- 

 nerate, both in quantity and quality. The smaller or 

 terminal branches fade and decay the first, and then 

 the larger branches also, together with the trunk 

 and root; the vital principle gradually declines 

 without any chance of recovery, and is at last to- 

 tally extinguished ; while the solid mass of the 

 plant exposed to the chemical action of surrounding 

 substances, to which it now yields, withers and dies 

 away, presenting to the eye a decayed and rotten 

 appearance, and crumbling into dust from which it 

 originally sprang. Such is the transient duration of 

 the vegetable, and counter-part of animal life. 



END OF VOL. II. 



