66 MORPHOLOGY. 



and co-ordination of the parts of the organized body, 

 namely, that exemplified in an evolution from centre to 

 circumference. (See Virey, Philosophic de 1'Histoire 

 Naturelle ; and Baer, Evolutio omnis e centre ad peri- 

 pheriam tendit. 



9. The law of equiponderation is seen governing 

 the disposition of the several parts, so that it results 

 that if one part is exaggerated, its opposing one is de- 

 bilitated according to the laws of an inevitable antago- 

 nism, though the equilibrium of the organized body, as 

 a whole, is endeavoured to be preserved by a pondera- 

 tion of something else, though that of a part of it may 

 be destroyed. For instance, in Atropa Belladonna it 

 may seem that one leaf of the pair is larger than its 

 opposed one, whilst the small leaf of the pair above is 

 over this large one, and not all the small leaves and all 

 the large leaves over each other. 



10. Most of the organized bodies on the globe of 

 which a single individual is endowed with both sexes, 

 effect a radiating form in general, (La forme rayonnante 

 of the French writers), as is seen in the flower of plants, 

 and among certain of the lower animals. 



1 1 . Besides the radiating tendency, in all is seen the 

 spiral disposition of the several parts upon the axis 

 both in plants and animals, as shown by Brown and 

 Schimper in the one case, and Mandl in the other. 



12. Suppose we mark one leaf in a plant with the 

 fraction 0, and then those that succeed it with 1 2345, 

 &c., and then trace up from the base of the leaf to 

 that of the others, we shall find we are describing a 

 spire, and that after a certain number of turns of it 

 another leaf is found placed exactly over the one we 

 marked ; suppose that this ensued in 1 3 turns round 

 the axis, we then say -U. for a numerator ; and that 

 from the leaf to the opposite one there existed 34 

 leaves, we then place -^ as a denominator, so that ^f 

 represents the rule of the spire. 



13. In regard to the animal kingdom we may re- 



