SECT. XXXIX. 8. 4. GENERATION. 419 



could not be formed, as I formerly believed, from the roots of 

 the plume of the bud defcending from the upper part of the cau- 

 dex of it to the earth. A circumftance of great importance in 

 the inveftigation of the curious fubject of the lateral generation 

 of vegetables and of infects. 



One might hence fufpect, that if Blumenbachhad attended to 

 the propagation of the polypus, which he had compofed of two 

 half polypi, that the young progeny might have poffeffed two 

 colours refembling the compound parent, like the different cau- 

 dexes of ingrafted trees ; an experiment well worthy repeated 

 observation. 



4. Another animal fact ought alfo to be here mentioned, 

 that many infects, as common earth worms as well as the poly- 

 pus, are faid to poflefs fo much life throughout a great part of 

 their fyftem ; that they may be cut into two or more pieces 

 without deftroying them ; as each piece will acquire a new head, 

 or a new tail, or both, and the infect will thus become multi- 

 plied ! How exactly this is refembled by the long caudex of the 

 buds of trees j which poflefs fuch vegetable life from one ex- 

 tremity to the other, that when the head or plume is lopped off, 

 it can produce a new plume, and when the lower part is cut 

 off, it can produce new radicles j and may be thus wonderfully 

 multiplied ! 



This curious vegetable phenomenon is worthy our attention 

 and remembrance ; for as each filament of the new bark of a 

 tree conftitutes a caudex of an embryon bud -, when the fum- 

 mit of a twig is lopped off, which contained the plumules or em- 

 bryon leaves of many of them j each embryon caudex can gen- 

 erate new plumules or embryon leaves j and new radicles, when 

 the lower part of a twig is cut off, and the upper part planted ; 

 which demonftrates, that the primary parts of a vegetable em- 

 bryon may produce fecondary parts ; and that hence it is not 

 neceffary, that the whole of an animal fetus fhould be formed 

 at the fame time. 



5. Hence we acquire fome new and important ideas con- 

 cerning the lateral generation of vegetables, and which may 

 probably contribute to elucidate their fexual generation. Thefe 

 are, firft, that the parts of the long caudex of each new bud of 

 an ingrafted tree, and confequently of all trees, are feparated 

 or fecreted from the correfpondent or adjoining parts of the 

 long caudex of the lail year's bud, which was its parent. And 

 not tjiat it confifts of the roots of each new bud (hot down from 

 the plumula or apex of it ; as I formerly fuppofecl. And that 

 thefe various molecules or fibrils fecreted from >the caudex of 

 the lad year's buds adjoin and grow together beneath the cuticle 



of 



