588 THE REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS. 



facility, when by accident they have been lost- 

 Among Mammalia, similar powers exist, although 

 they are restricted within much narrower limits; 

 as is exemplified in the formation of new bones, 

 replacing those which have perished. When 

 we advert to the numberless instances of the 

 reparation of injuries happening to various parts 

 of our own frame, we have abundant reason to 

 admire and be grateful for the wise and bountiful 

 provisions which Nature has made for meeting 

 these contingencies. 



The multiplication of the species by buds, or 

 Gemmiparous reproduction, is exemplified on the 

 largest scale in the vegetable creation. Almost 

 every point of the surface of a plant appears to 

 be capable of giving rise to a new shoot, which, 

 when fully developed, exactly resembles the 

 parent stock, and may, therefore, be regarded as 

 a separate organic being. The origin of buds is 

 wholly beyond the sphere of our observation ; 

 for they arise from portions of matter too minute 

 to be cognizable to our organs, with every 

 assistance which the most powerful microscopes 

 can supply. These imperceptible atoms, from 

 which organic beings take their rise, are called 

 germs. 



Vegetable germs are of two kinds ; those 

 which produce stems, and those which produce 

 roots; and although both may be evolved from 

 every part of the plant, the former are usually 



