and nitrogen, the residue of ashes alone affording 

 a small portion of other elements, chiefly alkalies. 

 Is there then any real difference between the 

 non locomotive animal and the non locomotive 

 plant? 



For a long time the answer to this question 

 was in the negative, and the world heard of the 

 links of the chain all through nature, the vege- 

 table, the animal, and the intellectual kingdoms 

 blending like prismatic colours, so intimately, 

 that it was impossible to mark the boundary. 

 But our inquirer, with the aid of modern research, 

 will not allow himself to be influenced by theo- 

 ries, however plausible ; he will expect to have 

 the means of proof ere he acquiesces in any 

 scientific view, and he will soon perceive one 

 marked difference between the plant and the 

 animal ; for the root of the former is furnished 

 with organs for the reception and assimilation of 

 nourishment, while that of the latter is a simple 

 means of attachment to one spot ; and the nou- 

 rishment, instead of being derived from the rock 

 on which it is fixed, floats to the mouth or mouths 

 of the rooted zoophyte, and is of a totally different 

 nature. The plant feasts on unorganized matter, 

 imbibed in & fluid state by the roots and leaves, 

 and never collected into any common receptacle ; 



