VEGETABLE ORGANIZATION. 71 



sented in every part of the vegetable kingdom, whether they 

 be considered with reference to their direct utility for the 

 support of individual life, and the continuance of the species, 

 or whether they be viewed as component parts of that beau- 

 ty which is spread over the scenery of nature, and is so de- 

 lightfully refreshing to the eye of every beholder alive to 

 its fascinating charms. How enchanting are all the varieties 

 of flowers, that decorate in gay profusion every part of the 

 garden of creation; and into which the farther we carry our 

 philosophic scrutiny, the more forcibly will our hearts be 

 impressed with the truth of the divine appeal that " Even 

 Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one 



OF THESE." 



§ 3. Development of Vegetables. 



Farther proofs of design may be collected from an ex- 

 amination into the modes in which these structures, so 

 admirably adapted to their objects, have been gradually 

 formed. Confining our attention to vascular plants, in which 

 the process of development has been studied with the great- 

 est attention and success, we find that Nature has pursued 

 two different plans in conducting their growth.* In the 

 greater number, the successive additions to the substance of 

 the stem are made on the exterior side of the parts from 

 ^ which they proceed. This mode is adopted in what are 

 called Exogenous ])lants. In others, the growth is the re- 

 sult of additions made internally; a plan which is followed 

 in all Endogenous plants. The Oak, the Elm, the Beech, 

 the Pine, and all the trees of these northern resiions, belons 

 to the first of these divisions. The Palm tribe, such as the 

 Date, the Cocoa-nut tree, and, indeed, a large proportion of 

 the trees of tropical climates, together with the sugar-cane, 

 the bamboo, and all gramineous and liliaceous plants, belong 

 to the latter. We shall first inquire into the endogenous 



• The tribe oii Filices, or ferns, the structure of which is vascular, consti- 

 tutes an exception to this rule: as they differ in their mode of development, 

 both from exogenous and endogenous plants. 



