92 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I, 



of flowers; the variety of insects to be found 

 in the seeds and fruits of plants; and the 

 book worm, the mito, siro, &c., in the most 

 compact wood, and in the most confined re- 

 cesses of the bark of the trees, and that with- 

 out the assistance of decomposition. This 

 tlieory was certainly novel, and the facts 

 adduced to support it numerous and interest- 

 ing. But had the doctor been aware of the 

 existence of those linear organic, though to 

 our sight, imperceptible objects, now known 

 to exist in all matter, and which are evidently 

 the principle of vitality, he would, I am per- 

 suaded, have reversed his position; and, in- 

 stead of maintaing that insects were formed 

 by plants, admitted that plants owed their 

 vital energies to a race of animated little be- 

 ings, which, as we have seen, hold so import- 

 ant a place in the economy of nature. 



We have been particular in noticing the 

 results of vegetable infusions, because they 

 furnish a better connected train of simple 

 facts than any other results whatever. But 

 if animal matter is subjected to the same 

 process, changes are met with scarcely dif- 

 fering from those obtained by vegetable infu- 

 sions. When a small portion of animal mat- 

 ter is infused in a wine glass of water, the 

 water will, in a short time, be filled with little 

 linear bodies, which in a few days increase 

 to a larger and globular shape. These after- 

 wards assume a form of a still larger kind, 

 and somewhat elongated. 



We have endeavored to show that the en- 

 ergy, which so strikingly displays itself in 

 the process of infusion, is also plainly recog- 

 nized in the leaves and stems of vegetables; 

 and if we attentively examine the larger ani- 

 malcules of infusion, and compare them with 

 some of the lower links of animals, we shall 

 see that they strongly approximate with each 

 other in their general character. The larva 

 of flies, for instance, is peculiarly illustrative 

 ot this character. If a puncture is made in 

 their external coating, nearly the whole of 

 their internal parts will quit them in a liquid 

 form, and if this fluid matter is instantly ex- 

 amined by the microscope, it will be found 

 full of small active linear bodies, similar to 

 those obtained by infusion. The same result 

 is discoverable if we subject the mites of 

 cheese and small flies to a similar inspection. 

 If we ascend to higher links in the scale, and 

 even refer to man, we shall be satisfied that 

 several changes which take place in the hu- 

 man frame, are influenced by the same prin- 

 ciple. 



To illustrate this, let a small portion of 

 human blood be examined by the microscope, 

 and we shall find the same vital appearances 

 obtained from the inferior classes of animated 

 beings. This fact is in unison with the 

 general views of the celebrated John Hunter, 



who observes, " I had long suspected that 

 the principle of life was not wholly confined 

 to animals or animal substances endowed 

 with visible organization, and spontaneous 

 motion ; I conceived that the same principle 

 existed in animal substances devoid of appa- 

 rent organization and motion, where there 

 existed simply the powers of preservation." 

 Murray, in speaking of what are termed 

 animal secretions, remarks: "From the 

 description of this process, it is evident that 

 it consists of a series of chemical actions ; 

 but if we endeavor to investigate how these 

 are effected, or inquire by what law these 

 new chemical powers are formed, we find 

 ourselves engaged in a task of the most diffi- 

 cult kind." It is evident that these eminent 

 writers, as well as many others who have 

 treated on the same subject, were aware of 

 the difficulties in attending it; and they very 

 properly inferred, on irresistible evidence, 

 that a vital energy must be concerned in these 

 processes, though they scarcely made an at- 

 tempt to point out the manner or principle by 

 which this force brought about the results in 

 question. 



Tise Koek gauiphire. 



Botanical topography, which treats of the 

 stations as well as of the habitations of vege- 

 tables, is a subject not wholly without in- 

 terest and value. It is well known that very 



Tlie Rock Snmphire— ri?. \^. 



difl^erent plants abound in different soils; 

 that some grow on land, and fome in water ; 



