66 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



from Montpellier, in 1878, and which is prefaced by an 

 account of the life and labors of Malpighi. 



Anatomy of Plants. — Malpighi's anatomy of plants con- 

 stitutes one of his best, as well as one of his most extensive 

 works. In the folio edition of his works, 1675-79, the 

 Anatome Plantarum occupies not less than 152 pages and 

 is illustrated by ninety-three plates of figures. It comprises 

 an exposition of the structure of bark, stem, roots, seeds, the 

 process of germination, and includes a treatise on galls, etc., 

 etc. 



In this work the microscopic structure of plants is amply 

 illustrated, and he anticipated to a certain degree the ideas on 

 the cellular structure of plants. Burnett says: "His obser- 

 vations appear to have been very accurate, and not only did 

 he maintain the cellular structure of plants, but also declared 

 that it was composed of separate cells, which he designated 

 ' utricles.' : Thus did he foreshadow the cell theory of plants 

 as developed by Schlciden in the nineteenth century. When 

 it came to interpretations, he made several errors. Applying 

 his often-asserted principle of analogies, he concluded that 

 the vessels of plants are organs of respiration and of circula- 

 tion, from a certain resemblance that they bear to the breath- 

 ing-tubes of insects. But his observations on structure are 

 good, and if he had accomplished nothing more than this 

 work on plants he would have a place in the history of botany. 



Work in Embryology. — Difficult as was his task in insect 

 anatomy and plant histology, a more difficult one remains to 

 be mentioned, viz., his observations of the development of 

 animals. He had pushed his researches into the finer struc- 

 ture of organisms, and now he attempted to answer this 

 question : How does one of these organisms begin its life, 

 and by what series of steps is its body built up? He turned 

 to the chick, as the most available form in which to get an 

 insight into this process, but he could not extend his obser- 



