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THEORY OF THE METAMORPHOSIS OF 

 PLANTS. 



THE term theory is very commonly used to bemask 

 some wild fancy with the semblance of science ; and 

 I could not bring a stronger example of this than 

 what has been termed the metamorphosis of plants 1 , 

 as must at a glance appear to every reader endowed 

 with common sense. 



The doctrine in question is alleged to have ori- 

 ginated with Linnaeus, in 1759-60, but the distin- 

 guished German poet, Goethe, thinks very lightly 

 of the fancies which Linnaeus termed anticipation 2 , 

 while he claims the honour of discovering (inventing, 

 I should say) the doctrine of metamorphosis in 1790, 

 a doctrine of which De Candolle is the most dis- 

 tinguished disciple. 



The doctrine bears that every part of a plant con- 

 sists of " disguised leaves," and hence the boles 3 of the 

 stem, the flower-cup, the blossom, the stamens, and 

 pistils, with the seed vessels, and even fruits themselves, 

 are nothing but leaves in a state of disguise or meta- 

 morphosis. " They are all the same," says Von Mar- 



(1) Technically, Morphology. (2) Technically, Prolepsis. 

 (3) In Latin, Internodia. 



