LECTURE If. 



ON VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 



AT the opening* of the season, I had the honour 

 of reading to you an introductory paper on na- 

 tural history and the sciences ; in which I en- 

 deavoured, by concise illustrations, to impress 

 on your minds the advantages of studying those 

 subjects, and more especially such of them as 

 had an immediate reference to the objects of our 

 institution. Among these, the laws of the vegeta- 

 ble kingdom were made to hold an important 

 place; but as, from the limitation under which 

 I then laboured, I could only take a cursory 

 view of the subject, I propose to avail myself 

 of this opportunity of entering more largely into 

 its nature and import. 



When treating on any particular science, it is 

 usual to notice its origin and history. Upon the 

 present occasion, confined as I am to a single 

 lecture, such a measure becomes impracticable ; 

 and it is of the less importance, since you will 

 find the subject amply explained in most of the 



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