82 LIFE IN NATUEE. 



bears its pre-eminence. The living matter were of 

 little avail without the vital form. To no purpose 

 were the forces of nature (grasped, as we can hardly 

 help thinking, in a living and friendly hand) modi- 

 fied into the vital mode of action, and directed to 

 the production of the marvellous organic substance, 

 if a power were not present to receive and tend it, 

 to mould it into beauty for delight, and knit it into 

 strength for use. 



And what this power is, a little observation will 

 reveal to us. It may be traced in every wayside 

 plant, and lies hidden in every bud. Fig. 7, for 



example, represents a leaf of the Potentilla. The 

 reader will observe that, while the central leaflet is 

 nearly symmetrical, the two lateral leaflets are very 



