22 Anatomy of the Vine. 



So far my remarks have been directed nearly exclusively to 

 the vessels of a division, to simplify the description of those of 

 a collet ; and the vessels have been traced from the collet to 

 the commencement of the claw, as in Jig. 3. z, where they are 

 supposed to have extended themselves to the outside of the 

 shoot beyond the other divisions of i k I m. 



I will now endeavour to describe the beautiful simplicity by 

 which Nature arranges the union of the continued vessels of 

 six of these divisions to form the stalk and leaf. Fig. 2. repre- 

 sents their outward appearance at efg h i k, where they 

 form the base of the footstalk of a leaf; and we will further 

 suppose e to have extended itself in a horizontal direction 

 from the place at z Jig. 3. toward x in Jig 2. As the vessels 

 of one division would not have been sufficient of themselves to 

 form an entire leaf, nor could one set have been placed suffi- 

 ciently firm on the outside of the joint, those of another divi- 

 sion extend themselves in like manner from the opposite side 

 of the joint from k toward x as vn^fig. 2. $ these are further 

 added to and strengthened by two others, acting also as clasp- 

 ers, as at f «", and the centre of the base is firmly secured by 

 two more immediately underneath, which give strength to the 

 other four claws, and give also an additional number of vessels 

 at g h. The vessels of the six divisions, when thus united, 

 form the footstalk of the leaf, and, by their further continu- 

 ation from thence, produce the stalk, as well as the leaf. It is 

 difficult in a drawing like Jig. 2. to convey an accurate idea, 

 that the base of the footstalk of the leaf has no support or con- 

 nection, but from the vessels of the six divisions. On the left 

 hand side of the drawing, a vascular bundle is divested of its 

 cuticle and cellular texture, to show that it runs directly un- 

 derneath the claw of e, from the bottom to the top ; and, on 

 the opposite side, I have represented a spear-pointed knife un- 

 derneath the two claws % k. Such an operation on the plant 

 would have only cut through its cuticle, but not the perpen- 

 dicular vessels of the shoot underneath the knife, which are 

 independent of the claws, as much so, as if no part of them 

 had been covered by the claws. 



In Jig. 2. the outside clasping claws of e and Jc appear as if 

 they arose from the collet exactly across the centre ; but they 

 commence considerably behind, that they may possess more 

 power to hold the base of the stalk of the leaf. In some leaves 

 that have no stalk, but arise immediately from the joint, the 

 claws do not require such extra means to hold them. But 

 where the stalk is very thick and heavy, and the leaves ex- 

 tremely large, as those on the stem of the garden rhubarb 

 (ifti^um rhaponticum) gone to seed, their claws nearly touch 



