ON THE STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF SREDS. J J 



ing vessels, taking advantage of this, swell out at the other 



side, giving the whole ?o c-ooked an appearance in many 



species as to be favourable to rhe supposition. But ao un- The holders. 



answerable argument against it is, that not oMe of the vessels, 



the radicle must contain, in order to perform its various 



offiqes of secretion, impulsion, &c-, is to be found in the 



holders, but all in the heart. This is truly the seat of life, 



or vital part of the embryo, for the time of its infancy: 



whereas the holders are a mere elongation of the seed lobes 



(which is easily proved by dissection) and a thick, strong, 



dry skin, till the nourishing vessels run on them; when they 



appear more moist, and increase in length very greatly 



about the time the embryo leaves the. seed. But the view 



of the drawings will prove the mistake sooner than all my 



arguments perhaps; and that 1 may not be accused of 



favouring my subject by my sketches, I shall borrow one 



from that excellent work of Dr. Smith's, it is an exact figure 



of the bean, and plainly shows the holders in their proper 



light. Dr. Smith not being his own dissector will account 



for his being also implicated in the mistake, for he marks Mistaken for 



the holders as the beginning of the radicle. Mirbel and ^he beginning 



1 f T • • T-v 1 IP ■ "-"^ radicle 



Wildenouw were also ot this opinion. Duhamel, after cail- by most botan- 

 jng them by a name synonimousto holders, seems to forget '^^^» 

 it, and finishes by marking them as the commencement of 

 the root. Discouraged at finding so many great men against 

 me, I had scarcely the resolution to seek in Grew for his except Cre\«r. 

 opinion; and was really delighted to find, that he thought 

 .the holders of so little consequence, as but just to mention 

 their retaining the lobes ; without giving any reason for it. 

 But no person can be deceived who will take a peach, 

 cherry, bean, grass, or any kind of seed, and draw off the 

 lobes ; for they will find no resistance to the separation ; and 

 a piece of thin skin will be seen to have covered the radicle 

 a little way down, and be very easily divided from it, break- 

 ing no vessels whatever. 



The next mistake I shall endeavour to rectify is that, Cotyledons 

 which supposes the cotyledons to nourish the younff plant ; ^'^''^"-""•'''J' 



•1 ,. • 11 r , , 'supposed to 



without recollecting, that they are a part ot the embryo, and nourish the 

 cannot therefore nourish themselves : a system absolutely yourig pJar.t, 

 contrary to the laws of nature. What, on this supposition, 



would 



