wood vessels. 



^ ON THE INTERIOR BUDS OF ALL PLANTS. 



the leaves of this plant. As soon as the midrib of the leaf 

 is complteted, and the quantity of vessels for weaving the 

 first row of the cross work of the leaf is finished ; it is all 

 rolled together into a spike, and this spike is surrounded by 

 immense hairs, as shown at AA, fij?. I, PI. I. (B B repre- 

 sents one of the hairs much magnified). These soon draw- 

 plenty of moisture to mix with the juices to form the pabu- 

 lum of the leaf. The hairs then disappear, the part unrolls, 

 and the leaf begins to weave itself, as at C D, fig. 2. All 

 this time the root is plain and simple, and the pith of the 

 stem (though frequently crossed by the line of life) showing 

 nothing beside, but its own original figure; and though but 

 afimali part of the stem is yet formed, it is employed with 

 all its forces, and juices, in rolling and unrolling the leaf. 

 But no sooner is the weaving of the leaf finished, than the 

 shooting of the bud in the root begins ; the knots are soon 

 formed on the line of life, within the centre of the root; the 

 Buds pass ends bicak, and two buds shoot from each knot ; they 

 through the pass through part of the wood in the root, and then disap- 

 pear; for each row of bud has its appropriate wood vessels, 

 up which it then passes. It should seem, that all the pen- 

 tandriadigynia plants appear to have too much flower for the 

 wood vessels to contain, nature therefore has recourse to aa 

 expedient of a very curious kind: the pith is divided into 

 compartments by the line of life; and at each compartment 

 the buds are pressed out of the vessel, and ranged across the 

 plant. All thepentandrla digynia tribe are umbelliferous, 

 and sTioot at different times (but at very short intervals) small 

 collections of flowers. It will be seen therefore, that nature 

 already prepares them for the purpose ; dividing them in the 

 stalk as they are to shoot. With what art, what exquisite 

 beauty, nature has managed to keep the pith still in the 

 middle 'of the stem, in order to retain that moisture neces- 

 sary to the shooting such a quantity of buds; and yet con- 

 trived to secure plenty of room for those buds to spread, 

 and come to perfection : dividing the stalk in umbels as 

 they are afterward to shoot into flowers ! See fig. 2, E, F, G^ 

 the different di visions ; H the line of life: I the pith. When 

 the buds were in the root, they were scattered in a careless 

 manner, and moving in the same direction as they do in the 



wood 



