34° Of [Vegetation. 



following years additional ringlets of wood 

 are not formed by a meerly horizontal 

 dilatation of the veffels j for it is not eafy to 

 conceive, how longitudinal fibres and tubu- 

 lar fap -veffels fhould thus be formed 5 but 

 rather by the fhooting of the longitudinal 

 fibres lengthways under the bark as young 

 fibrous fhoots of roots do, in the folid 

 Earth. The obfervations on the manner of the 

 growth of the ringlets of wood in Experi- 

 ment 46 (Fig. 30.) do further confirm this. 

 I intended to have made father refearches 

 into this matter by proper Experiments, but 

 have not yet found time for it. 



But whether it be by an horizontal or 

 longitudinal fhooting, we may obferve that 

 nature has taken great care to keep the parts 

 between the bark and wood always very 

 fupple with {limy moifture, from which 

 ductile matter the woody fibres, veficles and 

 buds are formed. 



Thus we fee that nature, in order to the 

 produ&ion and growth of all the parts of 

 animals and vegetables, prepares her duftilc 

 matter : In doing of which (he felefts and 

 combines particles of very different degrees 

 of mutual attraction, curioufly proportion- 



ing 



