COLOR. 141 



leaf i? touched, the sides collapse, the hrisdes passincr each 

 oth«^r like the teeth ot a steel trap, tluis enoctnally holding any 

 insect that mav liglit upon its surface, and the more the in- 

 sect struiiiiles ior lil)ertv» the more closelv the leaf contracts. 



196. The effect of poison on plants is exhihited, hy move- 

 ments indicating their action. 



A solution of the o\yde of Arsenic, killed Reans, Ro. 

 ses, Lilacs, A:c., after an action of a few hours in the former 

 case, and in some days in the latter cases. Corosivc Subli- 

 mate, and various other mineral poisons produced similar ef- 

 fecls, but salts that are harmless to animals are so to vegeta- 

 bles. Vegetable poisons, such as Alcoiiol, Prussic acid, Bel- 

 ladonna, Laurehvater, and the like destroy the life of vegetables, 

 as they do that of animals. 



197. From numerous experiments of the most distinguished 

 physiologists, it is thought that the action of poisons operates 

 on vejretal)!es, throujih a svstem similar in its organization to 

 tliat of animals. Any one, seeing the effect of vegetable poi- 

 sons, on various plants, throwing them into apparent convul- 

 sions, and producing immediate deatii, without any disorgani- 

 zation of tile tissue, must confess that there is an endowment 

 of Munts, which the physiologist has as yet been unable sat- 

 isfactorily to attach to any appropriate aj)paratus. 



Sectio>( 10. Color. 



199. The products of no deparlment of nature have been 



more admired for the beauty of their colorings, and the variety 



of their tints, than those of ve^'etables. Flowers have ever been 



the noted examples of nature's penciling, and from their beauty 



in this respect they have been the subjects of the poets strains, 



" Who can paint 

 like nature ? Can imagination boast 

 Amid her gay creation, hues like hors ? 

 Or can she mix them with that matchless skill, 

 Ami l(»<e them in each other, as appears 

 In every bud that blows?" 



Our Savior with unequalled beauty, in his allusion to the 

 Lilif'S of tiie field, yields his as-ent to the same sentimenl. 



199. Tho various colors are supj)osed to have their origin 

 in a 8u!)stance, calleil Chromulc, and that the great variety of 

 hues presented in the vegetable kingdom, are j)roduced by the 

 .action of aci s and alkalis on the chromide. 



Chromulc in its natural slate is green, and by mace- 

 ration may be readily separated from the tissue, to which it 

 gives coloring. The grains of chromulc arc of an irregular 



