LETTER XYII. 



179 



germinate both of them apart from the parent plant, 

 and give rise each of them to an organism which has 

 no connection with that plant. 



5. Dr Carpenter's language, in fact, however well it 

 may serve to convey his meaning, is expressive of no 

 essential difference between the seed and the bud. It 

 would serve equally well, in an argument directed 

 against the doctrine of the " spontaneous generation " 

 of living beings, to express the fact, that, while, as far 

 as our knowledge yet extends, all living beings come 

 of a germ, this germ originates in no other way than as 

 an extension — a continuous product of a pre-existing 

 living being. It is such language as Cuvier might 

 have introduced into the beautiful passage which 1 

 have placed at the head of this letter. He might 

 have *said, — Jusqu'a present pour nous, la vie ne 

 nait que de la vie — ' et comme une extension de la 



, vie nous la voyons se transm^ettre — ' et comme pro- 

 duit continue de la vie,' — jamais se produire." 



6. In the second place, what is there in the seed 

 that is not equally in the bud ? What can the seed 

 evolve that the bud cannot evolve also ? Nay, the 

 bud can do all that the seed can, and more. It can 

 equally with it reproduce the species, and it can repro- 

 duce also its own variety of the species, which the seed 

 seldom does, and for which at least it can never be 

 relied on. 



7. What difference is there, either in their own 



