78 



lands is, their having abstracted tliose 

 peculiar inorganic constituents necessary 

 to them, — not their having deposited a 

 suicidal poison from their roots, and thus 

 forming cases of vegetable " felo de se." 



The organs of absorption of the roots 

 of wheat, beans, potatoes, turnips, or 

 mangel wurzel, cabbage, and lucern or 

 sainfoin, probably differ as much as the 

 internal and external structure of the roots 

 and plants ; and, besides, searching for 

 their inorganic constituents at different 

 levels in the soil, they may probably be 

 only capable of taking up those adapted 

 to their peculiar constitution. 



In farther reference to Liebig's opinions, 

 that the proper juices, the various pe- 

 culiar acids, and the organic salts, found 

 as carbonates in the ashes of plants, and 

 formed by the combination of the alka- 

 line bases, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, 

 with the peculiar organic acids of plants, 

 play an essential part in the functions 



