CUTICLE, NAILS, HAIR AND FEATHERS. 277 



gan, accomplished. But whether does the nutri- 

 tious matter, in this final stage, add to the animal 

 texture by attaching itself to the interior surfaces 

 of the vessels which convey it, and of which the 

 different textures ultimately consist ? Or is it passed 

 through small orifices to the outsides of the vessels, 

 there to be expended on its proper object ? Or is 

 there a looseness of fabric at this stage of structure, 

 by virtue of which the minutely divided blood 

 passes and re-passes, to supply the place of what- 

 ever is decayed, leaving full room for the decayed 

 particles to proceed to the veins, to the contents of 

 which they move, either in consequence of mechani- 

 cal or of chemical arrangements, in order to be ex- 

 pelled from the body ? These are points which we 

 cannot determine. If the texture is thus loose, 

 the degree of its looseness is exquisitely adjusted to 

 the purposes of nutrition, as well as to the other 

 ends to which the organs are respectively adapted. 

 It is of such a determinate nature, that no room is 

 left for the transit of other matter across their sub- 

 stance. This adjustment is not purely mechanical, 

 nor purely chemical, nor a mixture of the two. It 

 is chiefly vital, and immediately dependent on the 

 activity of the functions ; for the same organs which 

 thus accurately perform their part, are quickly 

 changed at death ; — an event which deprives the 

 vessels of the power of retaining their fluids, and 

 allows transudation to take place in all directions. 



