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LECTURE IL 
Neffaries of Plants. 
There are fome very common plants 
which, either from the natural ftruclure of 
their fructification, or from fome adventitious 
circumftance, are not eafy of inveftigation to 
the young ftudent. The houfe-leek ( Tem- 
per vivum teclorum), a plant of the clafs and 
order Dodecandria Dodecagynia, twelve fta- 
mens, twelve piftils, is fubjecl to fo extraor- 
dinary a change in it's parts of fructification 
as might nearly baffle an experienced botanift 
in the inquiry after it's genus. This perplex- 
ing appearance is accurately defcribed by 
Mr. Curtis from Haller, who has given a very 
minute account of this plant. It's filaments 
frequently, even while young, are evidently 
enlarged towards their ends, and throw out 
from their fubftance little oblong white cor- 
pufcles, like the eggs of fome infect : the 
filaments thus enlarged, are more glutinous 
than thofe in their natural ftate, and have 
their 
