HISTOLOGY OF VEGETABLES. 
o 
O 
greatest possible aid is thus afforded to scientific medi- 
cine in the diagnosis of diseases, that in many cases 
would be undistinguishable without the assistance of 
this instrument. It would be easy to quote numerous 
examples of the utility of the microscope, in establishing 
a sound pathology, but it will suffice for my present 
purpose to cite urinary deposits and tumours, the 
nature of which is most readily determined by micro- 
scopic examination. 
Among those who have employed the microscope not 
only with the greatest assiduity, but with the utmost 
benefit both to science and their fellow-creatures, have 
been the members of the medical profession. It would 
be foreign to my purpose to point out the many advan- 
tages to be derived from a knowledge of the intimate 
structure of organized bodies, in health and disease, as 
this is amply demonstrated, not only by the publica- 
tions of the day, but also by the increasing demand in 
all parts of the globe for this kind of information. 
However striking the difference between an animal 
and a plant may seem at first sight in the higher 
groups, a more extended examination shows that 
animals and plants gradually approach each other as 
we descend in the scale until they meet in a common 
centre — the simple or individual cell. At this point, 
all means of distinction between the vegetable and 
animal organism end, and no feature exists which, in 
the present state of science, can enable even the most 
distinguished microscopist to determine to which of 
b 2 
