V E G 
W the earth: The earth, like a kind mother, having 
received it into her bofom, does not only perform the 
office of incubation, by her own warm vapours and 
exhalations, in cohjun&ion with the heat of the fun, 
but gradually fupplies what the feed requires to its 
farther growth, as abounding every wherewith canals 
and fmufes, in which the dew and rain water, impreg- 
nated with fertile falts, glide like the chyle and blood 
in the arteries, &c. of animals. 
This moiffure, meeting with new-depofited feed, is 
percolated or ftrained through the pores or pipes of 
the outer rind or hulk, anfwering to the lecundines 
v of fcetufes, on the infide whereof lie one more, com- 
monly two, thick feminal leaves correfponding to the 
placenta in women, and the cotyledons in brutes: 
The feed-leaves confift of a great number of little ve- 
ficute or bladders, with a tube correfponding to the 
navel-ftrings in animals. 
The moifture of the earth, ftrained through the rind 
of the feed, is received into thefe veficulae, which 
caufes a flight fermentation with the proper juice be- 
fore contained therein. 
This fermented liquor is conveyed by the umbilical 
vefifel to the trunk of the little plant, and to the gem 
or bud which is contiguous to it, upon which a Vege- 
tation and increafe of the plant fuceeed. 
This procedure in the Vegetation of plants, the afore- 
faid author exemplifies in a grain of Wheat as follows: 
The firft day the grain is fown, it grows a little tur- 
gid, and the fecundine or hulk gapes a little in feve- 
ral places •, and the body of the plant, being continued 
by the umbilical veflel to a conglobated leaf (which 
is called the pulp or flefh of the feed, and is what con- 
ftitutes the flour) lwells, by which means, not only the 
gem or fprout (which is to be the future ftem) opens 
and increafes, but the roots begin to bunch out, 
whence the placenta or feed-leaf, becoming loofe, 
gapes. 
Thefecond day, the fecundine or hulk, being broken 
through the ftem or top of the future ftraw, appears 
on the outfide thereof, and grows upward by degrees. 
In the mean time, the feed-leaf, guarding the roots, 
becomes turgid with its vifculas, and puts forth a white 
down, and the leaf being pulled away, you fee the 
roots of the plant bare, the future bud, leaves, and 
the reft of the ftalk lying ftill hid. Between the roots 
and the afcending ftem, the trunk of the plant is knit 
by the navel-knot to the flower-leaf, which is very 
moift, though it ftill retains its white colour, and its 
natural tafte. 
The third day the pulp of the conglobated or round 
leaf becomes turgid with the juice it has received from 
the earth fermenting with its own. 
Thus the plant increales in bignefs, and in its bud or 
ftem becomes taller, and from whitifh turns greenifh. 
The lateral roots alfo break forth greenilh and pyra- 
midal, from the gaping fheaf, which adheres clofely 
to the plant, and the lower roots grow longer and 
hairy, with many fibres growing out of the fame. 
Indeed, there are hairy fibres hanging all along on 
all the roots, except on the tops, and thefe fibres are 
feen to wind about the faline particles of the foil, or 
little lumps of earth, &c. like Ivy, whence they grow 
curled. About the lateral roots there now break out 
two other little ones. 
The fourth day the ftem, mounting upwards, makes 
a right angle with the feminal leaf. The laft roots put 
forth more, and the other three, growing larger, are 
clothed with more hairs, which ftraitly embrace the 
lumps of earth, and where they meet with any vacu- 
ity, unite in a kind of net-work. The conglobate or 
flower-leaf, is now fofter, and, when bruifed, yields 
a white fweetifh juice, like Barley cream. By (trip- 
ping it off, the root and ftem of the plant are plainly 
feen, 'with the intermediate navel-knot, whofe outer 
part is folid like a bark, and in the inner more loft and 
medullary. 
The fifth day the ftalk, ftill rifing, puts forth a per- 
manent or {table leaf, which is green and folded. The 
roots grow longer, and there appears a new tumour 
V E G 
of a future root •, the outer or (Heath is loofcned, and 
the feed-leaf left begins to fade. 
The fixth day the (table -leaf being loofened, the plant 
mounts upwaids, the jlieaf ftill cleaving round it 
lme a baix. The iced-leaf is now feen finuous or 
Wrinkled, and faded ; and this being freed or cue 
from the fecundine, the flefh or pericarpium is found 
of a different texture, the outer .part, whereby the out- 
ride of the feed or grain is heaped up, being more So- 
lid, but the infide vifcular, and full of humour, efoe- 
cially that part next the navel-knot. All the leaves 
being pulled off, the roots torn, and the flower-leaf 
removed, the trunk appears, wherein, not far from 
the roots, the navel-knot bunches out, which is folid, 
and hard cut ; above there is a mark of the fheath- 
leaf, which was pulled off, and underneath, as in an 
arm- pit, the gem is often hid the hind part of the 
plant (hews the breaking forth of the roots likewife, 
with the faded placenta, &c. 
After the eleventh day the feed-leaf, as yet ftickino- 
to the plant, is crumpled, and almoft corrupted ; witffi 
in it is hollow, and about the fecundine, the mucus 
and white fubftance of the feed, being continued to 
the navel-knot forms a cavity ; all the roots, becom- 
ing longer, put forth new branches out of their fides. 
The fecond leaf withers, and its vehicles are emptied ; 
the internddes or fpaces between the knots orow 
longer, new gems appear, and the middle root grows 
feveral inches longer. 
After a month, the roots and ftalk being grown much 
longer, new buds break out at the firft knot, and lit- 
tle tumours bunch out, which, at length, break out 
into roots. 
As to the vegetable matter, or the food where the 
plants grow, there is feme doubt ; it hath been a ge- 
neral opinion among almoft all the modem naturalifts. 
That the Vegetation of plants, and even of minerals 
too, is principally owing to water, which not only 
ferves as a vehicle to convey to them the fine rich 
earth, &c. proper for their nourifhment, but being 
tranfmuted into the body of the plant, affords the 
greateft part, if not all the matter with which they 
are nourifhed, and by which they grow gnd increafe 
in bignefs. This opinion is countenanced by very 
great names, particularly by the ingenious Dr. Wood- 
ward, who, in order to afeertain this point, made the 
following experiments : 
In the firft place, he carefully examined all forts of 
water, and found that the cleared: fine fpring water, 
which he could any where meet with, exhibited even 
to the naked eye great numbers of exceeding fmall 
terreftrial particles, and that all other crafter* waters 
had thefe in yet much greater quantity, and alfo, that 
they were of a larger bulk. 
He found this terreftrial matter contained in all wa- 
ter to be of two kinds, the one properly a vegetable 
matter, but confiding of very different particles, feme 
of which are very proper for the nourifhment of feme 
kinds of plants, others for different forts, &c. The 
other kind of earthy matter he found to be purely of 
a mineral nature, and this alfo was of very various and 
different kinds. 
The former fort of vegetable earthy matter abounds 
plentifully in all waters, but for the mineral, it is 
found moftly in fpring water, next to that, in river 
water, and leaft of all, in rain water, though even 
there alfo it is to be found plentifully. 
This fact, he fays, any one may difeover, by only 
keeping water for a competent time without ftirring 
it, in a clear glafs phial, clofely flopped to keep out 
duft, &c. for then he will obferve that thefe very 
fmall terreftrial particles, which before were' fear cel'y 
vifible fingly, will now combine together into large 
and more confpicuous maffes, which, by degrees, will 
join together, and form clouds, as it were, in the wa- 
ter, which will grow daily more and more ooa- 
cous and thick by the continual accefiion of new mat- 
ter ; and if the earthy matter in the water be chiefly 
of the vegetable kind, it will turn the water green, 
the ufual colour of vegetables, and this will grow 
deeper 
