66 
continued succession of the different vegetable 
tribes. It is a feature which extends the resem- 
blances of the different orders of beings, and esta- 
blishes, on a great scale, the beautiful analogy of 
nature. 
The ancients had observed, that different date 
trees bore different flowers, and that those trees 
producing flowers which contained pistils bore no 
fruit, unless in the immediate vicinity of such trees 
as produced flowers containing stamens. This 
long-established fact strongly impressed the mind 
of Malpighi, who ascertained several analogous 
facts with regard to other vegetables. Grew, how- 
ever, was the first person who attempted to gene- 
ralize upon them, and much just reasoning on the 
subject may be found in his works. Linnaeus gave 
a scientific and distinct form to that which Grew 
had only generally observed, and has the glory of 
establishing what has been called the sexual sys- 
tem, upon the basis of minute observations and 
accurate experiments. 
The seed , the last production of vigorous vege- 
tation, is wonderfully diversified in form. Being 
of the highest importance to the resources of na- 
ture, it is defended above all other parts of the 
plant ; by soft pulpy substances, as in the escu- 
lent fruits, by thick membranes, as in the legumi- 
nous vegetables, and by hard shells, or a thick 
epidermis, as in the palms and grasses. 
In every seed there is to be distinguished, 1. the 
organ of nourishment ; 2. the nascent plant, or the 
plume ; 3 . the nascent root, or the radicle . 
In the common garden bean, the organ of nou- 
