234 
Of Vegetables . 
of animate and inanimate creatures, are homogeneous 
and uniform; and that as the earth is the common ma¬ 
trix of plants, fc is the fallopian tube in moil of thofe 
animals that are formed ex femine mafculino ; for as thefe 
receive their nouriftiment, and increafe by a ftring, till 
they are brought into the world; fo are all feeds (at 
leaft as far as we know) fupported and nourifhed by a 
like ftring; and the feeds thrown into the ground, do 
again, by the fame firing, whereby they received their 
increafe, convey nourifliment to the feed or kernel. 
Of the feeds of venus looking-glafs, or corn 
violets. 
* 
IG 458. reprefents one of the feeds of corn-violets; 
X the feed is very fmall, black, and Alining, and to 
the naked eye looks almoft like a very fmall flea, but 
through the microfcope appears to be covered with a 
tough, thick, and bright, refledting fkin, very irregularly 
fhrunk, and pitted, that it is almoft impoflible to find out 
two of them wrinkled alike, fa great a variety there is 
even in this little feed. 
Of the feeds of thyme. 
^‘“JT'HESE little feeds, although they differ fomewhat 
in figure and bulk, yet when looked at through the 
microfcope, all of them exactly refemble a dried lemon, 
one of which is reprefented at fig. 459. fome of them 
are a little rounder, and of the fliape of an orange. They 
have each of them a confpicuous part, by which they are 
ioined to their little ftalks ; they are a little creafed or 
wrinkled, as is exprefied in the figure. 
Of 
