SécrR En I VESSELS. 21
ever-green trees and deciduous jones, and after the fummit of the plant is cut off. 9. Umbil cal veffels and abjorbents een 1n a vine-ffalk, the latter exterior to the
former. Exiff in tbe alburnum.
E vith the egos of animals, and contain, like them, not only the rudi-
PA Si. 5 I. 1. THE feeds of vecctables are a fexual offspring correfponding
ment of the new organization, but alfo a quantity of aliment laid up for its early nourifhment.
The eggs of birds contain two kinds of albumen, or white, one lefs vifcid than the other, which is firft confumed, and the yo olk or vitellum, which is drawn up into the bowels of the chick at its ex- clufion from the fhell, and ferves it for nourifhment a day or two, till it can learn to felect and digeft grains or infects. In like manner many feeds are furnifhed with two kinds of nourifhment, the muci- laginous or oily meal of the feed-lobes, and the faccharine or acefcent pulp of the fr uit, as in pears, plums, cucumbers, which fupply nu- triment to the embryon plant, til Il it is able to ftrike into the earth fuf- ficient roots for the purpofe of abl orbing its nutritious juices.
The fpawn of fifh, and of frogs, and of infects, as of fnails and bees, which are almoft as innumerable as the feeds of plants, and are in the {ame manner excited into life by the warmth of the fun, are analo- sous to thofe feeds, I believe, which are not furrounded with fruit, and which contain but one kind of nourifhment for the embryon plant, as grains of corn, and legumes; but perhaps thefe have not yet been fufcientl y attended to by philofophers.
Thefe eggs of animals and feeds of vegetables are produced by the congrefs of male and female organs; the former fupplying the fpeck of animation or cicatricula in the egcgs and the corculum or heart in the feed; and the latter producing the nidus, or neft for its recep- tion, and the nutritive material for its firft fupport. Thus the ecss of fowls are formed,.long before they are impregnated, and are fome- times laid in their uni cent ftate; and the feeds of legumes are
vifi ble