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644 BOX Thefe are the fentiments of the principal botanifts with regard to the generation of plants, till the celebrated Linnaeus made his appearance as a botanical writer, who has extended the idea fo far as to compofe a complete fyllem upon it. Although Linnaeus can have no claim to the fuppofed difcovery of the fexual hypothefis, his being precifely the fame with that of Dr Grew; yet, as he is the chief fupporter and improver of this doftrine, we fliall give a fuccinft narration of the arguments he makes ufe of in order to prove that vegetables propagate their fpecies by a regular commerce of fexes. In a treatife, intitled, Sponfalia Plantarum, publifhed as an inaugural difl'ertation by Wahlbom, in the firft volume of the Avicenitates Academic#, all the arguments made ufe of by Linnseus in hi$ Fundamenta Botanica and other works, are collected and arranged in one view. But as Wahlbom honeftly attributes ail the merit ofghis di/Tertation to his great mailer, we lhall here drop his name altogether, and give the arguments as the property of Linnaeus, by whom they were originally employed. Linnaeus, then, firlt attempts to Ihow, that vegetables are endowed with a certain degree of animal life; and, fecbndly, that they propagate their fpecies in a, manner limilar to that of animals. , “ That vegetables are really animated beings,” fays he, “ mull be obvious at firft fight; becaufe they poffefs all the properties contained in thaLaccurate definition of life laid down by the great Dr Harvey, namely, Pita eji fporttanea propulfio humorum. But univerfal experience teaches, that vegetables propel humours or juices : Hence it is plain that vegetables mull be endowed with a certain degrees of animal life.” Not trufting*folely to a fyllogifin founded on a definition, Linnseus proceeds to fupport the life of vegetables by arguments drawn from the following particulars in their oeconomy; the firlt of which he intitles “ Nutritio.—The very idea of nutrition implies a propulfion of humours, and, of courfe, the idea of life. But vegetables derive their nourilhment from the earth, air, ere. and confequently mull be confidered as living creatures. “ 2. JEtas.—Every animal mull not only begin to exill, and have that exillence difiblved by death, but mull likewife pafs through a number of intermediate changes in its appearance and afFeiSions. Infancy, youth, manhood, old ape, are char after!fed by imbecillity, beauty, fertility, dotage', are not all thefe viciffitudes conipicuous in the vegetable world? Weak and tender in infancy ; beautiful and falacious in youth; grave, robult, and fruitful in manhood; and when old age approaches, the head droops, the fprings of life dry up, and, in fine, the poor tottering vegetable returns to that dujl from whence it fprung. “ 3. Mctus.—No inanimate body is capable of felfmotioo. Whatever moves fpontaneoully is endowed with a living principle ; for motion depends on the fpontaneous propulfion of humours-, and where-ever there is a fpontaneous propulfion of humours, there alfo is life. That vegetables are capable of motion is evident from the following fafts: Plants,, when confined within doors, al-
A N Y. ways bend towards the light, and fome of them even attempt to make their efcape by the windows. The flowers of many plants, efpeciaily thofe of the fyngenefia clafs, purfue the fun from ealt to w'ell, rejoicing in his beams. Who then can deny that vegetables are pofleffed of living and felf-moving powers ? “ 4. Morbus. — The term difeafe means nothing more than a certain corruption of life: It is well known, that vegetables are fubjeft to difeafes as well as animals : When over-heated, they turn thirlly, languiih, and fall to the ground: When too cold, they are tormented with the chilblain, and not unfrequently expire : They are fometimes afflifted with cancers ; and every plant is infefted with lice peculiar to its fpecies. “ 5. Mors.—Death is oppofed to life, the former being only a privation of the latter. Experience ihows, that every living creature muft die. But, as vegetables are daily cut off by internal difeafes and external injuries ; as they are fubjeft to death from the attacks of hunger, third, heat, cold, &c. with what propriety could vegetables be thus faid to die, unlefs we allow that they previoufly lived ? “ 6. Anatomia.—Under this article we are referred to Malpighius and Grew for the organic fibres, membranes, canals, veficles, <bc. of plants, as additional proofs of their living powers. “ 7. Organizatio.—Vegetables not only propel humours, but alfo prepare and fecern a number of different juices for the fruit, the neftar, fee. analagous to the various fecretions in animal bodies.” From thefe fafts and obfervatiohs, Linnseus concludes, that plants are unqueflionably endowed with life as well as animals; and then proceeds in the following manner to flvew how thefe animated vegetables propagate their fpecies. After difeufling the long exploded doftrine of equivocal generation, he lays hold of another maxim of DrHarvey, viz. Omne vivum ex ovo.—“ It being fully, evident,” fays he, “ from the foregoing chain of reafoning, that vegetables are endowed with life, it neceflarily follows, agreeable to this maxim of Harvey’s, that every vegetable mud in like manner derive its exidence from an egg. But as vegetables proceed from eggs, and as it is the didinguifhing property of an egg to give birth to a being fimilar to that which produced it, the feeds mud of courfe be the eggs of vegetables. “ Granting then that the feeds of vegetables are. intended by nature to anfwer the fame end as the eggs of animals, and confidering at the fame time that no egg can be fecundated without receiving an impregnation frontthe male, it follows, that the feed or eggs of vegetables cannot be fecundated by any other means. Hence alfo the neceflity of vegetables being provided with organs of generation. But where are thefe organs fituated ? The anfwer is eafy:—We have already found impregnated feeds within the flowers of plants ; and it is natural to expeft that the genitalia fliould not be at a great didance. Now, as copulation always precedes birth, and every flower precedes the fruit., the generating faculty mud be aferibed to the flower, and the birth to the fruit. Again, as the anther# and Jligmata are the only eflen-
