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Show [ 44 ] Waves his broad tail, and opes his ribbed n1outh, 445 And feeks on winnowing fin the breezy South; From towns deferted ruih the breathlefs hofl:s, Swarm round the hills, and darken all the coafis ; Boats follow boats along the iliouting tides, And fpears and javelins pierce his blubbery fides ; 450 Now the bold Sailor, raifed on pointed toe, Whirls the wing' d harpoon on the {limy foe ; Quick finks the monfl:er in his oozy bed, The blood-ftain' d furges circling o'er his head, Steers to the frozen pole his wonted track, And bears the iron tempefl: on his back. 455 X. " On wings of Rame, ETHEREAL VIRGINS! fweep O'er Earth's fair bofom, and complacent deep; Where dwell my vegetative realms benumb' d, In buds imprifon' d, or in bulbs intomb' d, In buds imprijon'd. I. 460. The buds and bulbs of plants conil:itute what is termed by Linneus the Hybernaculum, or winter cradle of the embryon vegetable. The buds ~rife from the bark on the branches of trees, and the bulbs from the caudex of bulbous- [ 45 ] Pervade, PELLUCID FoRMs! their cold retreat, Ray from bright luns your viewlefs floods of heat; rooted plants, or the part from which the fibres of the root are produced : they are defended from too much moi!l:ure, and from froll:s, and from the depredations of infeCl:s, by various contrivances, as by fcales, hairs, reflnous varnifhes, and by acrid rinds. The' buds of trees arc of two kinds, either flower-buds or leaf burls ; the former of th efe produce their feeds and die ; the·latter produce other 'leaf buds or flower buds and die. So that all the buds of trees may be confidered as annual plants, having their embryon produced during the preceding fummer. The fame fcems to happen with refpeB: to bulbs; thus a tulip produces annually one flower-bearing bulb, fometimes two, and feveralleaf-b earing bulbs; and then the old root perifhes. Next year the: flower-bearing bulb produces feeds and other bulbs and perifh es ; while the leaf-bearing bulb, producing other bulbs only, perifhes likewife; thefe circumil:ances eil:ablifh a fl:riCl: analogy between bulbs and buds. Seeadditionalnotes, No. XIV. View!rjs floods of heat. I. 462. The fluid matter of heat, or Calorique, in which all bodies are immerfed, is as neceffary to vegetable as to animal exiil:ence. It is not yet determinable whether heat and light be different materials, or modifications of the fame materials, as they have fome properties in common. They appear to be both of them equally neceffary to vegetable health, ftnce without light green vegetables become firil: yellow, that is, they lofe the blue colour, which contributed to produce the green; and afterwards they alfo lofe the yellow and become white ; as is fecn in cellery blanched or etiolated for the table by excluding the li ght from it. The upper fur face of leaves, which I fuppofe to be their organ of refpiration, feems to req•1ire light as well as air; fince plants which grow in windows on the in !Ide of houfes are equally fol icitous to turn the upper II de of their leaves to the I ight. Vegetables at the fame time exfude or perfpire a great quantity from their leaves, a~ anim:.ds ' do from their lungs; this perfpirable matter as it rifes from their fine veffcl ·, (perhaps much finer than the pores of animal !kins,) is divided into inconceivable tenuity; and when aCl:ed upon by the Sun's light appears to be decompofed, the Hydrogene becomes a part of the veget:~ble, compoflng oils or refins; and the Oxygene combin~d w~th light or calorique afcends, producing the pure part of the at~1ofphere ?r Vlt.al ~Jr. Hence dming the light of the day vegetables give up more pure air than their ref~ trat1on injure!> ; but not fo in the night, even though equallyexpofed to "arrnth .. ~Ills finrle faCt would feem to 01ew, that light is cffentially different from ht:at; :md It IS perhaps by its combination with bodies, that their combin~d or btcnt heat is fet at liberty, and \.:lecomes fenflble. See additional notes, No. XXXIV. |