The fruit proceeds from the gennen, and consists of, 1, the pericarpium, pencarp, or seed vessel, a hard hollow body, that is of dif ferent kinds, as capsula, a capsule, or thin coat, divided into cells; a slliqua, or pod, a dry elongated pericarp, consisting of halves or valves, as in the mustard; the legnmen, the legume, as in the pea kind ; nnx, the nut, a pencarp covered with a hard shell ; drupe, or drupe, a out covered with a fleshy coat, as in the plum ; bacca, the berry, a succulent fruit containing many seeds, as the gooseberry, the currant, eke. 2. The semen, or seed, that part of the plant destined for propagation, consists of different parts, as the cotyledons, cotyledons or seed leaves ; corculum, the circle or little heart, the germ of the new plant ; hylum, the eye, the deep scar in the seed which has been. occupied by the circle ; plumnla, the plumule, or that part of the circle which ascends to form the leaves • rostellum, the other part of the circle, which descends to form the root. Be sides, the seed is furnished with different ap pendages, as arillus, the aril, a soft membrane extended over the seed ; pappus, the down ; canda, the tail ; rostrum, the beds ; and vari ous spines, or hooks, &c. which serve to at tech the seeds to different bodies, and promote their dispersion. 3. The basis, or base, is the receptacle or body on which the flower stands, the principal part of which is the thalamus, or fruit bed ; when this is round or oblong it is called pelts, a target ; when plateshaped, seatella, a shield ; when convex, tuberculum, &c.
Besides the science of botany comprehends also a knowledge of plants as to their vegeta tion, anatomy, chymical composition, and dis eases, which are all included under the physi ology of plants. The vegetation of plants may be distinguished into germination, when the seed begins to burst ; vernation, when thebuda begin to burst ; virginity, when the flowers or buds are not yet unfolc • defoliation, when the leaves in autumn begin to fall off; sleep, when during the night the leaves hang down ; nstivation, when the flower is in perfection; fructification, when the anthers communicate the fructifying dust to the neighbouring parts.
The anatomical structure of plants compre hends the cuticle ; the cortex, or outer bark ; the fiber, or inner bark ; liburnum, or soft wood; lignum, the wood; medulla, the pith ; the air vessels, which are the conductors of the air ; the" adducent or spiral vessels, which proceed with or are entwined round the air vessels; the redUcent vessels, which are supposed to serve the purpose of transpiration ; the lymphatics, which are reticularly united ; the cellular tex ture, a delicate membrane surrounding all the vessels, and containing a resinous juice, as in the fir tribe, and a gummy juice in fruit trees; the glands, which serve as secretory vessels.
The principal chymical constituents of plants are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but chiefly the former, besides which azote, sulphur, and other simple substances, may be found in small quantities. The principal compound substances which form the sensible ingredi ents of plants are, the acids, mucilage, sugar, starch, albumen, gluten, fixed and volatile oil, wax, resin, camphor, dr; The principal diseases to which plants are incident, am, fissures, or a separation of the solids into long clefts, arising from an extreme fulness of juice; premature defoliation, when the leaves fall off before the usual period ; albigo mildew, a whitish mucilaginous coating of the leaves of plants, which causes their de cay; rubigo, rust, which appears on the leaves and stems of many plants ; lepra, leprosy, which affects the trunk ; galls, galls, occasion ed by flying insects ; verruca, warts ; besides hemorrhage, canker, exulceration,