A systeme of anatomy, treating of the body of man, beasts, birds, fish, insects, and plants illustrated with many schemes, consisting of variety of elegant figures, drawn from the life, and engraven in seventy four folio copper-plates. And after every part of man's body hath been anatomically described, its diseases, cases, and cures are concisely exhibited. The first volume containing the parts of the lowest apartiments of the body of man and other animals, etc. / by Samuel Collins ...

CHAP. L. Of the Air-vessels of Plants.

VEgetables have also somewhat analogous to the Aspera Arteria, and its various divarications in the Lungs, as they both have Organs insti∣tuted by Nature for the reception of Air, maturing the Blood in Animals and Sap in Plants, which containeth in it a principle of Life and Intestine motion, which are preserved and advanced by Air received into the Vessels of Vege∣tables, admitting in them, as well as Animals, great variety of situation, magnitude, and number.

In some Plants, near the inward confines of the Back, * 1.1 in the lignous apar∣timent, about the black circles of Sap-vessels, are seated many Pipes of Air, appearing sometimes in white bespotted rings; and other times the Air-ves∣sels do clear up as short bright Rays within the clouded undulated rings of Sap-Cylinders; other times they appear in divers Columns, erected in straight lines, ascending the whole length of the body of Vegetables.

And also the Tubes of Air are lodged after a Conglomerated manner in a kind of Clusters in divers irregular postures, * 1.2 as being confusedly divarica∣ted through the body of the Wood, without any distinct order.

The Air-vessels of Plants are also placed after the manner of Bends in an Escucheon; So that besides those greater Tubes, that make the Ring, * 1.3 there are others less, which being seated in oblique lines do intersect each other.

In some Vegetables the Pipes of Air make many bars, passing aslant after the form of Fesses.

The Cylinders of Air do differ much in size, both in reference to each other in the same, as well as in different kind of Plants, and have much lar∣ger perforations than those of Sap-vessels, placed in the Wooden territo∣ries, but are much less than the Tubes of Sap, seated in the Bark; so that then divers kinds of Air-vessels (adorned with different magnitudes) as well as Cylinders of Sap.

And the Tubes of Air, besetting the wooden apartiment, * 1.4 are not only different in size, but number too, in which they very much transcend one another in several Plants; So that it is admirable to view the great variety of Air-vessels, in situation, size, and number, which speak the wonderful Power and Wisdom of the Omnipotent Architect.

The structure of these Air-pipes, hath great affinity with those of Sap, * 1.5 and are oblong concave bodies, as a Contexture made up of many minute hollow Fibres, without any seam or unevenness.

Most Ingenious Malpighius giveth this description of the Fabrick of Air∣vessels, relating to Plants, that they are white flakes wreathed in Spires, and framed into Pipes, which adhere to each other like the Scales of Fish, and are hollowed into Tubes and Vesicles like the Lungs of Insects; and as in Humane Bodies and other less perfect Animals, the Wind-pipe without the Lungs, is dressed with a number of Cartilaginous rings, united to each other by the mediation of Membranes interspersed with fine fleshy Fibres; and when the Wind-pipe entreth into the body of the Lungs, it is divested of its grisly Circles, and groweth wholly Membranous as it is branched into numerous small Tubes, out of which an innumerable company of Vesicles are successively filled with, and emptied of Air in Inspiration and Ex∣piration.

These Membranous Cylinders of Air are accompanied with divers Glo∣bules fastned to each other like so many Scales lodged one below another. * 1.6

And in like manner in Vegetables, we may discover by the help of Glas∣ses, instead of Cartilaginous rings, a company of Spiral Flakes, beset with Tubes big with Air; and when the Trunks and Arms of Trees are waved up and down with boisterous blasts of Wind, the Air, confined within its pro∣per Channels, is liable to brisk agitations, heightening its common Elastick motion.

These Air-pipes in Plants do not pass Horizontally the breadth of the Trunk and Limbs, * 1.7 but ascend almost Perpendicularly in straight lines from the Root to the Trunk and Arms, and being carried into the lesser Branches and Leaves, do make great Maeanders and Plexes in the manner of Network.

In some trunks of Trees adjoyning to the Roots, * 1.8 may be discerned seve∣ral thin lignous Prominencies (which encircle the Pipes of Air, in which they are lodged as so many Repositories) having variety of magni∣tudes; some seem to be a System compounded of many Tubes, and the Vessels of Air sometimes pass horizontally through these Protuberan∣cies; whose fruitful Branches are beautified with several Cells wreathed with divers Spires.

Plants being animated with a principle of Life, * 1.9 have their lower regi∣on dwelling in the bowels of the Earth, wherein they borrow the Matter of their Aliment from Water (filtred through the Cranies of the Earth, and associated with Air, and impregnated with steams floating in the lower Orb,) which is conveyed through the Pores of the Bark, investing the Root, into the Vessels of Sap residing in the Bark; whereupon Sap, inspired with airy Particles, doth fill and distend its proper territories.

And as Men and other less perfect Animals, are bedewed with Lacteal Liquor inspired with Air, * 1.10 in the Stomach and Intestines, and Blood exalted with Air in the Lungs, and Nervous Liquor improved by it in the Cortex of the Brain; so in like manner the Sap-vessels of Plants, containing divers milky, gummy, resinous, and aqueous Liquors, do hold an entercourse with Pipes of Air, which discharge themselves by numerous Extremities into several Tubes, conserving these different Juices much advanced by Air, im∣pregnated with aethereal Particles and variety of Effluvia, enobled with Vo∣latil Saline and sulphureous Particles, rendring these Liquors more fluid and apt for motion, much quickned by the active parts of Air, which do not only enter by the Pores of the Bark relating to the Roots of Vegetables, but also by the small Meatus of the Rine, encircling their Trunks, Arms, and lesser Branches. And herein Plants do hold some analogy with Animals, through whose Pores of the Skin the Air insinuates through the Extremities

and Channels of the Veins into the more inward Recesses of the Body. And somewhat after this manner the Air being conveyed through the minute pas∣sages of the Bark into the more inward penetrals of Plants, doth not only contribute to the Local, but Intestine motion too of several alimentary Li∣quors, as they are receptive of Fermentative dispositions, chiefly imparted to them from airy Particles heightened with Celestial Emanations consisting of Heterogeneous Elements, which being embodied with the Sap of Vege∣tables, do put it into motion, proceeding from contrary principles, as so many Combatants endeavouring by various brisk actions to gain a Conquest upon each other (for their mutual advantage of greater maturity and per∣fection) ending in a happy reconcilement of their disagreeing Natures.

Hence the more spirituous and more volatil steams of Air, * 1.11 being espoused to the more gross and fixed parts of Sap, do attenuate and refine it, and by imparting more active dispositions do render it more fluid, generous, alimen∣tary, and fruitful, which are very much propagated from Air, not only impregnated with Effluvia, transpiring the Pores of the triple Family of Minerals, Vegetables, and Animals, but are also exalted with more noble qualities flowing from Celestial Bodies, whose warm and benign influences do make the Air more nimble and spirituous; which being embodied with the Sap of Plants, do give them nourishment, growth, and propagation, by whose vertue they sprout, blossome, bear Fruit and Seeds, as so many pledges of a farther production and duration, in which Nature is Emulous of Eternity by a kind of resurrection from Death to Life.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Many Pipes of Air seated about the cir∣cles of Sap∣vessels.
• * 1.2

  Air-vessels placed in irre∣gular po∣stures.
• * 1.3

  Air-vessels placed after the manner of Bends of an Escucheon. The Pipes of Air do some∣times pass af∣ter the man∣ner of Fesses.
• * 1.4

  The Tubes of Air seated in the wooden Compage of Plants.
• * 1.5

  The likeness of the Air and Sap-ves∣sels.
• * 1.6

  The Air-pipes are fastned to each other like so many Globules, and consist of a company of Spiral flakes.
• * 1.7

  The progress of the Air∣pipes.
• * 1.8

  Lignous Pro∣tuberancies which do en∣circle the Pipes of Air.
• * 1.9

  The manner of Nutrition in Plants.
• * 1.10

  The Sap-ves∣sels hold an entercourse with those of Air.
• * 1.11

  The use of the Air-vessels.