PATTERSON v. M'CAUSLAND.—3 BLAND. 69

* as has been inferred from seeing many of them grow
vigorously which were entirely hollow, then it would seem, 85
that,on a total stop being put to that channel of circulation, death
would ensue as certainly, and almost as suddenly as by cutting the
arteries of an animal.

Yet it has been observed, that early in the spring, before any
thing like a leaf has been put forth, the vine particularly, and
some forest trees, the sugar maple, &c., on a transverse incision
being made into their wood pour forth a quantity of sap, which is
always seen to proceed from the wood, and not from any layer
near the bark; which shews that the vascular tissue of the stem,
by some supposed to be mere dead wood, contributes largely, if
not altogether, to supplying the plant with that portion of its
nutriment which it certainly does, and must in a very great decree
derive from the earth. And it is not uncommon to see forest trees,
which in the winter or summer had been belted by a chop made
all round into the wood of the trunk, near the ground, put out
their usual amount of foliage in the following spring and sustain
themselves during the year; which proves that there is a now of
sap through the wood of the trunk which contributes largely to
the support of the vitality of the plant. In corroboration of this,
it has been also observed, that besides the ordinary longitudinal
vessels, there is what is called the silver grain, or medullary rays,

by striking with an axe, so as to cut through the bark and two or three of
the outer layers of the wood. If one of those trees be examined, say twenty
years after the marks were made, no traces of them will be discovered on
the outside of the bark; nor, if we cut into the wood, will we find any on the
nineteen outer layers; whilst we will find all the marks perfect in the twen-
tieth layer, in which they were originally made; thus establishing the fact,
that that layer has remained unaltered since its first formation, and that all
the outer layers have been formed entirely independent of it. Good, in his
Book of Nature, states, that in England, dates of very remote national eras,
and the initials of monarchs who flourished in early times, have been found
stamped in the very heart of the timber. M. Klien states, that in the year
1737, a long series of letters were discovered in the trunk of a full grown
beech, near Dantzic. The letters were conspicuous in a layer about half
way between the axis and the bark of the stem, whilst no traces of them
could be discovered, either in the layers within, or on those without it. The
same author mentions several other facts of the same kind. In one instance,
the image of a thief hanging from a gibbet, was discovered in the timber of
a beech tree, apparently drawn by nature's own pencil. In another tree,
the figure of a crucified man was found in similar circumstances; and in
another, a chalice, with a sword perpendicularly erect, sustaining a crown
on its point. Such marks were formerly attributed to miraculous interven-
tion, or regarded as miraculous sports of nature; and on this account, were
preserved with peculiar care. When rightly understood, they place the
truth of the above statement beyond a doubt."—Essay on Vegetable Physi-
ology, by Armstrong, Prof., &c., Washington, Virginia, chap. 7; The Farmers'
Register, by Ruffin, vol. 7, No. 4.