Excerpt from The Dental Cosmos, 1867, Vol. 8: A Monthly Recorder of Dental Science They also resemble each other in the possession on the part of each of the organic or nutritive and the reproductive functions, viz.: Digestion, Absorption, Respiration, Circulation, Nutrition, Secretion, Calorifica tion, and Generation. In addition to these, animals possess Sensation and Voluntary Motion, functions which are not enjoyed by the Vegetable. The latter, fixed to the soil, is enabled to derive from it and the surround ing atmosphere materials inservient to its nutrition; and although some of the lower forms of animals are fixed to one spot during their entire life, and give little evidence of the possession of sensation or voluntary motion, and lead an almost vegetative existence, the vast majority pos sessing the means of locomotion, and a central organ or stomach for the reception and digestion of food, are compelled to pass from one place to another in search of it. The well-defined differences, readily recognizable by the most ordinary observer in the higher forms of vegetables or ani mals, renders it very easy to distinguish one from the other, .but the lowest types of each require the exercise of great care on the part of naturalists to decide which they belong to. As an illustration of this, the sponge at one time was regarded as a vegetable, while it is now fully recognized as belonging to the Animal Kingdom. The simplest means of demonstrating whether a certain structure has a vegetable or animal origin is to burn it; under such circumstances, the latter invariably gives off a peculiar and unmistakable odor sufficient to decide the point beyond a question of doubt. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.