Litchfield enquirer., 1831-09-22
VEGETABEE INSTINCT: Or, 4 SketeA .cf tke Wise Doings of
 GOurd Yine.
GONFN Ylll
Fvom tke Genials Q I'emperance.

TONF0 KeNe.
 :, From she Genius Qf Temperance.
 vegetable instinct cxclaims the read- CT: What new fangled doctrine is coming np now! Does the scribbler expect IS make us believe that vegetables can think. and reason, and contrivc
 Stop! gentle reader. What do won nn- derstand by instinct9 Do you imagine that animals think, and reason, and contrive in respect to things which they are said to do. by lnstinctl What does the silk worm know ofthe utility ofher seemingly ingen- lous labours? And who attributes to inc bee that knowledge of the highest nroh- lems in geometry, which is apparent in the construction of its cells! But does not instinct imply sensation?
 Perhaps so. And am not about to maintain that thereis an instinct in yepeta- p'es, perfectly synonymous with that which goes by the same name ill animals. In- ueed, l am not desirons of maintaining any theory whatever. | would oniy pargate a lew facts. What instinct ;s. I know not, Neither can you tell. Men have invented the word to express certain mysterious re- semblances to intelligence which they dis cover. where the actual existence of intel lect IS dlscredited by them. Now to my story.
 Near the window where I am sittino are several clusters of gourd vines. They are ied along ihe high board fence of the gar den, horizontally, perpendicularly, and ssiioping m various directions, by means of llttIe strings, placed there for the purpose.
 II struck me, in an evenings reverie. as ! was cooling myself at the window, that these gourd vines were very obsequious to me wishes of the persons who placed the strings there; or if they took their course Tor their own convenience, they pursued a wiser policy than must of mankind. who seldom regard the ines given to direct their progress in life.
 Bat here was for moment corrected, as then thought, in my vagaries, by the "ery philosophical axiom, so commonly re- ceived by my species, and which solves ev- cry phenomenon in nature with such sur- prlsing promptitude-the axiom which takes for granted all 1t finds, and says that things are as they are, because they could be no otherwise
 was soon driven from this resting place. The simple grosotb of the vegeta- ble could not decide it's direction. You say it clings to the cord, because it has not firm ness of texture to stand up of itself. You see that is faet % Bgt %hq tqa1ai urd cnn,rive to supply them with the aids furnished by an unseen being, superor to itself? Man, with all his boasted intellect and tractability, is often too proud and too stupid to do this. Just look at that vine. Why doeSit not consent to run horizontal ly on the ground, as well as horizontally on tho string2 Vegetables, you will say, nat urally seek altitude. True. But Where- fore That's the question. But waive this. Be it so, that the vine seeks altitude, without any seeking instinct. It seems wonderfully ingenious, tnethinks in it's ex- pedients to gratify its ambitious propensi- ty. The gourd vine is many times larger than the little thread, that in this instance, sustains it. It does not wind about it, but runs parallel with it, at distance of one or two inches. Its connection with the string is kept up by means of little shoots or tcn- drills, sent forth at proper intervals for the purpose. call them tendrils for want ol better name, and do not care to look uT SCIGuttuC tcTU'SS all tltbO WHSu uiOt w S>s- ence are trying to lay them aside. These tendrils, unlike the angular shape of tht vine they spring from, are perfectly round and flexible, like small cord or string, o few inches in length. They bear neither leaves nor blossoms, but are tapered off del icately to the end, without any branch to obstruct the purpose for which they are destined. They are as perfect ropes as ever mariner sent out from the bow ol his vessel to make her fast to pier along side. No mariner ever hurled his coi with surer aim, or wound it around the stedfast object with more faithfulness and skill. Did you ever sec a sailor 'ohtf the end of rope," as he terms it It i' the process of fsecuring the end of the rope,
 when cut off, so that it may not untwine it. self. It is done by winding small. strong thread around it, commencing about ar
 inch fiom the extremity, where it is frs
 made fast by an under-turn, then wonnt
 spirally round and round, in close order
 till it reaches tbe extreme end, where it il
 fastened by another underturn, and thei
 terminated. Well; precisely like this, ! the fastening of the gourd vine to th'
 string, by means of its cord or tendril. Oi l it shoots from the vine. directly toward the string. How did it learn the point Q comuass to be steeredl Was 1t directed b.
 siphi, or by smelIi Having hit the string to n hair's breadth, it first takes the marin