The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-20


can neither see nor hear nor articulate, she
can talk with her hand, and she can receive
responses through the same medium,
and she can write. Though the great
world of sound and the joyous world
of music are as alien to her as invisible
planets on the uttermost verge of sideresl
space, yet by means of the one sense merci-
fully left her she is able to distinguish her
friends and acquaintances the one from the
other, and to enjoy music, by means of the
vibration through her sensitive and delicate
nerves. of the rhythmic pulsations of the air
caused by the great organ in the hall of the
asylum. These throb through her whole
body, giving her palpable pleasure, possibly
as great to her as that which more fortunate
persons can derive from the sense of hearing
Little chinks let in much light" says the
ancient proverbs and through the one little
chlnk of feeling, touch, or sensation, the in
telligence of Laura Bridgeman can both act
and be acted upon. Andifit be granted that the
trees, the plants, and the flowers, possess this
one sense-and who can prove that they do
not?-may we not reasonably suppose that
some degree of intelligence and capacity for
pleasure and pain go along with it?
Being systematic man, though very busy
one, always find that have time to spare
for my amusement. l also find that nv
amusement often assumes the shape of a
new variety of work. In this manner
L have become a student of natural his
tory; and whenever l walk in my garden
through the green lanes and country roads
over the meadow path, or through the woods
OF England, or up the bens and down the
glens of Scotland, l always discover some-
thing to interest me in the phenomena of
nature, animate and inanimate. 1 have
educated my eyes, as we'll as my mind, in re-
membrance of the sage maxim ''that in every
object there is inexhaustible meaning, and
that the eye always sees what the eve
brings means of seeing" Last summer, in
my garden, l made the acquaintance Of a
very respectable and, as 1 found reason to
believe, very intelligent plant, and studied
Its growth and its movements during two or
three weeks. The plant was cucurbita ovifera,
known to market gardeners, cooks, and house
keepers as the vegetable marrow. This, like
all of its genus, will creep along the ground
if it find nothing up which it can climb; but
II there be tree, branch, a pole, or a wall
within easy reach, it will infaiIibly make it's
way to it, and twine it's tendrils round the
most available points of support. The vege-
table marrow, like the vine, the hop, the
briony, and all other varieties of the genus
vitus, to use the words of Barry Cornwall.
applied to her more renowned sister the
grapevine:-
roamer is she
And sometimes very good company
I noticed that this particular plant extended
its tendrils-let me call them for the nonce
its hands and fngers-outward, and away
from the trunk of hazel, and from a box
hedge of about seven feet high, and towards
gravel path. 1t persevered in extending
itself in this direction for three days, after /
first began to take notice of it.; but on the
fourth morning 1 perceived that it had
changed the course which its tendrils were
pursuing, and had turned them in the con-
trary direction towards the x-hedge In
two days more it had securely fastened itself
to the hedge with its vagrant tendrils,
and put forth new shoots short distance
higher up, with which also in due time it en-
veloped the supporting tree, which, for the
first portion of its life, it had sought in the
wrong direction. Another marrow further
removed from all support, had also put forth
its feelers towards the gravel path; but find
ing nothing to lay hold of, turned them back
in similar manner; but like the first one,
only to meet with disappointment The
marrow, however, made the best of unfavora-
BILE circumstances, as wise man or a wise
plant should do, and meeting with the ten
drills of a sister'or brother marrow engaged
in the like pursuit of a prop under Difficult
ties, they both resolved apparently that as
union was strength, they would twist around
each other. And they did so. After they had
been intertwined for day, I deliberately
and very tenderly untwisted them, with such
care as not to injure the delicate tendrils, and
laid them apart on the ground. In less than
twenty-four hours they had found each other
out again, and twisted their slender cords
together in loving, or friendly, or at least
mutually supporting, union. Much inte-
rested in these enterprising marrows tried
some experiments with another climbing
plant, the scarlst-runner. I untwisted one
that had grown to the height of about foot
up the pole which had been placed for its re-
ception, and twisted it carefully round an
other pole, which l stuck into the ground at
a distance of about an inch from the old
one. The scarlet-runner, however, had a
will of its own, and would not cling to the
new pole unless I would tie it. which would
have ruined the experiment l therefore left
the plant to itself to do as it pleased; and two
days afterwards found it on its original pole,
twined securely around it. l repeated this
experiment several times afterwards, with
briony and hop, and always discovered that
the only means to make creeper creep, or a
climber climb, in direction different from
that which it had already taken, was to tie or
fasten it; if left freely to itself, it persisted
In carrying out it's original intention. Is this
intelligence or instinct, or is it merely
mechanical action? During the same season,
had occasion to remark that several climb
ing roses In front of my cottage seemed
slchly. On investigating the cause of their
lll-health, discovered that the soil in which
they grew was very poor, and consisted
merely of thin layer of earth, over the
chalk; that their roots had reached
the chalk, and could not penetrate
it; and that they had declined in strength for
want of proper nourishment. l had a pit
duo, oh fhran fna HnnV oil ol1