The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-01-09
SELF-PROTECTION.
Ways in Which Plants Protect Themselves
from Assault.

Plants have several methods of pro-
tecting themselves from assault, among
which is'that of secreting an acid poison
in their leaves. In the Rdnuaculaeca
this secretion is virulent poison, and
half an ounce of that secreted by the
ceierylleaved buttercup would kill a
dog. The root of an Indian species of
this order is used in the Himalavas 10
poison arrows for tiger-shooting. 1t is
said that tramps use the leaves of the
common buttercup. as well as those OF
the celery-leaved kind, ito produce
biistcrs On their limbs in order to ex-
cite compassion" The reason why
ferns grow in such unmolested pro-
fusion Is that they are stepped in t0nnia.
substance very much disliked by all
animals. Another most eflectual means
of protection adopted by plants is the
secretion of a sticky substance on their
stems, in which ants and other unwel-
come insects are caught. The writer
mentions a"curious example of sagacity
in connection with this sticky substance.
The amphibious Ptrsicaria, which
grows both on land and water, only Sc
crctcs the sticky matter when growing
en- land, as if quite aware that the
water was sufficient protection from
creeping insects.
Even the milky juices exuded by the
leaves Of the common lettuce, milk
thistle. etc, may be frequently ranked
among the defensive arrangements of
Plau.s. herner narratcs some expert
psetrts he made, which prove that ants
and other insects crawling over such
leaves secn get glued down bv the
'ailkr exudationS produced by the claws
ot their tiny feet. His experiments
were made with Lactsau cngustGna and
Lcd1aica .snttrd. He saws: mo sooner
Lad the ants reached the uppermost |
leaves or the peduncles and the in
volucr2i .bractS, than al each moment |
the terminal hooks of their feet cut |
through abe epiderm. and from the little |
ciefts thus made milky Juice Immediate
" began 10 Gow. Not ouly the feet of
the ants, bat the hinder parts of their
bodies We're soon hedra aled with the
white fluid; and if The ants. As was fire.
quently the ease, bit into the tissue of
the epiderm II seif-defense, their organs
Of masticatiec also at u,see became
coated over with the milky Juice.
BY this the ants were tnuch i'm
pedcd IA their movements, and in order
20 rid them ewes of the annovauce to
which they Were subjected, drew their
eet throu yh their mouth, and tried also
% clear the hinder part OF their IoIy
rom the juice with which i: was
The msS ementS. however.
which accom- PANEL these efiats simply
'esulted in the production of Eex Is
ures in the epiderIa. and fresh dis ,
Images of milky juice. 20 that the posi- ,
ion of the ants became each moment
worse. MANY of them now tried 10 es-
ape by getting as best thew might &c
he edge of tire leaf, and letting them {
ewes fall from thence to the ground.
ONE succee led. bu- oilers tried this y
aethod OF escape too late. for the air
con hardened tie milky juice into
oagh brown substance, and after this
u the struggiings CT the ants to free t
from the yiscid matter were i.
1 vain. Their movements became t
isid,'aiiy fewer and weaker. and final
they ceased altogether. and the deal Y
nimals we're left adLering 70 the In L
ucfe. or the uopernost brsacLez J
arpsr's Feekly. u