Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-08-28
THE INSTINCTS OF A
BY j. h Alexander, VI. -.

I hat there is a real Vegetable Instinct.
An instructive action in an animal Is one
designed or elaborated by its intelligence
but rather prompted by its surroundings. II
IA the result of these surroundings acting up
on a given structure or organization, anu II
invariably tends to promote the welfare either
of the Individual or the race. Instructive &C
lions are not improved BY experience or eoa-
cation, and although replete with wisdom
and design, it is the wisdom and design OF the
creator who formed them, and therefore are
thew usually unerring in their adaptation to
the accomplishment of their ends. Con-
:rssted with reason we can truly say;
..Ressoning at every step he treads,
Man vet mistakes his way;
While meaner things, that instinct leads,
Are rarely known to stray"
Vegetable instinct differs from animal In
stinct as the plant differs in its life from that
of the animal; but in its humble sphere the
instincts it displays are as beautiful as any
that are met with In the higher animal king
DOM.
The egg being the embryo animal. and ac-
ton or behavior on its part, analogous to in
stinct in the animal, should be regarded AS q
true instinct. Now if one Of our large but
t~eries whose eggs hatch in the spring, be
confined in q box, it may be forced to deposit
its eggs upon slips of paper. These eggs if
carefully preserved, will hatch when the
warm spring weather appears, but all OF
them will not hatch. Out OF one hundred
eggs, perhaps not more than ninety-hve Will
hatch. and Notwithstanding the circumstances
seem favorable these remaining eggs VIII I'M
- l,-ra Rnt &c toEon RQra nf Qhnnf
the same time next spring, and If the seasons
are similar, almost on the same day OF the
month, q few more will hatch, leaving still .
small remainder that will resist all efforts to
induce them to hatch. These will hold over
to the third spring when some, II not al, VIII
hatch. II any remain they will prove worth
less and will perish. Now what is this but .
beautiful instinct, q mode OF action or be-
haviOr on the part of the egg to guard against
disaster that might exterminnte the race!
Now let US plant one hundred peach stones
or cherry pits in a name favorable TO their
sprouting. Next Spring they will sprOuJ. but
about the same percentage as Of the butterfly
eggs will obstinately resist all attempts to
sprout them until the following spring when
q few more will spfout, leaving one or two to
hold over to the third year.
Now does not the same grand law Of Ma
ture direct aud control these two strikinRly
similar factsl II 1t be instinct in the one,
who will undertake to deny 1t in the otherY
A large number ofseeds will not terminate
if planted as soon as they are riDe, but II
thoroughly dried 80 as to lose the water con-
tanned In them, they sprout with great faclli-
ty. This is true of peas. beans and especially
of wheat. Farmers have frequently observed
that wheat shocks may be thoroughly drench-
ed with rain Just after the wheat has been
cut without sustaining any great damage, but
il the shocks remain in the field some weeks
30 that the grain becomes "bone dry," or In
rro.Is Ioaao tho n,oisturQ contained in
1t. the escape of which constitutes the
'.ssweat' that wheat undergoes when In stack,
q drenching rain that vets the shocks through
and through, will cause them in q day or two
to be perfectly green with the sprouted and
growing wheat. We may plant one hundred
grains Of wheat "dead ripe" SO as to shatter
readily from the head and only a few, if any,
will come up; but II we expose this wheat to
the sun and air SO that it may become COM
pletely desiccated, then, in all likelihood,
every single grain will promptly sprout. Now
II the wheat grains. In their native state,
when they have shattered and fallen upon the
moist earth, were to terminate forthwith they
would come up too early and in their advanc-
ed condition of growth, would be readily
killed by the wiIter, thus suffering great
damage to the race; but by remaining quies-
cent and indisposed to sprout until thorough.
" dried by the drouths of August and Sep
TENDER, they terminate promptly when the
autumnal rains fall upon them, and thus they
behave in q manner best calculated 10
suhserve the welfare of the race.
The onion grows best in the cool weather Of
spring and during the excessively hot wealth
often the top dries up; when, however, the
cooler weather of fall sets in it makes y sec.
ond growth. This second growth can be
greatly increased by removing them from the
ground, drying them in the sun and re-plant'
ing them when the hot weather is over.
There is a Lycopodium in Peru, which,
when dried up for lack of moisture, folds W
its leaves and contracts into q ball apparently
destitute of life. Becoming detached from
the soil it may be blown hither and thithel
for miles over the parched and arid plains
but as soon as it reaches a spot affOrding
moisture. 1t unfolds its leaves, strikes its roo
into the soil and changes its sore brown colol
for the bright green Of active life. II droutt
sssail 1t again it once more packs its trunk
for another journey. The Anastatiea or Rost
Of Jericho, and q species of blue Water Lily
Astounding in the canals near Alexandria In
Egypt present similar peculiarities.
Grass seeds, but notably those Of the crat
grass will not sprOut in a loose pulverulenl
soil. no matter how moist it may be. A
drizzling rain capable of mOistening thu
ground to the depth of several inches, MAY
fall for an entire day upon such a soil and no
Q single seed will venture to sprout. They
indeed seem to be aware that II they were t
Rprout the soil would dry out below the deptt
of their tiny roOtlets and thus they would
perish. But let a dashing rain fall that ever
does not wet the ground very deep, but that
run the soil together so as to form a smooth
glazed surface that will dry into q crust anC
thereby retain the subjacent moisture and WI
will find the surface of the soil. some hours
after the rain. dotted over thickly with thu
young crab grass that has sprung into active
well-being and growth. Now in order tina
1 might not misinterpret the facts, l hav,
dragged q rake after such a rain, along tn
ground between the rows OF vegetables, 81
W. to break this crust and d~isfntegrate the
glazed surface Of the soil: In the track of th,
rake not a trace of sprouted grass seed coulc
be found, while on either side the grOun(
would be dotted thickly with the little plants
eXulting, as 1t were, in their certain immun
ity from subsequent drouth.
have been compelled to admire the keel
and sagacious instincts with which the cockl
burr in its struggle for life in the RELENTLESS
w~arfarewaged against. it as a pestiferOus wee
by all good farmers seems to be endued. /
will not attempt to form q seed capsule tina
it cannot fully mature before a killing frost
So true 10 this that many agriculturists rel
upon 1t as an indication Of approaching frOsl
When the cookie burr prepares to go int
winter quarters the less weather wise farme
with his boosted knowledge and reason ma
humbly follow its example. Furthermore
two seeds are formed in each capsule; nov
one of these seeds will terminate the mex
spring. but the other will remain quiescen
until the year after. What q wise provisio
for the perpetuity of the race In times OF di,
aster and war! 1t has been urged that tn
Is due simply to the fact that the mature
seed grew on the south or sunny side Of tt
capsule, while the other grew on the mort
or shaded side. l accept the explanation an
only have to say that the more simple u
means adopted by Nature to accomplish h'
wise and beneticent purposes the greater n
admiration OF her wOndrous workings.
The maturing of seed in the ground is
curious fact. Peas, planted in Decembe
will be more robust, vigorous and profit
than those from the same seed planted
March, although they may come up almO
simultaneously. The seed In the grouI
wher Nature designed them, acquire a som
thing that those in the drawer OF the desk
not acquire. L have known a crop of whe
ssown IN dust" ia October on account of
fall drouth, that did not sprout until the iii
week in February. 1t mad good wheat al
ripened at the usual time of harvest. ] ne
lected to make the experiment to ascertain
wheat sown along side of it the last of ia
uary or the first of February would ha
matured and produced heads. but | am
clined to believe it would not.
Climbing plants climb with a left-hand
spiral, that is, contrary to the way the han
Of a clock move. The tornado or whirlwil
and water passing through a funnel, flo
ing through a tube, or emerging from a noz;
make the same spiral. Now if a twig or SIN
stick held for a short time in contact with t
slightly curved end Of the tendril of I