The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-21
PLANTS HAVE A PERSONALITY
And Are as capricious as Women
and Children, Says the Luther
Burbank Of Russia.

DO l DeneVe III the vegetable sOulG
most assuredly do, and hold that
plants, even as men and women, live
natural life; have their appetites,
needs, consciences and idiosyncracies
look for sympathy from those who
send them, and, in way, are as
capricious as women or children, and
all the more so in proportion as one
neglects to humor them. Il has pass
ed for currency in the philosophy of
the agricultural world hitherto that
plants require only the nomal food
OF water and suitable temperature.
Your average farmer dlsdalns to no.
tice anything that suggests pamper-
ing the growth of the field or the or.
chard, bus modern scientific gardeners
are beginning to realize that plants
are possessed of a will OF their own,
and that we must study their wishes
&c we would have them do as we
should like.
II you study the shiny mushroom,
for example, you will find that its
body-the nucleus or plasmodium--
Is composed of semiliquid proto-
)lasm of a golden yellow tinge. Now
although these mushrooms belong to
the vegetable kingdom, they are able
nevertheless to move about, and
their movements correspond to their
struggle for existence. Put the plas-
modium on a piece of wet paper and
all az n
paper begins to get dry. have seen
one Of them climb up on a piece OF
wood which was covered with gela-
tine, using a kind OF minute tentacles
1t is provided with, in order to effect
this During the period of the for
on the contrary, seeks the dry places
showing that IL possesses conscious
ness of its personal life. To test It's
, sensitiveness, just dip one end of
| piece OF paper in glass of water
and watch how the fungus will grad
damp spot, according to the season.
| IL the water is salt 1t will visibly
scurry away from the saline matter,
which it does not like.
AS regards plants the same pheno-
uena practically happen, and in my
experience have found plants to be
more sensitive to light and temper
ature than most animals. Many
| plants, for instance, turn to .he sun
! in the daytime and on its setting
| turn to the East to await its rising
Many flowers close up their petals on
dark days. Others spend waking
nights, and sleep during the day, as
| for example, the oenothera or even
| ing primrose, some species of which
change their color from white in the
morning to red in the evening.
Among the dicotyledons, some OF
them so arrange their petals by night
as to look as If they were dead.
| Among certain kinds of beans there
is every evidence that they sleep
while on the stalk. Again there are
plants which protect themselves
against the extreme heat of the sun
by bringing their leaves into such
position that the rays fall parallel
wise uTon them, never perpendicular
| ".
Since Prof. Dunstan discovered the
carniveIous plant, the Dionea musci-
pula on Lake Nicaragua, some 40 9TH
ers exhibiting similar propensity
have been discovered. In all cases II
is quite evident that as soon as the
process Of digestion is completed the
plant sets its traps anew, proving its
consciousness Of having performed
the digestive function. In America
the common Utricularia at one time
produced so much havoc among
stream fish that Prof. Cohn, of Bres-
lau, was asked TO investigate. The
professor was instrumental in SHOW
ing that the Utricularia was the
cause of the wholesale destruction OF
the fish, and when 1t was radically
destroyed the rivers abounded again
with fish. If you will look at the
formation of the DioneO muscipula
you will note that the extremity OF
its leaves is divided into two parts,
which close by folding one over the
other, just like the two palms of
ones hands, or as the saells Of the
oyster. The movement OF imprison-
Ing the insect once effected, the pro-
cess of digestion begins, species of
saliva, like human gastric tuice, COM
Ing into play, The victim is dis
solved in this juice. If you put Il
splinter of wood on the Dionea' s
leaves it will refuse to eat, although
Il will gladly take a morsel of the
white of an egg or scrap of meat,
Accordingly, and in keeping with
any arm belief that plants possess a
soul the anima yegetalis of Arls-
totle-l treat all my plants accord
Ing to their aptitudes, their tastes,
their needs, and am more than re-
paid for the consideration show
them by the results ! obtain. The
contradictions we see In the agricul-
tural, the fruit and the vegetable
world, where often superior climate
produces an inferior result, shows
that the plant world thrives only ac-
1ordingly as it is satisfied with the
treatment 1t receives. The whole