The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-07

gence whether the sun shines. whether thera Co shAdh, does tt seef rake the
 Apponax (sensitive Plant) At the
 slightest touch of the human hand. or
 during C shower of rain, it closes its
 leaves as If 1t saw harm, or wan at
 least conscious of what might happen.
 Again we take one of the inseotiverous
 plants Venus" Fiy-trap. At the end of each leaf we ind a cup-iiks flower
 all fringsd at the edges with the finest si1ken- like petals. along comes . honsy-bes or psrhaps fly. in search of food or drink. This dainty little cup seems to be . good wayside-inn. and he alights to quench his thirst or hunger, and is at once enveloped by those silken edges. being held . pri- soner until death comes. Then it's body is absorbed or assimilated by the plant for food. The same is true of our common pitcher plant found in marshy
 places. do these plants have any kind of intelligence that the insects are of any benefit to their existence? One of the commonest plants to observe is the morning glory. Put stick or
 string within say six inches of the plant the next morning you will find the end of the vine has turned to-
 wards the object and has begun to coil around 1t: you may change the position of the stick. and next day will find that 1t has followed and has begun its clambering again. This summer I planted some vines by my back porch. fastening strings to the edge of tho roof for them to climb
 up. Just about ten fleet from there was . graps-yine on a trellis; one morning observed new shoot on this vine at the top of the treiis and each
 morning thereafter I watched the course of the. vine. until finally it had crept across the ground to the stake
 that held the string for the other vine, and from then on it took posses | sion of the string. having climbed to the roof in a little over two months time. Why didn't the vine creep in an-
 other direction(?) there were other objects that 1t could have attached
 itself to. did not this plant think and
 sse7 Another easy experiment b to place potted plant in . room in a corner where the direct rays of light
 do not touch 1t. It a short time the plant will be found leaning toward
 the direction the light comes from;
 turn it back in the corner and the
 same thing win be done by the plant;
 leaves will even bs found bending in
 all kinds of fashions so that the
 strong rays of light will fall direct
 iy on it's upper surface. Many inte-
 resting experiments have been made by
 bioiogists on the epidermal plant
 cells that serve as lenses for the con-
 centration of light in their tissues
 According to Professor Haberiaudt. .
 German botanist. these cells enable
 the plant to perceive the difference
 between light and dark. and set up
 a stimulus which results in movement of the leaf Into such a position that if can obtain the maximum amount of light It Is also stated by another
 botanist that these serve for the more efficient illumination of the green
 grains within the leaf upon which
 the effective food-supply of the plant depends. These cells are found
 in practically all plants, but are most
 clearly seen in number of the shade plants. for instance the Tradescantia
 (Wandering Jew) a member of the Spiderwort family. The upper and lower surfaces of the leaves are cov-
 cred by a thin transparent skin. which
 may be easily peeled of. and then
 when put under the microscope. these Iinnumerable cells or compartments are to be seen. which contain watery sap. and seem to act as a iense. 10. lcusing in the same way as does the photographic lens. As this is such an
 exhaustive subject to delve in. the writer will leave his hearers to con-
 sider the subject little moro under their own observation hoping that this article win stimulate a greater inte-
 rest In the study of piant-life. sub ject that is of the greatest interest
 to all who love Nature.
 l. WE MAKE YRoNRTs &sTFMENTs.
 basian VIZ wns aavE rS I'm issh insss sIssr. ts,, | We Use Gfpas Jugs. gwls T f' srsfai Aak Yoax Friends. .s.