Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-01-17
cREEPER STEALS A BOTTLE
Plant Trick Astonishes the Sleepy
Gardner.

A highly original plot for a detective
story was suggested by the Rev. Pro-
fessor G. Henslow, who lectured on the
Senses of Plants" before members of
the Royal Horticultural society yester-
day, says the London Standard.
"a distinguished gardener" said the
professor, was doing in chair in his
drawing room one sultry summer af-
ternoon, and bottle stood on the table
by his side. Suddenly the bottle began
to move stealthily across the table. The
sleeper woke up; the bottle had disap-
peared. In astonishment, which might
have been agitated had the bottle con-
tained anything but a bunch of blos-
SONS, he set out to investigate.
In the midst Of his meditations the
thief fortunately gave audible warning
Of his proximity. Glancing out of his
window the horticulturalist saw an as
tonishing sight The tinkle he had
heard was a Virginia creeper rattling
the bottle against the window pane"
The lecturer pointed out that little
parlor tricks of this sort were quite a
favorable pastime with the creeper.
THE adhesive pads on its tendrils are
irritated by anything 1t touches and
stick to it like a leech. Really, it may
be quite feasible to train a plant to
pick pockets.
The fashionable sweet pea If touch
ed on one of its tendrils with a stick
or rubbed gently for half an hour will
begin to twist round the stick. If teas
ed further 1t will grapple with its tor
mentor. Besides the twisting motion II
has another which has been described
as 'bowing around or circum- -muta-
ton. This is an endeavor to fasten on
something. 1t was undoubtedly its
success in "bowing around" or circum-
mutation, my dear Watson, that enabl-
ed the creeper to carry off the bottle.
Though we have yet to find plants
that can hear or smell, many Of our
common growths are sensitive to touch
taste, sight and thirst. Chlorophyll
which is the green coloring matter OF
leaves, not only stores up the energy
of the sun in plants, but enables the
plant to select the light ray that Is
most beneficial to it. In millions OF
little green granules under the epiderm-
| Is of the leaf 1t Is in fact the eyes OF
Il
and rays the human eye cannot see.
THE projected giant sun concentra-
| tor which may make the Soudan the
powerhouse Of the world was long age
anticipated by nature in the schiZostig.
| ma. This apparently terrible creature
| is nothing more formidable than type
| of moss. Nature has endowed it with
| lenses in the form of globular granules
which concentrate and condense light
and SO feed the plant in the shade
Too much light, however, turns leaves
yellow, and plants can be made to turn
| their coats by the action Of light upor
them.
Plants, in fact, are just as sensitive
as we are. Insectivorous plants can un-
doubtely taste what is given them and
refuse it as certainly as the gourmet
would an inferior dish at the dinner OF
city company. They only like nitro
genous substances; sugar, starch, oil
and such fattening carbohydrates they
have no use for.
1.-The craving of plants and trees for
water has sometimes led them to ter
rible extremes. A poplar has been
known to burrow beneath wall, un-
der a road and down well-all in
search Of water, and pertinacious
turnip which got the tip of its root into
the crack Of field drain went on and
on until 1t was six feet long in the
drain. So sensitive is the tip of the
root on the water question that Dar-
win declared 1t must have a brain in It,
IF ever a book is written on vegeta-
BILE mechanics one will find that plants
have made levers, screws, columns,
wedges-everything, in fact, that engi-
neers do"