The Bourbon news., 1913-10-10
REMARKABLE INSTANCES
OF PLANTS INTELLIGENCE
(KanSaS City Starr

(hdnSdS ClCy SCdr.)
That plants have intelligence, or
some actuating principle that serves
the same purpose, is the latest con-
tention of the botanical scientists.
Plants think, it is asserted, though
they are not aware that they think.
Their growth and the development
of their existence. In concluding a
flower and fruit-are not always to-
gether "just happened so" process, it
seems.
William F. Ganong, professor of
botany in Smith College, is the au-
thor of a new book, "The Living
Plant" in which the assertion is
made that vegetable growths are ca
pable of something resembling a men
tai process in conducting the affairs
of their existence. In concluding a
general comment on plant life Prof
Ganong says: "It may seem that |
am reading into nature a principle
closely akin to intelligence. If /
seem to do this it is because that is
my intention. l believe that the evil
dence now, accumulated is sufficient
to show that the same principle that
actuates intelligence also actuates
all the workings of nature; or, all
living matter thinks, though only the
portion therto that enters into the
brain of man is aware that it thinks
Plants of all varieties, from the
smallest seed sprouts to the loftiest
tree, have many peculiar qualities
that few persons give them credit for.
They possess nervous system, or
the equivalent thereof, that is much
more sensitive to impression than
the nerves of human beings. All
tender vegetable growths, for in
stance, are exceedingly susceptible
to the influence of light or the alb
sence of it, a fact that quickly be-
comes evident when the plant is sub
jected to any sudden change. A
human being that is totally blind may
be led from bright light to total
darkness without knowing the differ
ence; if a growing plant that has
been exposed to the full light of day
is so placed that the light reaches it
from one direction only, the leaves
and stems will show a distinct lean
ing toward the light within twenty
four hours after the change is made.
The blossoms of many plants open
parture of daylight, and all vegeta-
BILE growths quickly lose their color,
If not their lives, if deprived of light
The sesitive plant is a popular ex-
ample of nerves" A tap on it's
stem is sufficient to cause it to in
stantly wilt, the leaves falling limp
as it withered. Concerning the re-
markable sensitiveness of plants to
light, Prof. GanOng says: Evidently
some such structures advance pretty
far in the direction of the special
sense organs of animals, such as
eyes,
That plants actually may see does
not seem so impossible to those who
have watched a grapevine reach
across a space of several feet and OBJ
tain support for it's extending growth
by fastening it's tendrils to neighbor-
ing objects. The long tendrils sent
out by the grapevine sweeps in long
courses through the air until they
touch some fixed object, such as
tree limb, post or wire, around
which they quickly turn and bind
themselves tenaciously. The seeming
accuracy with which the tendrils
reach out for distinct supports is al
most enough to convince one that the
plants see what the are reaching for
Another example of the seemingly in
telligent and accurately directed ac-
tions of the plants is furnished by the
insectivorous plants, such as the
Ven Fly-Trap, which instantly closes
upon and absorbs as food insects that
alight upon it.
If what the scientists tell us is
true, there is not much difference,
after all, between vegetable and ami
NAL life. Plants eat, drink, breathe
if we are to accept that statement
that they think also, it is pretty
hard to tell where the vegetable
kingdom ends and the animal king
dom begins.