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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



hole and insert its point into a second one. Mr. Darwin has seen a ten- 

 dril keep its point, in one instance, for twenty hours, and, in another 

 instance, for thirty-six hours, in a minute hole, and then withdraw it. 

 After the record of this fact on such unexceptional evidence, we are the 

 more prepared to credit the statement of Mr. Anderson-Henry, that a 

 climber will, in running up a wall, carefully avoid contact with anoth- 

 er climber which it dislikes ; and even the account by M. Paul Levy, 1 

 that the lianes of tropical forests have an affinity for certain trees, tow- 

 ard which they direct their growth, and not toward those nearest 

 to them ; carefully drawing themselves away when they encounter one 

 of the objectionable trees. 



We may conclude our account of climbing plants with the follow- 

 ing remarks by Mr. Darwin : " It has often been vaguely asserted that 

 plants are distinguished from animals by not having the power of 

 movement. It should rather be said that plants acquire and display 

 this power only when it is of some advantage to them, but that this 

 is of comparatively rare occurrence, as they are affixed to the ground, 

 and food is brought to them by the wind and rain. We see how high 

 in the scale of organization a plant may rise, when we look at one of 

 the more perfect tendril-bearers. It first places its tendrils ready for 

 action, as a polypus places its tentacula. If the tendril be displaced, 

 it is acted on by the force of gravity, and rights itself. It is acted on 



Fig. 5. 



by the light, and bends toward or from it, or disregards it, whichever 

 may be most advantageous. During several days the tendrils or in- 

 ternodes, or both, spontaneously revolve with a steady motion. The 

 tendril strikes some object, and quickly curls round, and firmly grasps 



1 Bulletin de la Societe Botanique da France. Translated in the Gardener's Chroni- 

 c/p, March 19, 1870. 



