THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE. 



423 



THE BULBOUS BLOOM. 



found it comparatively easy to make 

 the entire leaf-stalk bend by irritating 

 ibis special spot, and in doing so to 

 have no end of amusement for myself 

 and my visitors. 



Perhaps one of the most interesting 

 experiments was slowly and carefully 

 to place one blade of sharp shears 

 above and the other below the tip of 

 a leaf, and to close them quickly with- 

 out any lateral movement, so as to 

 make it purely a cutting of the tip, and 

 not a jarring of the leaf. The result 

 was indeed surprising It seemed as 

 if the plant was a little sluggish of 

 comprehension and did not realize, 

 until some thirty seconds afterward, 

 that it had been injured. Tt reminded 

 me of the old story of a very long arm. 

 the fingers of which upon injury, did 

 not convey the impression through 

 the iine of nerves until an appreci- 

 able length of time had elapsed. It 

 seemed as if the inhumation had to 

 be telegraphed to some central point 

 and the answer to come back, "You 

 bad better shut up. something injuri- 

 ous is going on around you." Then 

 indeed the method of closing was 

 curious and totally unlike that result- 



ing from a sudden jar. It seemed as 

 if the sensation ran slowly from the 

 tip up the leaf, or rather as if each 

 pair of leaflets in slow succession 

 passed the news along that, "We have 

 been told from headquarters that we 

 should shut up." 



Another interesting experiment may 

 be performed by bringing a lighted 

 match near the leaflets, and watching 

 how rapidly the word is given out to 

 the plant that, 'Tt is getting a little 

 too warm for us here." Every expe- 

 rienced teacher who has observed how 

 slowly an idea percolates through the 

 mind of some children, would here be 

 reminded of that as something similar 

 takes place in this plant, when a new 

 idea trickles along its sensitive tract. 

 It seemed as if it took some time for 

 the sensory region to comprehend the 

 event, and to discover that it was real- 

 ly true. 



The bloom of the Mimosa is won- 

 derfully beautiful, but it is not sensi- 

 tive. I have photographed two of the 

 dowers, one as it naturally is, the 



BLOOM PRESSED BETWEEN TWO 

 GLASSES. 



