A VEGETABLE AWL. 

 By Charles E. Bessey. 



YESTERDAY a friend handed me a "Spring Lily " {Erythroniuin 

 albidiun), which illustrates what a plant can do when neces- 

 sary to overcome obstacles. The leaf 

 which started up from the small bulb 

 late in the winter, after growing nearly four 

 centimeters, encountered a serious obstacle to 

 its upward growth in the form of a twig five 

 millimeters thick, which, while somewhat rot- 

 ten, was still quite well preserved. This twig 

 was held down by twelve or thirteen millime- 

 ters of earth, so that it remained firm when 

 the point of the rolled leaf began to push 

 against it. It must have been a severe strug- 

 gle which took place under the ground when 

 the young leaf steadily pushed its way toward 

 the light. The leaf must reach the light or 

 perish, and, as the diver who meets with an ob- 

 struction to his ascent nmst overcome it or 

 drown in the depths, so this leaf must over- 

 come the obstructing twig which bars its way 

 to the sunlight. How this was done is shown 

 in the accompanying sketch. Not being able to 

 lift the twig or push it out of the way, it pushed 

 through it, as an awl is pushed through a piece 

 of wood. 



An examination of the specimen shows 

 that the apex of the leaf is armed with a mass 

 of harder cells which protect the softer tissues 

 below the apex, just as the iron shoe of an 

 alpenstock protects the softer wood of the shaft. 

 In the leaf this hard point bore the pressure 

 from the swelling cells below, and it was finally 

 thrust into and through the twig, the hole be- 

 ing exactly like that made by an awl when 

 thrust into wood without twisting. As may be 

 seen, the leaf and the plant as a whole are none 

 the worse for this exploit, the blade being per- 

 fect in outline and of full size, while the long 

 petiole shows but its usual graceful curves. 



The University of Nebraska, April 19, 1898. 



A young Spring Lily grow- 

 ing through a twig. The 

 dotted line shows the 

 ground line. (Natural size) 



