STAtft ItOkTlCllI.TUUAl. SOClfeTV. X81 



or herb, that hath a stiff, struiifj;, stem, that is able to mount up and stand 

 alone without assistance, furnished with these tendrils." We make as in- 

 gle, simple comparison, the pea and bean, and remark that in the pea 

 they do not make their ai)|)earan(e till the plant has grown to a height 

 to need support. 



The hollow stems of canes, straws, and grasses give the greatest 

 possible amount of strength and elasticity for the amount of material 

 used. Joints at staled distances in these tubes are another element of 

 strength without increase of weight, ihv material being slightly different. 

 With what uniformity and care has nature [jrovided for tliese stalks of 

 grasses, grains, and canes bv covering each with an impenetrable coat of 

 weather-proof varnish. 



(brasses seem to be nature's especial care. With these she carpets 

 her green earth and paints the landscape; with these slie feeds the hu- 

 man family, the birds of the air, beasts of the field, and tiie grub beneath 

 the surface. Cattle feed upon the leaves, birds upon the smaller seeds, 

 many insects upon their roots, and none need l)e told tliat (oru, wheat, 

 rye, etc , etc., are strictly grasses. 



Corn is a monoecious panicious grass, and though the great staple of 

 the West, it seems to be overlooked in its botanical and mechanical con- 

 struction by intelligent growers. Our bread-producing plants are grasses. 

 Those families of plants known as grasses e.\.hibit extraordinary means 

 and powers of increase, hardiness, and an almost unconquerable dispo- 

 sition to spread; their faculties for recuperation coincide with the inten- 

 tion of nature concerning them. They thrive under a treatment by 

 which other plants are destroyed. The more their leaves are consumed 

 the more their roots increase. Many seemingly dry and dead leaves of 

 grasses revive and renew their verdure in spring. In lofty mountains 

 and cold latitudes where the summer hea:s are not sufficient to ripen 

 their seeds, grasses 'abound which are able to propagate themselves 

 without seed. The number of the mechanical adjustments are so nu- 

 merous we must content ourselves as before remarked with a reference 

 to the more common and marked instances. Parasitical plants furnish 

 marked illustrations. The Cusciita Europea is of this class. The seed 

 opens and puts forth a little s])iral bodv which does //t:"/ seek the earth to 

 take root, but climbs spirally from right to left u])on other plants from 

 which it draws its nourishment. The little spiral body proceeding from 

 the seed is to be compared with the fibres the seeds send out in ordinary 

 cases. They are straight, this is spiral. They shoot downwards, this 

 shoots upwards. In the rule and in the exception we equally perceive 

 the design. 



A better known parasitical plant is the mistletoe. We have to remark 

 in it a singular instance of "compensation," No art hath yet made those 

 plants root in the earth. Here, then, might seem to be a mortal defect 

 in their constitution. Let us examine how this defect is made up to 

 them. The seeds are endued with an adhesive quality so tenacious that 

 they adhere to the surface or bark of any tree, however smooth. Roots 



