CHAPTER II 



THE CEDARS OF NONSUCH 



EVERY time I come up from diving among the 

 coral reefs I find I have an increased interest 

 in botany. Under water I associate with an aston- 

 ishing number of animals masquerading as plants ; 

 sea-lilies, lichens, fungus, moss, grass, fruit, trees, 

 vines, blossoms, shrubs, ancient and weather-beaten 

 trees — all are represented, and only by careful 

 scrutiny is the animal character apparent. I come 

 up and see the trees and lesser plants of Nonsuch 

 swaying in the currents of air. I note their forms, 

 colors, and patterns, and instinctively I watch for 

 sudden unplantish movements. I look for a visit- 

 ing insect to be seized and eaten; I wonder if the 

 jellyfish which drops when ripe from the branch of 

 his parent has no simile on land. 



And then I think of the sundew trapping and 

 devouring its prey, of the nervousness of sensitive 

 plants, of the capable defense of nettles, of the 

 sleeping postures of flowers, and the almost rea- 

 soned efforts of vines to attain light and water. 

 There come to mind the terrible tragedies of trees 

 choked to death by parasites; the time when a 

 bamboo sprout carried my hat out of reach in three 

 days, and the sad death of a carrot from alcoholism 



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