Ixvi FLORA ORCADENSIS. 
plant till the grasses in the pastures were thoroughly 
eaten up. Then, but not till then, the Kakile was 
eaten to the ground. 
There is no more interesting phase of botany than 
the sense-organs of plants. Plants feel, Linnzeus said 
long ago. The movements of plants, especially the 
sleep of flowers and leaves, and the circumnutation 
of climbing plants are wonderful, for all such move- 
ments imply sensitiveness. The tentacles of our 
Drosera are marvels of sensitive organs. Place the 
tiniest bit of meat or midge on the centre of the leaf, 
and these finger-like processes will gradually curve: 
round and locate the food accurately, and pour an 
acid on it which gradually dissolves the parts which 
are soluble. It is said that a bit so small as to be 
imperceptible when placed on our skin, is felt by the 
Drosera, and its digestive organs are set to work to 
feed on it. 
Then Nature has made rare provision to prevent 
plants from interbreeding. Plants are stronger when 
they are crossed—when the pollen of one plant is 
used to: fertilise the stigma of a plant of the same 
species on a different flower. Much of this is done 
by bees and moths, but provision to overcome this 
difficulty is otherwise made. Flowers have been 
classified as fertilised by insects—entomophilous— 
or by wind—anemophilous—and have wonderful 
adaptations to prevent the deteriorating effect of 
self-fertilisation. Everyone is acquainted with the 
disastrous results of in-breeding among animals. 
It is the same with plants. In this county we 
have three primroses. Two are yellow-flowered, and 
