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in which difficulties are met in plant life ; but, really, we have in 
our own gardens many instances as curious, which were especially 
notable this year. There are many plants which we may fairly 
call Resurrection Plants ; plants which apparently die during a 
drought, but which come to life again at the first approach of rain. 
A very familiar instance is found in the pretty fern that is so 
abundant in many parts of this district, though very rare in 
many parts of England, the Ceterach officinarum. As soon as the 
dry weather comes, and sometimes almost before it comes, the leaves 
shrivel up, showing only the under part of the fronds, and looking 
like so many shreads of brown paper ; but on the first approach of 
rain the fronds go back into their proper position, they regain 
their full colour, and carry on their life as if they had had no 
check. To those of you who grow Alpines, the pretty Ramondia 
Pyrenaica, will be almost as familiar ; and in that, too, you will 
see the same power of resisting a long drought. After a week’s 
drought the leaves will be shrivelled and brown, and almost 
reduced to nothing ; it will remain in that state for weeks, and 
then when the rain comes the leaves regain their colour, and the 
plant is as happy as ever. In these two plants there is a mystery 
which I cannot explain. I can understand a plant losing its 
leaves by drought and then getting new leaves, but I cannot 
understand how leaves can lose all their colour and then regain 
it, as these two plants, and many others are able to do, and it 
seems as if plants had the power on the approach of danger to 
part with their chlorophyll not entirely, but to store it ina safe 
place, their roots, from whence they could draw it again when 
the circumstances were favourable. But there is another still 
more common instance, which I do not mention with these two, 
because I am not sure whether or not the result is produced in 
the same way. Many of you must have been distressed at the 
state of your lawns this year. My own having a deep soil stood 
the drought well for a few weeks, but the battle was too long, 
and at last it was almost the same colour as my gravel walks ; 
