156 SAGACITY AND MORALITY OF PLANTS. 



their thick stems or big succulent leaves, and defend- 

 ing it against all herbivorous enemies by their for- 

 midable spines. To prevent evaporation they are 

 covered with a thick and very firm epidermis, so that 

 they lose very little of their moisture, even during 

 months of drought. 



" What these great desert plants do on a large 

 scale, our little English Saltwort does on a much 

 smaller scale. It has the same strong prickles, the 

 same thick, juicy leaves, the same protective epidermis, 

 and the same general aspect of growth as the Cactuses 

 themselves. If one were to enlarge it twenty -fold, 

 every casual observer would set it down as a desert 

 species at once." 



Perhaps one reason for the succulence of such 

 maritime plants as the Saltwort is the quantity of 

 salt entering into their composition. This substance 

 is remarkable for its power of absorbing moisture, 

 even from the atmosphere, and it must, therefore, 

 be a gain to succulent plants to grow where salt 

 abounds. In proof of this we have the fact that 

 well-known maritime plants have settled down near 

 saltworks inland, as in Cheshire and Worcestershire. 

 Moreover, maritime plants are notable for their 

 fleshiness and succulency, although many widely 

 different orders are represented by them. 



Various other peculiarities distinguish plants in 

 widely -separated orders, all of which have been 

 developed in the keen and seemingly cruel "struggle 



