THINGS GREEN AND FAIR 15 



" There was once a nest in a hollow; 

 Down in the mosses and knot-grass pressed. 

 Soft and warm and full to the brim — 

 Vetches leaned over it, purple and dim. 

 With Buttercup -buds to follow." ^ 



II — Plants and Animals 



What is the real difference between Plants and 

 Animals? That question comes first. 



Why, of course — they are so very unlike. Animals 

 can feel and suffer ; animals can love and hate ; animals 

 can understand when they are spoken to; animals 

 can — well, not exactly talk, but they can make us 

 understand by signs and looks and sounds what they 

 want. Sometimes we say of an especial pet, " That 

 dear dog knows every word that is said to him." 



But this is true only of a few among the highest 

 and most sensible of animals. What we have now to 

 think about is — all animals of every kind, from the 

 highest to the lowest, as compared with all plants of 

 every kind, from the highest to the lowest. 



Your little dog may be clever and affectionate, and 

 horses and elephants have extraordinary sense. But 

 will an oyster understand if you speak to it ? Can you 

 win the love of a beetle ? Is a cheese-mite intelligent ? 

 Could a worm do your bidding ? 



When we speak of a dog's powers, we are looking at 

 the difference between higher and lower animals. What 

 we have now to see is — ^the difference between any kind 

 of animal and any kind of plant. 



We can grasp in a moment the distinction between 

 an Oak-tree and a horse; or between a Wellingtonia 

 1 Jean Ingelow. 



