16 THE GARDEN OF EARTH 



and an elephant. No one ever muddles up the one 

 with the other. A man never stands gazing, and 

 shaking a puzzled head, and saying : " Well, on the 

 whole, I think the cow is an animal, and not a vegetable. 

 I really believe that the Elm must be a plant, and not 

 an animal." 



But when we get very low down in the two Kingdoms, 

 matters are by no means so easy. 



When in the Animal Kingdom we leave behind us 

 elephants and horses, cows and dogs, four-legged beasts 

 of all sorts, birds, reptiles, fishes and insects. And 

 when in the Vegetable Kingdom we leave behind us 

 Oaks and Elms, Flowering Plants of all kinds, and 

 Ferns and Mosses. And when we get right down to a 

 wide borderland, just between the two Kingdoms, 

 where the very lowest and smallest of animals and of 

 plants are found — then perplexities begin. 



For it is there that the line has to be drawn, dividing 

 the Animal Kingdom from the Vegetable Kingdom. 

 And that is just Avhat is so hard to do. It becomes 

 most difficult to say which of the minute creatures there 

 is an animal, and which is a vegetable. Many mistakes 

 have been made in the past. 



Some tiny creatures, long believed to be animals, 

 have turned out to be really very minute plants. And 

 other tiny specks, long believed to be plants, have 

 turned out to be really very minute animals. 



You may think it odd that this puzzle should exist ; 

 since, after all, we are sure of one thing. Plants remain 

 in one place, firmly rooted to the ground ; while animals 

 are not rooted, but move freely about. So that there is 

 always one clear indication, by which to know tliem. 



