TREE STEMS .>; 



iisiii*^ the le.'if st.'ilk for n claspin*;" holdfast. Not 

 less interesting^ are the phints that ch'mb b}- means 

 of their hooks ; the common bramble is of this 

 kind; it scrambles o\er the hed^e in a \er)- en- 

 ter|)risinL,^ and a_i^<.^ressive manner, while its spines 

 and hooks effectually j)re\ent it from slippinc;" back. 



A \er\' hi_L^dil\- dexeloped origan of climbin<i^ 

 is that to be found upon the stems of the 

 small \'ir<^inian creeper . .liiipe/ops's Vcitcliii). 

 On the points of its small tendrils we shall dis- 

 cover little globular, crimson-coloured pads, which, 

 when pressed against a tree or wall, secrete 

 a kind of vegetable glue. This fixes the 

 tendril and enables the weak slender stem to 

 climb upwards. In these instances, as well as 

 others mentioned earlier in the chapter, we 

 have again evidences of how wonderfull)' plants 

 are adapted to their wants and environment. 



Things to obserxe and collect: — The \arious 

 ways in which trees shed their bark ; how trees 

 repair holes in the stem ; fibres in fla.x stem 

 and in hemp ; specimens easil\- obtained b\- 

 sowing lin.seed and hemp-.seed ; .section of brake- 

 fern stem ; section of elder stem ; thin section of 



