PERSONALITY OF PLANTS 
sole possessor of thousands of square miles of 
land in America, Russia and elsewhere. 
All this has been wrought by man’s efforts. 
When it is to his interest, he fights the battles 
of plantdom, and because of his superior know- 
ledge and equipment is of tremendous service. 
Sometimes, however, he gives aid to his plant 
friends through motives that are quite unselfish. 
A romantic story is related of a French naval 
officer named Declieux who once elected to 
carry a Coffee Plant to the Colony of Martin- 
ique. The supply of water ran low during the 
voyage, and, rather than see the plant die, the 
man shared his daily glass with it, at consider- 
ate discomfort to himself. 
Until man becomes all-wise, he will continue 
to make mistakes; and not least of these will be 
in connection with his investigations into the 
mysteries of Nature. It has happened more 
than once that he has introduced some new plant 
into an old land, or vice versa, and lived to 
thoroughly regret his action. 
Sometime in 1890, a generously inclined in- 
dividual threw a Water Hyacinth into the St. 
Johns River in Florida. In the space of a few 
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