PERSONALITY OF PLANTS 
tance with the passage of time be explained in 
terms of cold materialism? 
Among plants which show a well-developed 
sense of direction, the Compass-Plant is prob- 
ably the most remarkable. Its flowers, and 
sometimes the edges of its leaves, always point 
toward the north with the certainty of a magnet. 
Travelers have been known to use it as a natural 
guide. 
A great many plants perform remarkable 
acts which can only be explained by the pos- 
session of some measure of psychic sense or 
quality. Thus, a climbing plant in need of a 
prop will creep along the ground toward the 
nearest vertical support. If the support is 
shifted, the vine will promptly change the di- 
rection of its progress, and eventually reach the 
object of its desires. 
Inasmuch as it is positively known that plants 
are sensitive to light, it may be that, in this case, 
the vine actually perceives the support through 
a process akin to animal sight; but if a climb- 
ing plant finds itself growing between two 
mounds or ridges, and behind one there is a 
wall or some other means of support, and be- 
[172] 
