THE HIGHER LIFE OF PLANTS 
The female flowers reach the surface of the 
water at the end of long, tapering, spiral-like 
stalks, but the males are compelled to remain 
far down near the bottom. At the flowering 
season, the males, responding to the universal 
mating instinct, deliberately break themselves 
from their stalks and rise to the surface to be 
near their loves for a little while. All too soon, 
however, they are carried away by unruly cur- 
rents to an untimely death, leaving behind 
them, in their pollen, the principle from which 
another generation of their species shall arise. 
They have presented themselves a living sac- 
rifice on the altar of love. 
Courage? Think of all the hardy trees which 
dwell in the high and cold places of the earth 
—places that are so exposed and desolate that 
the trees and plants find it necessary to contract 
themselves into the smallest possible compass, 
often living largely underground. On the other 
hand, think of the death-defying Cacti which 
live in infernos of the desert heat and dryness 
and yet put forth flowers of joy. 
Faith? Hope? What sustains the perennials 
through long, bleak winters and makes them 
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