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in others they are extremely delicate and minute, bat 

 none the less fitted to be instruments for fulfilling the 

 will of the individual plant, the same as the muscles 

 of a man obey the mandates of his active brain. 



A plant named Jlpta or 8anar is found in Senegal 

 with roots which rise vertically a foot above the sur- 

 face of the earth. With the aid of their muscular 

 fibers plants are enabled to forsake a poor soil and 

 reach a better one. They frequently succeed in reach- 

 ing to newly formed ditches and canals, where they 

 can obtain a more abundant supply of moisture. In 

 our rocky Mountain Ranges, roots and branches are 

 known to surmount almost insuperable obstacles in 

 order to gain their end, that is, to supply their neces- 

 sities. A branch has been known to have its normal 

 direction parallel to the soil, and to overtop an obs^ 

 truction, with the evident purpose of attaining a more 

 favorable exposure to the sun ; air and light. Roots 

 penetrate into hard soils, through stone walls, and 

 even into rocks by bursting them. By means of mus- 

 cular elasticity numerous flowers leave their perpen- 

 dicular direction, and, with the purpose of exposing 

 their faces to the sun, follow his diurnal course by 

 looking towards the east in the morning, the south at 

 noon, and the west at evening. Moisture and dryness 

 are both necessary conditions for the action of mus- 

 cular fiber. 



Change of direction is conspicuous in the altered 

 aspect of plants at night, and under excess of moisture> 



