Climbing Plants 233 



what suggestive of such characters, for they ex- 

 pend much vital energy in searching for something 

 to support them, and in holding fast to the sup- 

 port when it is found. The "movements and 

 habits of climbing plants " have been carefully 

 studied by Darwin, whose book on the subject is 

 the source of most of the facts here and now set 

 forth. He divides climbing plants into four classes. 

 Those of the first class twine spirally around a 

 support, and have no other spontaneous move- 

 ments. To this category beans and hops belong. 



Vines of the second class ascend by means of 

 special organs. Sometimes, as is the case with 

 the clematis, the leaf-stalks do double duty, and 

 not only uphold the leaves, but also embrace any 

 slender thing within reach. And sometimes the 

 plant bears tendrils, which reach out like the feelers 

 of an octopus, seeking what they may clasp and 

 hold. By this method sweet-peas get on in the 

 world. But no sharp line of distinction can be 

 drawn between "leaf-climbers" and "tendril-bear- 

 ers." They are closely connected, and are classi- 

 fied together. 



Vines of the third class scramble upward by 

 means of hooks, and this is the way some roses 

 clamber. Many of these hook-climbers are natives 



