SPOTTING OF LEAVES. 387 



things, in strolling round his garden, must have 

 remarked how uniformly and singularly the foliage 

 of some of the varieties of the strawberry are spot- 

 ted, and corroded, as it were, into little holes; 

 whereas other kinds have seldom any of these 

 marks visible on them. I have fancied that these 

 spottings were occasioned by the influence of solar 

 heat : a shower of rain falls, small drops collect and 

 remain upon the leaf of the plant ; the sun then 

 darts out, converting all these globules of rain into 

 so many little lenses, converging the rays, and 

 scorching or burning a hole at the focus. This 

 conjecture has been rather strengthened by observ- 

 ing, that, upon certain sorts, the hautbois, alpine, 

 &c., the rain, when it falls uniformly, wets the 

 leaves, yet they do not become spotted ; but the 

 smooth leaves of others, roseberry, Caledonian, upon 

 which it stands in drops, always become marked 

 and perforated ; but whatever may be the real 

 cause of these spottings, if the foliage be touched, 

 by way of an experiment, with the point of a 

 heated wire, after a few days they will present an 

 appearance very similar to what is naturally effected. 

 There seems to be a curious analogy in their 

 functk>ns between the roots of plants and the mov- 

 ing parent of animated beings, a similar obligation 

 being required from them both of providing for 

 those dependent on them, and both will exert their 

 energies in fulfilment of this ordained mandate : 

 "the roots of plants wander up and down in every 

 direction, seeking for sustenance ; and we frequently 



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