68 



curious and remarkable member of this strange tribe. 

 In her cactuses 1 and orchids sportive nature often displays 

 a ludicrous resemblance to insects, birds, animals, and 

 even the " human face and form divine ; " but this is 

 one of the few instances in which she has condescended 

 to imitate in her vegetable productions the written lan- 

 guage of man. The crust of this curious autograph of 

 nature is a mere white tartareous film of indefinite extent, 





FIG. 7. OPEGRAPHA SCRIPTA. 



sometimes bounded by a faint line of black like a mourn- 

 ing letter. It spreads over the smooth bark of trees, 

 particularly the beech, the hazel, and the oak. On the 

 birch-tree whose smooth, snow-white, vellum-like bark 

 seems designed by nature for the inscription of lovers' 

 names and magic incantations it may often be seen 

 covering the whole trunk. The fructification consists of 

 long wavy black lines, sometimes parallel like Euuic 

 inscriptions ; sometimes arrow-headed, like the cuneiform 

 characters engraved upon the monumental stones of Per- 

 sepolis and Assyria; and sometimes gathered together 



1 As, for instance, Cactus tenllit. 



