XII 



PLANTS THAT BUILD AIRSHIPS 



MAN" usually has been an imitator, a fol- 

 lower; seldom a creator or leader. Many 

 of his marvellous inventions are patterned after the 

 ingenious work of plants ; and in no instance is this 

 better illustrated than in the airship. Aerial navi- 

 gation is indeed a new thing with him; with plants 

 it is "older than the hills." 



The desire for the welfare of then* offspring has 

 led plants to invent the most marvellous and in- 

 genious methods for sending their children into the 

 world. Plant children must not be sent out alone 

 and unprotected, but must be well equipped to 

 battle against unfavourable conditions and locate 

 in desirable places. Perhaps overcrowding is the 

 greatest danger to which they are subjected; and 

 only as aeronauts have they solved their mightiest 

 problem, many having successfully made various 

 kinds of wings, balloons, and airships with which to 

 send their children out into the world. 



The uninitiated man is prone to look upon their 

 111 



