164 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



plants, require sleep before they grow and blossom. 

 And the more highly developed the plant, the more 

 sleep it requires before coming forth. The small 

 shrub does not need as much rest as the giant 

 trees of the California forests. Think of the tre- 

 mendous amount of work to supply food materials 

 to the millions of delicate leaves of the upper 

 branches of a gigantic redwood, towering over 

 three hundred feet in the air ! Even the evergreens, 

 such as the pines and cedars, which seem to work 

 all the year round, have their times for rest and 

 recuperation. 



In this habit of vacational rests and regular 

 sleep, plant life shows but another of its human 

 traits. From the most lowly to the most mighty, 

 all plants wake and slumber, slumber and wake, 

 with methodical regularity, in response to the de- 

 mands of nature. 



