220 CELL INTELLIGENCE THE CAUSE OF EVOLUTION 



Brazilian Delkciosa, the temperature was 100 degrees 

 Fahr., while the air outside was 78 degrees Fahr. Even 

 more astonishing was the case of the Arum Italicum. 

 Here, when the outside air was registered at 60 degrees 

 Fahr. the inside of the spathe showed a temperature of 

 110 degrees Fahr. The temperature of a plant, like that 

 of an animal, is a fairly stable feature. No matter what 

 the external conditions may be, the ordinary temperature 

 of the human being remains at about 98 degrees Fahr., 

 whether living in the tropical or arctic regions. It is the 

 same with plants ; the long spells of hot dry weather in 

 Australia are notorious, but however scorching the sun 

 may be the sap of the plants remains cool. The long 

 roots of the Eucalyptus tree are tapped for their cool sap 

 by the natives. The root 20 to 30 feet running in 6 inches 

 of baking soil, is cool and delicious. Melons and gourds 

 of all kinds are astonishing in their powers of keeping 

 cool, even under the most scorching conditions. In the 

 testing of the temperature in a fairly strong sun, it ran 

 up to 110 degrees Fahr., yet the temperature in the in- 

 terior of the fruit was little more than 60 degrees. The 

 maintaining of the temperature in the plant is a process 

 which is directly associated with the life of the specimen. 

 The coolness of the gourd remains only so long as it is 

 attached to the plant. When the fruit is cut it rapidly 

 becomes the same temperature as the atmosphere, like 

 any other object. The moisture in the plant can not be 

 kept cool by evaporation, as it can spare no water but 

 must conserve every drop. Everything we know about a 

 plant which lives in a dry hot climate shows that all 

 kinds of devices are employed to check and prevent loss of 

 moisture. The loss of moisture by evaporation through 

 the thick skin of the gourd is very slight, while the 



