INTELLIGENCE OF THE CELL 253 



tion. Scent considered as an olfactory sensation is a 

 vibration, and scent therefore is the sound uttered by 

 flowers, or a song without words as it were. 



"Among the astounding plants which Mr. Black will 

 bring is a species of jatropha from Colombia, known as 

 the ortiga brava albo (the cruel white metal) which 

 secretes a poison like a rattlesnake, and when touched, 

 two tiny organs which correspond to the tongue of a 

 snake shoot poison and inflict a deadly wound. He also 

 brings some varieties of stinging plants, which have long 

 hairs, and when a hair is snapped by contact, it dis- 

 charges poison in even sufficient quantity to kill a man. 

 He intends to demonstrate this by killing mice and in- 

 sects." 



We see in every individual, plant or animal an effort 

 to improve and maintain its stage of existence on this 

 planet. Call it chance, or intelligence, or what you will, it 

 is the same in plants and animals as it is in man, and we 

 find it the same in the cell as in those individuals which 

 he produces. However, we know that chance can not 

 take care of a social community like a city or an animal. 

 There must be loyalty, duty, sleepless watchfulness, a 

 wisdom to make and unmake, and to keep careful watch 

 over all that happens within and without. 



Did you ever stop to consider all the wonderful schemes 

 that plants have invented to cause their young or seeds to 

 be scattered over the surface of the earth? It is such a 

 common matter that we never stop to give it a thought. 



The following is an extract from my common school 

 Botany : "Dispersal by currents of air. Many seeds are 

 so light as to be carried about by currents of air. Ordi- 

 narily, however, the wind-dispersed seeds of fruits de- 

 velop special appendages to aid in their flight, commonest 

 among which are wings and tufts of hair. For example, 



