iv ON PLANT LIFE 139 



of utility are applicable. Their forms are 

 almost infinitely varied. To quote Rus kin's 

 vivid words, they " take all kinds of strange 

 shapes, as if to invite us to examine them. 

 Star-shaped, heart-shaped, spear-shaped, arrow- 

 shaped, fretted, fringed, cleft, furrowed, ser- 

 rated, sinuated, in whorls, in tufts, in spires, 

 in wreaths, endlessly expressive, deceptive, 

 fantastic, never the same from foot-stalk to 

 blossom, they seem perpetually to tempt our 

 watchfulness and take delight in outstepping 

 our wonder." 



But besides these differences of mere form, 

 there are many others : of structure, texture, 

 and surface ; some are scented or have a 

 strong taste, or acrid juice, some are smooth, 

 others hairy ; and the hairs again are of 

 various kinds. 



I have elsewhere 1 endeavoured to explain 

 some of the causes which have determined 

 these endless varieties. In the Beech, for in- 

 stance (Fig. 15), the leaf has an area of about 

 3 square inches. The distance between the 

 buds is about H inch, and the leaves lie in 



1 Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves. 



