GUELDER ROSE, 101 



appendages where they join the branch. 

 These are very marked and obviously useful 

 structures : what is their meaning ? That I 

 do not know. I merely mention them because 

 their object seems at present insoluble. One 

 might say the same thing about a hundred 

 other points in every plant or animal one 

 picks up in a country stroll. The descrip- 

 tions of naturalists are apt to make one sup- 

 pose that we know all about them. In reality, 

 only a few small parts of their mechanism are 

 yet even partially understood. The very 

 idea of explaining the origin of organic 

 structure genetically is still a novel one. We 

 have only just begun to dig at the vast mine ; 

 and all we can do as yet is to unearth a solitary 

 little nugget or two and parade them before 

 the world. The labour of the old-fashioned 

 naturalists has collected an enormous mass of 

 facts as to form and structure ; but as to use 

 and function we have still almost all the work 

 to do. 



