u 



similar responses. There is continually taking place in the plant 

 organism a series of responses due to complex, internal or automatic 

 impulses, or to external or environmental causes which give rise to 

 innumerable correlative changes in the organism. Such factors as 

 heat, light, moisture, gravity, electricity, etc., act continually as stim- 

 uli as do the products of absorption and metabolism. Whenever the 

 plant is deprived of any of its organs it proceeds along definite lines 

 to make good the loss in order that the balance or reciprocal rela- 

 tionship existing between them may be maintained. 



The mutual relationship existing between the component parts of a 

 plant is of importance, and when this relationship is interfered with 

 by mutilation, etc., correlation follows. The plant organism, how- 

 ever, is not to be compared to 

 a lifeless machine for there 

 exists a capacity or power of 

 automatic adjustment, or a 

 self regulatory function which 

 frequently manifests itself in a 

 surprisingly brief period. 'J'his 

 cap"acity for self-regulation 

 which the plant is endowed 

 with, the carrying out of which 

 simulates instinct or even 

 intelligence on its part,differen. 

 tiates it from a mere machine. 

 That this inherent self-regula- 

 tory characteristic, or power 

 for mutually adjusting its com- 

 ponent parts to each other, is 

 of the greatest importance is 

 obvious, as it enables the 

 organism to overcome obsta- 

 cles which might otherwise 

 prove fatal. 



There are a number of 



examples offered by plants 



„. . which show the results of the 

 7'/^'. o. ,. . • I- 



^, . , r J- 7 7 r aijplication of stimuli due to 



SJiimnn^ leaf spin- formed 0)1 end of ... 



fruit cluster. ' "'"Illation, but it is only 



