284 Itf THE GUIANA FOREST. 



affected by the vibrations of loud noises. The real 

 foundation of all the senses is undoubtedly that of 

 feeling all the others may be wanting without loss 

 of communication with things outside, but when 

 feeling is gone the case is indeed a sad one. That 

 feeling is possessed more or less by all plants is 

 certain, and in some this sense is developed to a 

 higher degree than in many of the lower animals. 



One of the most striking examples of feeling is 

 to be seen in the cocoanut palm, and we put this 

 first because the sense is not so appreciable in the 

 trunk of any other tree. Leaves and flowers can 

 be easily recognised as sensitive, but a palm stem 

 might be thought almost inert. All who have 

 been in the tropics will have noticed the beautiful 

 straight columns of the palm trees natural pillars 

 that seem fitted to support the forest canopy. 

 Whether thin as walking sticks or massive as the 

 pillars of a house, they are almost invariably erect, 

 with one grand exception the cocoanut. Even the 

 artist has grasped this fact, and always takes care 

 to depict this particular palm with a graceful wavy 

 stem. As a matter of fact the bends are rarely 

 graceful ; they have been formed for use not orna- 

 ment, and tell their own story to all who are pre- 

 pared to listen or rather observe their doings. They 

 are by no means all alike one will lean in some 



