THE SENSES OF PLANTS. 285 



direction with one or two almost zigzag bends, 

 another is inclined at a different angle and nearly 

 straight, while a third approaches the artist's ideal, 

 but never comes up to it. Along the shore there 

 is generally more uniformity ; the stems approxi- 

 mate to the shape of a bow, the two points of 

 which, the bole and the head, point seaward. They 

 behave in fact exactly in the same way as men 

 and women under similar circumstances, facing 

 the wind and bending forward to keep themselves 

 steady. 



While other palms belong to the forest, the 

 cocoanut, on the contrary, is a sea-shore plant all 

 over the tropics, and has become suited to its 

 environment. But it is by no means at a stand- 

 still ; on the contrary, as we have already stated, 

 the trunk is particularly sensitive. As the young 

 palm commences to rise we see its stem facing the 

 wind and curving forward, but when taller and 

 exposed to the full power of the continuous and 

 sometimes excessive breeze, it is liable to be twisted 

 to either side. Then we can also see how it 

 struggles to recover its first position, bending 

 forward at the head and growing a foot or two 

 until it is again blown backwards a little, to renew 

 the struggle as before. The result is that, with the 

 many differences of locality and consequent varia- 



