Vices of Plants 113 



with life; the other was the consummation of death in all its 

 grim nude ugliness. Was a dim sense of brotherhood pos- 

 sible between these two widely separated creations? Can 

 the wildest imagination of a tree ever foresee itself builded 

 into floors, timbers, into temples, or ships, or railroad ties? 

 Is the lumber pile ignominy, or the destiny coveted of trees; 

 and do they feel thwarted in their life work when they merely 

 fulfil the life purpose, and are not used in constructive ways ? 

 Men are not happy merely to live; they must express them- 

 selves in one way or another. Is it a disgrace in a forest to 

 fall from old age? Are there vague stirrings of aim and 

 ambition in the heart of trees ? What is their secret feeling 

 toward storms, the winter cold and winds ? The train came 

 too soon for me to answer the questions that arose, but I felt 

 it had been good to have sat for an hour, trying to interpret 

 their silent council. 



I have wandered far afield, and must return to depict vice 

 as I find it. Some plants have low instincts and attract to 

 themselves bad associates. If you are in the detective ser- 

 vice and want to track the rosebug, visit the seemingly 

 respectable garden heliotrope, any of the Spireas, the Asper- 

 ula hexaphylla, and you will find him feasting at the table 

 of your favorites like a ban muant. If you want to entrap 

 the green aphis send an investigating committee unawares 

 to the tips of your choicest roses or gaura; if you would 

 arrest the potato-bug, set a spy on the nicotiana. I like 

 not this company, and shall not further enumerate the black- 

 legs of the garden, for you will find them duly pictured in 

 the Rogue's Gallery under the title of Mine Enemies. I 

 merely mention the fact that some plants are leading a double 

 life, and consort with very questionable companions. 



Then there are plants with bad habits. Whether they eat 

 too much, or drink too much, or it is due to some other 



