49 



speaking of his countrymen, " the Dalecarlian, 

 after he has cut it, and carried it into the barn, 

 in a few days finds all the glumes empty, and 

 the oats separate from them, for every oat has a 

 spiral arista, or beard, annexed to it, which is 

 contracted by moisture and extended in dry 

 weather. When the arista is contracted, it 

 drags the oat along with it, but when it expands 

 again, the oat does not go back to its former 

 place, the roughness of the beard the contrary 

 way preventing its return. 



REMARKABLE MOVING VEGETA$LE. 



One of the most curious and interesting vege- 

 tables in the world is the celebrated moving 

 plant, named Hedysarum gyrans, which is 

 found on the shores of the Ganges, in Bengal. 

 It is biennial, though a shrubby plant, bearing 

 long spikes of pale party-coloured flowers. Its 

 great singularity consists in the leaves : these 

 have a peculiar and spontaneous motion, both 

 moving together from a pendant to an erect 

 position, or the reverse, with considerable ra- 

 pidity; or one of them will move by starts, 

 while the other is stationary. This motion 



D 



