A FROZEN WORLD 



215 



In reality, plants, though usually more or less 

 attached to the soil, have almost as many tricks 

 and manners of their own as the vast mass of 

 animals ; they provide in the most ingenious and 

 varied ways for the most diverse emergencies. 

 The winter shoots of the curled pond-weed, for 



NO . 4. THE SHOOTS DETACHING THEMSELVES AND SINKING, 

 BEFORE THE POND FREEZES. 



example, carrying with them the hopes of the race 

 for a future season, are deliberately arranged be- 

 forehand with a line of least resistance, a point of 

 severance on the stem, at which in the fulness of 

 time they peaceably detach themselves. You can 

 note in the illustration how they have glided off 



