THE SLEEP OF PLANTS 



By S LEONARD BASTIN 

 With Phctofiraphs by the Author 



AS the sun sinks towards the western many plants. The fohagc seemed as if 

 ^ horizon a \"er\- great change comes it were gathered together, whilst many 

 over the countryside. Already the a flower head, which had been erect and 

 birds and insects which were so busy at open in the sunshine, was now drooping 



with closed petals. It 

 scarcely seems that the 

 natiu'alist really grasped 

 the true meaning of the 

 1 phenomenon which he 

 noticed, although his 

 was certainly a pleasing 

 fancy that designated 

 this evening change as 

 the " sleep of plants." 

 M o d e r n research has 

 done a good deal, it is 

 to be feared, to dispel 

 this romantic idea, for 

 we now know that plants 

 do not sleep in the sense 

 of the word as applied 

 to the taking of rest. 



high noon begin to feel the 

 approach of the night, and 

 turn their attentions to the 

 question of where they may 

 safely spend the hours of 

 darkness. Amongst the plants, 

 too, the faihng light in the 

 late afternoon is the signal 

 for a great preparation, with- 

 out which the well-being of 

 vegetation would he seriously 

 endangered. The great Lin- 

 na-us, walking in the fields 

 and gardens at dusk, saw that 

 a very ob\-ious alteration had 

 taken place in the l)earing of 



NIGHT POSITION OF CLOVER. 



