CURIOUS TREES 183 



Sever a good-sized, healthy banana tree from its 

 roots during the wet season and it will not die. On 

 the contrary, it will send up a new shoot from the 

 centre of the stump, and, as if striving to make up 

 for lost time, in forty-eight hours will be waving 

 one or more good-sized leaves in the breeze. It is 

 claimed that during the early stages of this spurt, 

 one can actually see the growth of the new section, 

 much as plants are sometimes made to grow before 

 one's eyes on the motion-picture screen. 



In many parts of the world are so-called freak 

 trees which arouse amazement because of their mere 

 position in the world. A remarkable example of 

 tree courage can be seen at Greensburg, Indiana. 

 High on a Court House tower at a point 110 feet 

 above the ground flourishes a lone maple tree. It 

 is thirty-five years old, fifteen feet tall and four 

 inches in diameter. Its entire substance is obtained 

 from the air, the rain, and material in the crevices 

 between the stones in which its roots are lodged. 

 It formerly had three companions. The largest was 

 removed in 1887 because it was beginning to dis- 

 lodge the huge stone blocks. The other two died 

 a little later during a period of intense heat. It is 

 natural to assume that all four were planted in 

 their decidedly unusual position by the wind. The 

 surviving tree probably does not fit into the archi- 



