Chap, II. THEIR INTELLiaSNCE. G9 



of the endless hybridised varieties of the 

 Rhododendron vary much, in shape ; some are 

 narrowest towards the base and others to- 

 wards the apex. After they have fallen off, 

 the blade on each side of the midrib often 

 becomes curled up while drying, sometimes 

 along the whole length, sometimes chiefly 

 at the base, sometimes towards the apex. 

 Out of 28 fallen leaves on one bed of peat in 

 my garden, no less than 23 were narrower in 

 tlie basal quarter than in the terminal quarter 

 of their length ; and this narrowness was 

 chiefly due to the curling in of the margins. 

 Out of 36 fallen leaves on another' bed, in 

 which different varieties of the Rhododendron 

 grew, only 17 were narrower towards the 

 base than towards the apex. My son William, 

 who first called my attention to this case, 

 picked up 237 fallen leaves in his garden 

 (where the Rhododendron grows in the 

 natural soil) and of these 65 per cent, could 

 have been drawn by worms into their bur- 

 rows more easily by the base or foot-stalk 

 than by the tip ; and this was partly due to 

 the shape of the leaf and in a less degree 

 to the curling in of the margins : 27 per 



