XII 
PLANTS THAT BUILD AIRSHIPS 
AN usually has been an imitator, a fol- 
lower; seldom a creator or leader. Many 
of his marvellous inventions are patterned after the 
ingenious work of plants; and in no instance is this 
better illustrated than in the airship. Aerial navi- 
gation is indeed a new thing with him; with plants 
it is “older than the hills.” 
The desire for the welfare of their offspring has 
led plants to invent the most marvellous and in- 
genious methods for sending their children into the 
world. Plant children must not be sent out alone 
and unprotected, but must be well equipped to 
battle against unfavourable conditions and locate 
in desirable places. Perhaps overcrowding is the 
greatest danger to which they are subjected; and 
only as aeronauts have they solved their mightiest 
problem, many having successfully made various 
kinds of wings, balloons, and airships with which to 
send their children out into the world. 
The uninitiated man is prone to look upon their 
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