269 



selves, but protecting the young ones from 

 the scorching rays. 



Eggs. — Four to six eggs arc laid, grey- 

 ish or greenish-white, spotted or mottled 

 with yellowish or reddish sienna spots or 

 blotches. Sometimes the spotting is fine, 

 and forms a zone round the thick parts ; at 

 other times it is in blotches, and then more 

 of the ground colour is shown. 



Varieties. — "I have had one entirely 

 white. I took a nest in Cambridgeshire 

 in 1864 with four eggs entirely rich cream 

 colour without any spots or markings. I 

 have seen eggs similar to those of the pied 

 bird, also without spots or marks.— F.B." 



LECTURE ON BOTANY. 



A lecture on Botany was delivered by Mr. 

 J. P. Soutter, the subject being " First Steps 

 in Botany, with the I'roperties and Folk-lore 

 of Familiar Flowers." The following conden- 

 sation is from the " Auckland Times." After 

 a brief allusion to the extent and variety of 

 vegetable life, and the difficulty of drawing a 

 sharp line of demarcation betwixt the animal 

 and vegetable kingdoms, the lecturer proceed- 

 ed to define plants as producing organic mat- 

 ter, whilst animals consume it, or that plants 

 have the power of elaborating organised 

 living structures out of dead matter, whilst 

 animals only re-arrange the already manu- 

 factured materials. He then showed, in 

 considerable detail, what are the various 

 substances which form the tood of plants, how 

 they are obtained, absorbed, and built up in 

 the body of the plant ; how the minute 

 microscopic cells which form the tissues of 

 the plant derive their nourishment, grow, 

 and increase in number ; tracing the gradu- 

 al evolution of the plants from a mere speck 

 to the fully developed flower or tree. In 

 the whole life history of the plant perhaps 

 nothing is more wonderful than thcattributes 

 and vagaries of the young growing root. So 

 exquisitely sensitive and sensible is this im- 

 portant organ that it has been aptly called the 



brain of the plant. As soon as ever it bursts 

 the shell of the germinating seed it commen- 

 ces moving round and round, rotating from 

 side to side, seeking for sustenance and the 

 easiest way to find it, resembling nothing so 

 much as the head of the common earth- 

 worm protruded from its hole and striving 

 to lay hold of the adjacent leaves and twigs. 

 Although its natural tendency is downwards, 

 from the attraction of gravitation, yet if 

 grown freely suspended in air, the least 

 bit of resisting medium attached to its tip, 

 such as the merest fragment of card paper, 

 will cause it to bend away from the object 

 till it will even form a complete circle, 

 lengthening out all the time. Of course, 

 when growing naturally, surrounded and 

 weighted by the superincumbent soil, it is 

 forced downwards, and here is seen its 

 adaptability to circumstances by its adoption 

 of the line of least resistance, for it takes 

 advantage of every crevice in the soil, of a 

 worm hole or other channel, and the depth 

 to which it will penetrate and the distance 

 it will travel in search of food is incredible, 

 except to actual observation. To shield it 

 from injury whilst thus forcing its way 

 amongst the soil, sand, and stones, the tip is 

 protected by a sheath, as a lady protects 

 her finger with a thimble or a glove, only 

 this root-cap has the merit of never wearing 

 out. As it becomes abraded and rubbed on 

 the outside it is constantly being renewed 

 by a layer of fresh cells originated at the 

 growing point within. Having once obtained 

 an entrance into a crevice, it soon, by its 

 expansive power, enlarges the opening and 

 makes room for itself. And this, not as a 

 nail driven in by a hammer forces a passage, 

 but as a wedge of dry wood inserted in the 

 cleft of a rock and kept constantly wetted 

 by the absorption of moisture will split the 

 solid cliff asunder, so the tiny rootlet burrows 

 its silent way. And whilst ab.sorbing nutri- 

 ment it is also exuding a secretion which 

 ilissolves and as it were cooks and prepares 



