32 
PLANTS. 
cumstance not to be overlooked, that in the pea 
tribe these clasps do not make their appearance till 
they are wanted ; till the plant has grown to a 
height to stand in need of support.” 
It has been suggested by the ingenious Dr. Per- 
cival, that plants have a power of perception which 
actuates their motions, and that to think otherwise 
is to deviate from the soundest rules of philosophy. 
However this may be, we must confess ourselves 
more inclined to believe that a mechanical impulse 
is the general cause of action in the vegetable crea- 
tion, than that, like animals, they are endued with 
the powers both of perception and enjoyment. The 
doctor’s speculations are published in the second 
volume of the Manchester Transactions ; and, as a 
specimen of the ingenuity with which he has sup- 
ported his opinion, we shall give the following ex- 
tract : “ Mr. Miller, in his late account of the 
island of Sumatra, mentions a species of coral, 
which the inhabitants have mistaken for a plant, 
and have denominated it lalan-cout, or sea-grass. 
It is found in shallow bays, where it appears like a 
straight stick, but when touched withdraws itself 
into the sand. Now, if self- moving faculties like 
these indicate animality, can such a distinction be 
denied to vegetables, possessed of them in an equal 
or superior degree ? The water lily, be the pond 
deep or shallow in which it grows, pushes up its 
flower-stems till they reach the open air, that the 
ferina fecundans may perform, without injury, its 
proper office. About seven in the morning the 
