Personality of plants

PERSONALITY OF PLANTS
vestigates. The common Potentillas and
Brambles show remarkable sagacity in search-
ing out hidden veins of soil among the rocks
where they grow. Nothing is more ingenious
than the way in which Hyacinths, Primroses
and Irises smother competitive seedlings by
putting forth large, low-lying leaves to cut off
the light of neighbours.
Plants are great inventors, and by continual
experimentation have perfected thousands of
ingenious devices to help them in their life
struggles. Many of these have to do with the
all-important processes of reproduction and
cross-fertilization. The elaborate organs which
oftentimes force visiting insects to aid the
flowers in their love-making are conclusive
proofs of directing intelligence. If, as is gen-
erally believed, vegetable life preceded animal
life on this planet, then the plants must have
developed these special reproductive organs
in which insects act as the fertilizing agents as
direct attempts to benefit the race by cross-
breeding.
While cross-fertilization is vitally necessary
for the maintenance of a vigorous and hardy
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