"
"If, then, these roots stretched out to points where they would
withdraw the nourishment from other plants in the neighborhood--how
could you prevent it?"
"By digging a ditch between them and the plants they threaten to
impoverish."
"And do you suppose that would be sufficient?"
"Yes, unless the plant you refer to was an engineer."
"Therein lies the difficulty. Plants are engineers; they would send
their roots along the bottom of the ditch, or they would creep under
it--at all events, the roots would find their way to the coveted soil
in spite of you; if you dug a mine, they would countermine it, and
obtain supplies from the opposite territory, and revenge themselves
there for the scurvy treatment to which they had been subjected. What
could you do then?"
"In that case, I should admit myself defeated."
"If," continued Ernest, "we present a sponge saturated with water to
the naked roots of a plant, they will slowly, but steadily, direct
themselves towards it; and, turn the sponge whichever way you will,
they will take the same direction."
"It has been concluded," remarked Becker, "from these incontestable
facts, that plants are not devoid of sensibility; and, in fact, when
we behold them lying down at sunset as if dead, and come to life again
next morning, we are forced to recognise a degree of irritability in
the vegetable organs which very closely resemble those of the animal
economy.
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