The Acacia is a plant which closes up at night; the same phenomenon is very striking in the Oxalis. The common Bean sleeps standing: that is, its leaves close upward instead of downward. The little blue Veronica flower, so strikingly brilliant and attractive in the daytime, tucks itself in so snugly at bedtime that it becomes quite inconspicuous. A Marigold called _Calendula Pluvialis_ even contracts its corolla every time the sun is veiled by a passing cloud. These sleep movements all have a scientific purpose. Their main object, just as in animals, is to reduce bodily activities to a low ebb and so to give the plant a chance to recuperate for another day’s efforts. The contraction of all surfaces cuts down the radiation of heat and moisture and presents less resistance to outside elements. The plant is in a quiescent, somnolent state. There are other movements of leaves and flowers the object of which is not quite so apparent. For instance, there is the _Hedysarum Gyrans_ or Oscillating Sainfoin. Each of its leaves has three folioles. The center one is very large and stands bolt upright, except at night, when it condescends to bend its head in sleep. The two lateral folioles are in perpetual oscillation both day and night. Nothing but a very hot sun seems able to stop their movement. Possibly, this plant is a fresh air fiend which requires a steady atmospheric flow upon its respiratory surfaces! The two lateral folioles of each leaf are delegated to act as fans and blow a constant supply of air upon their majestic brother. Similar oscillations have been noticed in some Orchids, where a part of the flower’s corolla rises and falls with a regular rhythm not unlike the beating of a human pulse. The stamens and pistils of flowers sometimes have the power of movement. If an insect, wandering about in the flower of the Barberry Tree (Berberis Vulgaris), happens to touch the base of a stamen, it bends forward with a quick, spring-like motion and presently straightens up again. The evident intent is to shower some pollen on the little intruder with the hope that he may carry its vital principle to some neighbour of the same species. In the _Parnassia Palustris_, fortunate observers have sometimes seen the five stamens bend forward and beat on the head of the pistil in rotation as if on an anvil. Perhaps outside pollen-carrying agencies have passed this particular flower by and, in desperation, it is resorting to self-fertilization.