Transcriber's note: Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. Please see the end of this book for further notes. [Illustration: A LIVING BRIDGE Such a bridge is described by Sir J. D. Hooker in his _Himalayan Journals_.] THE ROMANCE OF PLANT LIFE INTERESTING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE STRANGE AND CURIOUS IN THE PLANT WORLD BY G. F. SCOTT ELLIOT M.A. CANTAB., B.SC. EDIN., F.R.G.S., F.L.S., ETC. AUTHOR OF "A NATURALIST IN MID AFRICA," "NATURE STUDIES--PLANT LIFE" ETC. WITH THIRTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS PHILADELPHIA J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY LONDON: SEELEY & CO. LIMITED 1907 CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE ACTIVITY OF VEGETABLES PAGE Plants which move--Sensitive Plant--A tourist from Neptune--The World's and the British harvest--Working of green leaves--Power of sunshine--Work done by an acre of plants--Coltsfoot, dandelion, pansies, in sunshine and in cold--Woodsorrel and crocus--Foxglove--Leaves and light--Adventures of a carbon atom--The sap--Cabbages and oaks requiring water--Traveller's tree--The water in trees--An oasis in Greece--The associate life of its trees and flowers 13 CHAPTER II ON SAVAGES, DOCTORS, AND PLANTS Savages knew Botany--First lady doctors and botanical excursions--True drugs and horrible ornaments--Hydrophobia cure--Cloves--Mustard--Ivy--Roses and Teeth--How to keep hair on--How to know if a patient will recover--Curious properties of a mushroom--The Scythian lamb--Quinine: history and use--Safflower--Romance of ipecacuanha--Wars of the spice trade--Cinnamon, logwood, and indigo--Romance of pepper--Babylonian and Egyptian botanists--Chinese discoveries--Theophrastus--Medieval times--The first illustrated book--Numbers of plants known--Discoveries of painters and poets 27 CHAPTER III A TREE'S PERILOUS LIFE Hemlock spruce and pine forests--Story of a pine seedling--Its struggles and dangers--The gardener's boot--Turpentine of pines--The giant sawfly--Bark beetles--Their effect on music--Storm and strength of trees--Tall trees and long seaweeds--Eucalyptus, big trees--Age of trees--Venerable sequoias, oaks, chestnuts, and olives--Baobab and Dragontree--Rabbits as woodcutters--Fire as protection--Sacred fires--Dug-out and birch-bark canoes--Lake dwellings--Grazing animals and forest destruction--First kind of cultivation--Old forests in England and Scotland--Game-preserving 40 CHAPTER IV ON FORESTS