The Living Things of Africa

BY Nature, I meant the earth, Sea and sky, and every thing that is in or upon them except those things that are made by man.

The Stars, Sea, hills, trees, animals and plants all belong to Nature. On the other land houses, clothes, trains and motor cars, and all things that man has made do not belong to Nature. You will be able to think of a very great many things that belong to Nature - the sea, rivers, hills, trees, grass, horses, dogs, cats, etc., in fact, so many that it would be impossible to make a complete list.

Among all these things there is one very important difference to notice, and that is that some are alive and others are not alive and never have lived. Plants and animals are alive; rocks, stones, rivers, etc., are not alive. What is meant by being alive? A dog is living as we know; for it runs about, makes a noise, feeds, grows, sleeps, and when it gets old or meets with an accident it dies. Now, while it lives it produces young ones so that the race may continue. What about plants?

They do not move about, or make a noise, but what about growing? They certainly grow and produce stem, leaves, flowers and fruit To grow they must feed, and this they do, not, like animals, with a mouth, but with their roots and leaves. They can also die when they get old or when they meet with some accident, and when living they produce seeds which grow into new plants. So that plants can indeed be said to be alive. Now stones or rocks do none of those things.

They cannot grow, nor do they feed; a stone never dies nor does it produce young stones or seeds. For these reasons stones, rocks, and all such things are said to be non-living. The Non-living World is also known as the Mineral World; it can go on year after year unchanging, and requires no help from plants or animals. Plants, however, cannot get on without the non-living world; for plants in order to live must feed on soil and water. Animals feed on plants or on one other. Animals cannot feed on soil as plants do. We can sum up the differences between the Non-living and the Living World.