Part 12

“If you try to pull a bramble branch down out of the hawthorn hedge, you will find it rather difficult, for its large prickles are all turned one way. They are really sharp hooks.”

“Here is a wild rose bush. It is also covered with large hooked prickles,” said Frank.

“Yes, Tom, and, like the bramble, it threads its way among stronger and taller plants.

“The wild gooseberry growing close beside it is also armed with prickles. But the prickles of the gooseberry are for protecting its tender leaves. It is not a climbing plant like the rose and bramble. The raspberry also is covered with many sharp little prickles. There is a clump of these plants growing at the other side of the road. Let us cut off a small branch of each of these plants and take them home.”

1. Thistle. 2. Blackberry. 3. Whin. 4. Barberry. 5. Raspberry. 6. Sloe. 7. Buttercup.

“This is the most prickly plant of all,” said Frank, as he halted before a huge thistle. “You can scarcely touch it without getting severely pricked.”

“The thistle is well armed,” said Uncle George. “There are sharp prickles on its leaves, on its stem, and on its flowers.”

As they walked down the road they came upon a mass of whin bushes.

“Here,” said Uncle George, “we have a plant which has turned its leaves into sharp spines.” He bent down and pulled up a tiny plant which was growing under the larger gorse bushes. “Look at this little plant, boys. This is a young whin plant.”

“But it is not a bit like the whin, Uncle George,” said Tom. “Its leaves are soft and flat. They are more like clover leaves. There are no spines or prickles on this little plant.”

“That is so, Tom; but still it is a young whin plant.

“There are a great many of these young whins growing under the older bushes. Let us take a few of them home. If we grow one of them in a pot, and supply it with plenty of water, we will find that it will never produce sharp prickles.”

“That is very wonderful,” said Frank.

“It is,” said Uncle George, “and it teaches us something of the whin’s history. Like the nettle, the whin is a juicy plant, and, if it were not for its prickles, would be eaten by cows, sheep, and horses. In fact, some farmers give whins to their horses. Of course the whins are passed through a mill first. The mill crushes the whins and destroys the prickles.

“It shows us that many, many years ago the whin was a soft-leaved plant like the clover. It grew in moist soil. But by and by other plants invaded the land. These plants grew more quickly than the whin, and choked it out of the rich moist soil. Forced to grow upon bare hill-sides and commons, the soft-leaved juicy whin would be destroyed by grazing animals if it did not arm itself with sharp spines.

“Here is the blackthorn or sloe. It bears many hard, sharp-pointed spines. Yet, if we grow a sloe plant in the garden, we find that its sharp spines gradually disappear. They become branches bearing leaves and flowers.

“But plants have other ways of protecting themselves against animals. Look through the hedge into the meadow and you will notice that while the grass has been eaten bare, there are other plants which have been left to grow up untouched. Buttercups grow up all over the field, and tall ragwort plants. How is it that the cows do not eat these plants? They are not armed with spines or prickles.

“They protect themselves in another way. They contain bitter or poisonous juices. No cow will eat a buttercup. If it did so it would be ill and uncomfortable for a time.

“I want you to notice, boys, that—with the exception of those plants, like the bramble and wild rose, which use their prickles for climbing as well as for protection—all our armed plants grow in exposed places. The thistle and whin are good examples of this.”

Exercises on Lesson IX.

1. Take in twigs of hawthorn, barberry, holly, bramble, and gooseberry. Examine, and sketch them so as to show their protective parts. 2. Grow a small whin bush in a pot and water it daily. Note that the new growth it makes is tender, and that no spines are produced. 3. Some plants are covered with dense woolly hairs. These are seldom eaten by cattle. Can you explain why? 4. Make a list of all the armed plants you know, and tell how each is protected.

X.—THE HORSE POND AGAIN.

Frank and Tom returned from the horse pond one day with their jars filled with curious creatures.

“We took the water beetle back to the pond, Uncle George,” said Frank, “and I almost felt sorry to let such a cruel and greedy monster loose among the other creatures in the pond.”

“You have here creatures even more cruel and greedy than the diving beetle,” said his uncle, looking into the glass jars which the boys had brought.

“Here is the larva of the diving beetle, and a fiercer or greedier creature is not to be found in the whole world.”

Uncle George refilled the three large tanks. He poured the contents of one of the jars into one of the tanks. It contained, besides the larvæ he spoke of, a number of tadpoles, some small stickle-backs, and a great many water snails or whelks.

In addition to these, there were one or two curious insects, with a pair of very long legs. They came to the surface every now and then, and moved their long limbs like oars. Whenever the tank was touched, they would suddenly dive to the bottom. Here they would remain for a short time, then, returning to the surface, would “oar” themselves along as usual.