566 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



arranged when all the flowers are packed together in the thistle-head? 

 Take a seed from among its closely packed fellows in the thistle-head, and 

 put it in the sun or in a warm, dry place where it cannot blow away. How 

 long does it take for the balloon to open out? What is its shape? Is 

 there any down at the center of the balloon or is it arranged in a funnel- 

 shaped ring? Can you find a perfectly globular thistle balloon with the 

 seeds still attached to it? How far do you think the thistle balloons 

 might travel? 



8. If a thistle seed finds a place foi planting during the autumn, how 

 does the young plant look the next season? Describe the thistle rosette. 

 What growth does it make the second summer? What happens to it then? 



9. Why can you not cultivate out the Canada thistles as you can the 

 other species? 



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A successful lijc. 



THE BURDOCK 



Teacher 's Story 



Psychologists say that all young things are selfish, and the young 

 burdock is a shining example of this principle. Its first leaves are broad 

 and long, with long petioles by means of which they sprawl out from the 

 growing stem in every direction, covering up and choking out all the lesser 

 plants near them. In fact, the burdock remains selfish in this respect 

 always, for its great basal leaves see to it that no other plants shall get the 

 good from the soil near its own roots. One wonders at first how a plant 

 with such large leaves can avoid shading itself; but there are some people 



