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fucculence and verdure. Early in the fpring, in- 

 numerable bloflbms fpring out around thefe prickles 

 adhering to them, and not to the ftem. The blof- 

 foms are fucceeded by pods containing the feeds, 

 which gradually ripen; a little after Midfummer 

 the feeds harden, and the pods flowly become dry 

 and wither, the prickles to which they adhere be- 

 coming dry and withered at the fame time, and 

 gradually loofen from the flalk, which dill continues 

 frefh, though it has now attained a woody confid- 

 ence. Thefe prickles having now performed all 

 the funftions that nature had defigned them, fall off 

 in part, at firft from the ftalk, and in part adhere 

 to it for fome time, till they are gradually (liaken 

 off by the agitation of the wind, or other caufes. 

 Hence it happens that it is only t\iz Jurface or top 

 twigs of a whin bufh that are green, foft, and fuc- 

 culent, the fiems below being dry and woody, and 

 frequently covered with dry prickles, that are not 

 only not ufeful as food for cattle, but rather hurtful 

 to them, on accoupt of the hardnefs of their con- 

 fidence, and diarpnefs of their prickles. 



In gathering whins, therefore, for food for cattle, 

 it is only the tender top Ihoots that are wanted, and 

 the eafied method of gathering them that our prac- 

 tice has yet difcovered, is to take a forked dick in 

 the left hand (the -readied thing is the branch of a 



tree 



