them to me? Anything that you can tell me of the mother plants 

 will be of interest. I shall enjoy a description of the place in which 

 they grow, and I shall also like to learn something about their neigh- 

 bors. Do you think the pretty white water lily is one ? 



A great, burly immigrant which is found in some fields is worth 

 a little study. It has been called a Russian thistle, but it is really a 

 tumbleweed. "When I tell you that in about twelve years it has 

 traveled from Dakota to New York, you may think it deserves to be 

 spoken of as a " cross-country runner." Will you tell me how you 

 think this tumbleweed reached this country from its far-away home 

 near the Caspian sea, and how it has managed to spread so rapidly 

 in the ISTew "World ? 



Not many days ago I saw a Junior Naturalist who didn't know 

 that "stick tights" are seeds. They have been called "little 

 tramps," and I think they deserve the name, for they wander 

 from place to place, stealing rides on people's clothing or animals' 

 fur whenever they get an opportunity. If you will look closely at 

 one of these seeds, you will be able to see very plainly the tiny 

 hooks with which it fastens itself to moving objects. 



Sometimes, when wandering along a roadside, you may see a 

 small oak tree struggling to grow tall and strong like its ances- 

 tors, those brave old " kings of the forest." You may look for the 

 parent tree, but as far as the eye can reach it is nowhere to be seen. 

 How then did the little acorn travel so far ? Keep your eyes open 

 and some day you may discover a w^ay in which this could happen. 

 Maybe an old crow had started out to carry this acorn to his home. 

 On the way he might have met a congenial friend whom he had 

 not met for a long time. Now, in a case like this, children, it seems 

 to me that, on opening his beak the better to say " Caw," the old 

 chatterer might have dropped the acorn, and being interested in 

 conversation he probably forgot it. If you ever have an opportu- 

 nity, watch a flock of crows and see whether they might plant an 

 oak tree in some such way as this. You may at the same time come 

 across another little creature that carries acorns, but I shall not tell 

 you his name. I shall just m_ention, however, that he has a saucy 

 face, very bright eyes and a warm-gray coat. He runs so rapidly 



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