ARMATURE. 161 



6. ARMATURE. 



In addition to the preceding, there are appendages, 

 which seem more evidently designed for the security 

 of the plants on which they occur. One of these is 

 the Sting of the Nettle, a plant which thrives around 

 the dwellings of man, as if to defy his attacks, it being 

 admirably prepared to resist them. The hairs or 

 stings by which the Nettle is covered, are tubular, 

 very slender and pointed, but expanding towards their 

 base, so as to form a receptacle for the secreted fluid, 

 Fig. 60. By this sting we are wounded, but the pain 

 which ensues, is caused by the venomous fluid, which 

 is conveyed through the cavity of the sting into the 

 wound. 



Another variety of armature is the Prickle. It arises 

 from the bark being sometimes straight, sometimes 

 hooked, and sometimes forked. The Rose, the Bram- 

 ble and the Raspberry furnish examples of these seve- 

 ral varieties. 



Some plants are guarded by Thorns, which in many 

 instances appear to be diminutive stems, assuming 

 their peculiar form, from the want of cultivation. The 

 wild Pear tree is covered with thorns, but when trans- 

 ferred to the more congenial soil of the garden, they 

 are found to disappear. Linnaeus imagined that such 

 trees were divested of their natural ferocity, and 

 therefore in the pursuit of his favourite analogy, he 

 said they were tamed. Certain it is that they fall un- 

 der the more immediate protection of man and no 

 longer require their original armour, and whenever 

 they disappear by culture, it may be presumed thay 

 are abortive bads, which in a more favourable situation 

 would have been converted into luxuriant branches, 

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