2o6 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



dried weeds, we shall discover that 

 seed pods are concealed among the 

 withered leaves, and that thousands of 

 little black seeds, like jet beads, are 

 concealed in them, ready to be shaken 





The ground pine, or Lycopodium, is 

 closely associated with Christmas and 

 its decorations, for it has been used in 

 wreaths and garlands for many a year. 



SPORt-BEftRlt«0 

 CONE 



THE TUMBLEWEED. 



out as the plants roll and leap over the 

 land. A friend kindly brought me from 

 Michigan the specimens from which 

 our drawing was made, and it shed 

 hundreds of, seeds on my study f^oor, 

 all of which I carefully swept up and 

 burned, lest they should take root here 

 and add to our farmers' troubles. The 

 reader would doubtless be amused at 

 seeing the tumbleweeds at play, but 

 we have another miniature acrobat 

 with us that is quite as comical in its 

 way. The flowers of Queen Anne's lace 

 or wild carrot curl inward as they dry 

 till they finally resemble a minature 

 bird's nest full of seeds. These in win- 

 ter, breaking from the tall, slender 

 stems, go rolling and sliding over the 

 snow, and thus scatter their seeds far 

 and wide. 



THE C, ROUND PINE. . 



It resembles a little Christmas tree at 

 all times, but still more so in summer 

 when it bears what seem to be Christ- 

 mas candles. If the reader will spare 

 the ground pine now and look for these 

 candles when they appear he will be 

 rewarded by an interesting discovery. 

 These "candles" are composed of num- 

 erous scales, as shown in our drawing, 

 and within these scales are concealed 

 spore bags filled with yellow powder. 

 This powder consists not of pollen but 

 of myriads of spores, for the plant is 

 flowerless. The spores are strangely 

 inflammable, and burn with a quick 

 explosion. You can shake out the 

 spores on a sheet of paper and set them 

 off by sprinkling them over a lighted 

 candle. If you wish to make the ex- 

 periment immediately, you can buy the 

 powder at the pharmacy, where it is 

 used as packing for pills. It was for- 

 merly used in the theater to produce 

 stage lightning, till electricity dis- 

 placed it. Though the ground pine 



