55 
garden pea. But when this pod of the tick trefoil is 
ripe, it splits into five little pieces. Each piece is a 
separate seed case. This is covered with hooked 
hairs, by means of which it fastens itself to our 
clothing and to the hair of animals, just as the 
burr of the burdock did. These little seed cases 
go by the name of “ticks.” 
Here is the fruit of the stick-tight (Fig. 46). 
You see its two teeth that are so well fitted to weave 
themselves into either cloth or hair. 
Fig. 47 shows you a strange and terrible fruit of this 
same class. It grows on an 
African plant, and may fasten 
itself so firmly into the hair 
of animals, that the attempt 
to get it out is almost hope- 
less. Sometimes an unfortu- 
nate lion will kill himself in gf 
his efforts to wrench this 
tormenting seed case from 
his skin. In his struggles he gets it into his mouth, 
and so dies. 
I am glad to say we have nothing so terrifying as 
this among our hooked fruits. 
Even if at times you are tempted to lose your patience 
with such impertinent little tramps as they are, I think 
you can hardly help admiring the clever way in which 
they manage to get a free ride. 
