THE BRAMBLE 247 



as to supply pleasing analogies for the human 

 moralist. Except when attacked by the human 

 being armed with a spade and bill, it is a success 

 in life, but it succeeds like those people who get 

 on in the world by creeping over the shoulders of 

 their fellows. It has long and tough stems, but 

 they have not the power of standing erect. There- 

 fore, the bramble gets on best when there are 

 either hedges or walls to support it. It has the 

 power of germinating and growing in very poorly 

 lit places, and a common starting-point with it 

 is the shadowy bottom of a hedge. There it sends 

 up its young stem among the hedge twigs, hooking 

 itself on to them by means of its strong barbs. 

 These prevent it from falling back, and in the 

 course of a month or two it reaches the top. Once 

 there it sprawls over the hedge and enjoys the best 

 of the light that falls upon it. Usually there are 

 four or five branches coming from one root, and 

 when they all get to the top of the hedge that part 

 of the hedge is predominantly bramble. But this 

 is only the beginning of the career of a bramble. 

 Its shoots may sprawl for twenty or thirty feet 

 over the hedge, and sooner or later their tips are 

 pretty certain to reach the ground again. When 

 that takes place a strange thing happens. The 

 growing end undergoes a complete change. The 

 leafy growth at the tip vanishes ; the tip itself 

 becomes thick, and seems to be pushing itself 

 into the earth. If it is pulled out while the process 

 is still young, it will be found to be sending down 

 roots, and in a few weeks it will be as firmly 

 rooted at this end as at its point of origin. From 

 this new point of attachment with the earth the 



