144 THE BRAMBLE, OR BLACKBERRY 



spikes and hooks, by which they maintain themselves, iso 



and hold their own, against insidious plant and 



raiding animal. There they are at once free of the 



agriculturist's mattock and the suffocating air of the 



overshadowing forest, dwelling in comparative peace 



on the border-line ; and from there they can make, 



when opportunity offers, a ready return to the original 



home from which they were inevitably ousted that 



is, when the woodcutter has done harvesting the now 



mature timber, and both the way and the air are clear 



for their return. IGO 



No inten- Of course, as there is no intention in nature, so 



tion inNa- t,h ere is no consciousness of purpose in the bramble : 



turebut ,,.,,, . A iT u- 



achieve- but, it there is no purpose, there is achievement, and 



ment. the result of its equipment, as here briefly outlined, 

 is to aid the bramble in its evident struggle for life 

 and its apparent desire to occupy as fair a place in 

 the sun as possible. 



EDITOR. 



NOTES 



LINE 1. Bramble, A.S. bre"m-el, the little broom ; A.S. brotn, 

 broom. The diminutive suffix, -el or -le, is seen in kernel, hovel, 

 nozzle, paddle, &c. 



3. leguminous. Bearing pods or legumes, like the pea, 

 bean, &c. 



6. corolla, dimin. of Lat. corona, a crown ; the petals, or 

 inner leaves of a flower. The outer leaves or case are the 

 sepals or calyx. 



8. aristocratic representatives. Roses. 



13. emblems . . . of the primal curse. ' Cursed is the ground for 

 thy sake, . . . thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to 

 thee.' Genesis, iii. 17, 18. 



14. Do men gather grapes of thorns, c. ? Matthew, vii. 16. 



