COCKLEBUR 



1455 



COCKSCOMB 



and was also a source of enjoyment to the 

 ancient Greeks and Romans. From Rome it 

 spread to the various countries of Northern 

 and Central Europe, and was later introduced 

 into America. The training and breeding of 

 cocks for fighting became an important indus- 

 try in Great Britain a hundred years ago, and 

 large sums were wagered on the results of 

 the battles. Cockfighting is now a legal pas- 

 time only in the Orient and in Spain or in 

 countries of Spanish origin. Elsewhere humane 

 laws have abolished this so-called sport, though 

 it is yet secretly carried on in a few localities 

 in the Southern and Western United States. 



COCKLEBUR, kock"lbur, or CLOT 'BUR, 

 a weed with a method of distributing its seed 

 which is troublesome to man and the lower ani- 

 mals. Three species are known in temperate 

 North America. The burs, or seed-pods, are 

 hard and are covered with sharply-hooked 

 prickles. These stick to the clothing or to the 

 hair of cattle. In pastures or ranges where 

 cattle or sheep feed, this coarse-looking weed 

 is a great nuisance. It is difficult to get the 

 burs out of the wool of the sheep after they 

 once are imbedded there, and efforts are con- 

 stantly made to exterminate the weed in wool- 

 raising districts. The plant dies, root and all, 

 every year, so it is not difficult to eradicate, if 

 destroyed before the seed ripens. The cockle- 

 bur, which belongs to the Composite Family 

 of plants the same family as the dandelion 

 was probably introduced into America from 

 England. 



COCK OF THE ROCK, a handsome South 

 American bird, with rich orange plumage and 

 a prominent flat-sided crest. The bird is so 

 named because it builds its nest of mud on the 

 rocks. These birds dwell along the rocky 

 streams and on 



bushy hillsides in 

 the lower Amazon 

 Valley. The 

 males gather to- 

 gether during the 

 mating season 

 and woo the fe- 

 males by dances 

 and other pecu- 

 liar antics. As 

 the plumage of 

 the birds is much 

 sought fpr the COCK OF THE ROCK 

 millinery trade and by Indians for decorative 

 purposes, the cock of the rock is becoming 

 rare. 



COCKROACH 

 Natural size of the species 

 in warm climates, as the 

 Southern United States. The 

 cockroach of cooler zones is 

 are about one-half as large. 



find, 



COCKROACH, kock' roach, a very trouble- 

 some and exceedingly disagreeable insect pest. 

 Scientifically it belongs to a family of insects 

 which includes the grasshopper, locust and 

 cricket. These creatures have flat, long bodies, 

 furnished with 

 slender antennae, 

 or feelers. Their 

 backs look as 

 though made of 

 shiny black or 

 brownish - black 

 leather. They in- 

 fest dwellings and 

 other places 

 where food sup- 

 plies are kept, 

 particularly 

 bakeries, restau- 

 rants and gro- 

 ceries, and hide 

 m every crevice 

 they can 

 T V. a o o 



some pests 

 seldom seen in the daytime, but when the 

 lights are out at night they emerge in droves 

 from their hiding-places in search of food, 

 swarming over and contaminating everything 

 that is explored. They enter houses by way 

 of pipes for steam and water, or are carried in. 



Cockroaches are very prolific, and a few will 

 soon breed until a house is overrun. The 

 creatures can be destroyed by insect powders 

 or by pouring boiling water into the crevices 

 from which they emerge. An English plan is 

 to put some molasses on a board and set it 

 afloat in a basin of water. The insects will be 

 so anxious to get the food that many will 

 drown trying to reach it. There are said to be 

 about 1,000 species of cockroaches. 



COCKSCOMB, kocks' kohmb, an odd-appear- 

 ing, easily-cultivated plant, bearing brilliant 

 flowers, which in some varieties take a frilled, 

 crested form like the cock's comb. In light, 

 rich, moist soil, it will bloom from midsummer 

 until frost. The cockscomb is very popular 

 as a border plant, with its colored, long- 

 stemmed leaves and gay flowers. Cockscombs 

 range through all the lovely shades of red and 

 yellow; some of the flowers are stiff crests, 

 while other varieties are waving and graceful, 

 like ostrich feathers. While a native of the 

 tropical regions of America, Asia and the East 

 Indies, the cockscomb is now found throughout 

 the United States. 



