THE RIVALRY OF PLANTS 
TO PLEASE US 
ON THE ForwarpD MARCH 
oF ADAPTATION 
E cut down our alfalfa four or five 
times a season,” says some one, “why 
doesn’t it grow spines to protect itself? 
We destroy our lettuce before it goes to seed; 
why doesn’t it develop a protective bitterness like 
the sagebrush? 
“We rob our apple trees of all their fruit the 
moment they are ripe; why do they not become 
poisonous like the desert euphorbias?” 
* * * * * 
>’ 
“Let us go back to the cactus,’ 
bank, “and read the answer. 
“Grim and threatening though the cactus seems, 
it is not without its softer side; in the springtime 
its blossoms, a multitude of them, push their way 
through the spiny armor—and rival the rose in 
formation, compete with the orchid in the delicacy 
of their hues. 
says Mr. Bur- 
[VotumME I—Cuapter IV] 
