THE RIVALRY OF PLANTS 

 TO PLEASE US 



ON THE FORWARD MARCH OF 

 ADAPTATION 



"" 1C TE cut our alfalfa four, or five times 



y y each 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?" 



As we have taken the cactus as an example, let 

 us go back to it 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 beauty of form and color, even 

 competing with the orchid in the delicacy of their 

 hues. 



147 



