132 The Nature-Study Idea 



brush and briers ; the mud-turtle is flat so that it 

 will not sink in the mud; the poison sumac has 

 venom to protect it from those who would 

 destroy it; the crow is black that it may not be 

 seen at night; the nettle has stings to punish its 

 enemies; the dog fennel has rank scent to pro- 

 tect it from the browsing animals ; certain insects 

 have a zigzag flight to enable them to elude 

 their enemies. All the world is as perfect as 

 a museum ! 



I wondered what would happen if some in- 

 quisitive child were to ask what becomes of all 

 the plants that have no thorns or hairs or poison 

 or ill scent. What if he should ask why the 

 thornless blackberry does not perish, or why 

 the sumacs that are not poisonous still live, or 

 if he should suggest that the dandelion comes 

 up earlier in the spring than the buttercup and 

 yet has no hairs on its soft flower-stem? As I 

 wondered, a little hand went up. The teacher 

 granted a question. "Pigweeds ain't got 

 prickers," said the boy. I saw that the boy 

 was a philosopher. "True enough," replied 



