A BURDOCK 



BIRD-TRAP 



October ijth 



E have indeed a most formid- 

 able device in the tenacious 

 burr seed of the burdock. 

 Beset with hooked - tipped 

 spines, it lays firm hold on every- 

 thing within reach, and is not ea- 

 sily removed, as many a rural lad 

 can testify who has had a handful 

 of them rubbed into his hair by some 

 playful school-mate. He soon learns, 

 however, that pulling is useless, that each 

 effort only increases the hopeless tangle, 

 and that only by crunching and separating 

 the seed can its hooks be removed, and leave 

 him possessed of his full allowance of hair. 

 These eager hooks have, of course, but one possible 

 mission in the economy of nature to steal a ride on 

 the first craft that shall come within their reach. By 

 making the most of their opportunities dog, sheep, 

 human, and otherwise they have succeeded in travel- 

 ling pretty extensively over the civilized globe. 



