The Strange Story of the Flowers 



let ns stmll past yonder stretch of pasture and 

 we shall noti< e how the grass in patches here and 

 there deepens into green of the- richest— a plain 

 token of moisture in the hollows— a blessing in- 

 deed in this dry weather. In the far W< 

 Northwest the buffalo grass has often to contend 

 with drought for months togeth hat it 



has learned to strike deep in quest of water to 

 quench its thirst. It is a by-word among the 

 ranchmen that the roots ,r through the 



earth and arc clinched as they sprout from the 

 ground in China, joking apart, they haw 

 found sixty-eight feet below the surface of the 

 prairie, and often in especially dry seasons cattle 

 would perish were not these faithful little well- 

 diggers and pumpers constantly at worl 

 them. In the river valleys of Arizona although 

 the air is dry the subsoil water is near the ecu 

 of the ground. Here flourishes the mesquil 

 Prosotis julifiora, with a tale to tell well worth 

 knowing. When a mesquit seems stunted, it is 

 because its strength is withdrawn for the task 

 of delving to find water; where a tree -rows tall 

 with goodly branches, it betokens success in 

 reaching moisture close at hand. Thus in 

 shrewdly reading 7 he landscape a prospector can 

 choose the spot where with least trouble he can 

 sink his well. And plants discover provender in 

 the soil as well as drink. Nearer home than 

 Arizona we have only t<> dislodge a beach pea 

 from the ground to see how far in search < >f food 

 its roots have dug amid 1 ►arren st< >nes and j -el >1 >les, 

 155 



