A QUEER LITTLE FAMILY ON THE BITTERSWEET 89 



dozen in a quaint family circle around the stem, 

 their curved points all, no matter how far sepa- 

 rated, inclined in the same direction, as thorns 

 properly should be. Let us gently invade the 

 little colony with our finger-tip. Touch one 

 never so gently and it instantly disappears. Was 

 ever thorn so deciduous ? And now observe its 

 fellows. Here one slowly glides up the stem ; an- 

 other in the opposite direction; another sideways. 

 In a moment more the whole family have entirely 

 disappeared, as if by hocus - pocus, until we dis- 

 cover, by a change of our point of view, that they 

 have all congregated on the opposite side of the 

 stem, with an agility which would have done 

 credit to the proverbial gray squirrel. 



This animated thorn is about a quarter of an 

 inch long, and dark brown in color, with two yel- 

 lowish spots on the edge of its back. 



Nor is this all the witchery of this bittersweet 

 thorn. It is well worth our further careful study. 

 Seen collectively, the thorny rose branch is in- 

 stantly suggested, but occasionally, when we ob- 

 serve a single isolated specimen, especially in the 

 month of July, he will certainly masquerade in an 

 entirely new guise. Look! quick. Turn your 

 magnifier hither on this green shoot. No thorn 

 this. Is it not rather a whole covey of quail, 



