WONDERS OF PLANT LIFE 



close to one another. It will be seen, however, that 

 the thornless specimen has been more fortunate in 

 its position than the one which is well clad with 

 its defensive armament. In the former instance 

 the little plant has lighted upon a patch of moist, 

 rich soil ; whilst in the latter case a hard struggle 

 for existence, in a dry situation, has been the 

 fate of the subject. It is very commonly to be 

 seen that a race of one-time thorny plants will, 

 under cultivation, tend to get away more and 

 more from their spiny character. As domestic 

 subjects, the plants, removed from the fierce 

 fight in the natural world, are no longer in need 

 of protective devices. 



Although in many cases serving the same pur- 

 pose, the prickles often seen upon the leaves and 

 stems of plants are on different lines from thorns, 

 seeing that they are merely excrescences of the 

 cuticle. The hooked prickles of the Brier Rose 

 peel off with the skin, and are quite unattached 

 to the woody portion of the stem. In the Holly, 

 the prickles are to be found springing from the 

 margin of the leaves. It is curious that it is only 

 whilst the Holly is in its shrubby form that the 

 leaves evidence their prickly nature. As soon as 

 the plant attains to the dignity of a tree the 

 foliage is produced with its margins quite unbroken. 



