A VERY INTELLIGENT PLANT 



267 



sheep or rabbits. But if the gorse were to con- 

 tinue long in this unarmed condition, it would 

 stand a poor chance in 

 life on its open hillsides ; 

 so it soon proceeds to 

 the stage exhibited in 

 No. 4. This illustration 

 shows you a plant about 

 a fortnight or three 

 weeks old, with trefoil 

 leaves below, passing 

 gradually into silky and 

 hairy single blades, 

 which in turn grow 

 sharper and thinner as 

 they push upward to- 

 wards the unoccupied 

 space above .their native 

 thicket. Interspersed 

 among these sharp little 

 leaves you will also note 

 a few grooved branches, 

 each ending in a stout 

 prickly point; these 

 prickles are the chief de- 

 fence of the bush against 

 its watchful enemies. 

 But the leaves and the 

 branches are often so 

 much alike that only a 



skilled botanist can distinguish the one from the 

 other. Both are sharp and intended for defence ; 



NO. 4. THE YOUNG SHRUB BEGINS 

 TO ARM ITSELF. 



