THE RIVALRY OF PLANTS 

 TO PLEASE Us 



ON THE FORWARD MARCH 

 OF ADAPTATION 



WE cut down our alfalfa four or five 

 times a season," says some one, "why 

 doesn't it grow spines to protect itself? 

 We destroy our lettuce before it goes to seed; 

 why doesn't it develop a protective bitterness like 

 the sagebrush? 



"We rob our apple trees of all their fruit the 

 moment they are ripe; why do they not become 

 poisonous like the desert euphorbias?" 

 * * * * * 



"Let us go back to the cactus," says Mr. Bur- 

 bank, "and read the answer. 



"Grim and threatening though the cactus seems, 

 it is not without its softer side; in the springtime 

 its blossoms, a multitude of them, push their way 

 through the spiny armor and rival the rose in 

 formation, compete with the orchid in the delicacy 

 of their hues. 



[VOLUME I CHAPTER IV] 



