EFFORT AND ACCOMPLISHMENT 189 



upon our cherished wild flowers as living creatures 

 with almost human attributes. Their undaunted 

 courage and determination to live in spite of ad- 

 verse conditions, and their ingenious devices for 

 foiling their enemies, teach a noble lesson. 



Plants have first to make a place for themselves 

 and reach out for light, air and nourishment. Then 

 they have to foil the attacks of predatory creatures. 

 It is little short of amazing that such soft and tender 

 things can wage war or evolve defences against 

 aphis, beetles, rodents, birds, cattle, and man; and 

 the methods employed by the plants for self- 

 defence are well worth studying. 



THORNS AND PRICKLES 



To ward off the attacks of huge browsing beasts, 

 the plants, trees and shrubs arin themselves with 

 thorns and prickles, as we see in hawthorns and 

 some wild apple-trees. Especially on desert places, 

 where vegetation is sparse, such defence is neces- 

 sary to survive, and in such regions the plants are 

 thickly covered with cruel spines. The various 

 cacti are so defended, and the Spanish dagger has 

 fierce darts at the tip of each leaf. In the New 

 York ^Museum of Natural History is an exhibit 

 showing this desert vegetation, with all its array 

 of bristling weapons; and our illustration of a 



