270 



Flasiii.kwits o\ N'ArrRp: 



and liow, as tlicv apjiroacli matmitv, tlu'V lu'^iii to 

 assimif tliL- a'li'.lt dillVmicrs which mark otf i-ach 

 hitcr (Icvt'lopcd kind Irom the primitive and central 

 form of its ancestors. 



Hnt is ^orse really exposed to tlie attacks of 

 animals 'i Would any iierbivore care to eat such 



hard food ? If 

 yon doubt it, y<Hi 

 have never lived 

 near a j^orse-clad 

 common. From 

 the moment the 

 seedlinj^ shows 

 itself above the 

 j^ronnd it is cease- 

 lessly nibbled at 

 by rabbits and 

 other rodents ; 

 and even after it 

 has acquired it^•. 

 prickly armour, 

 it makes excellent 

 fodder, if only 

 the sharp tops 

 can be rendered 

 harmless to the 

 sensitive noses of cattle or donkeys. Gipsies know 

 this fact well ; and you may often see them on 

 our Surrey hills cutting the succulent younj4 

 branches and chopping them up fine in a wooden 

 trough till the prickles are destroyed. Their horses 

 then eat the good green food most greedily. 



NO. 7. 



-I'ROTKCTINc; IIIK BCns FROM 

 HROWSINC ANIMALS. 



