let us mention a very few of the ways by 

 which weeds protect themselves. 



There are numbers of weeds that the 

 animals wall not eat because of their 

 bitter taste or bad odor, as, for example, 

 the dog fennel, smart weed, tansy, or 

 jimpson weed. The latter is poisonous. 

 Other weeds are difficult on account of 

 prickles or stinging hairs, as the thistles, 

 cockleburs, and nettles, though the goat 

 is said to manage them. 



Lack of home or of nutrition does 

 not discourage these outcasts of society. 

 I wandered along the paved beach of 

 Lake Michigan at Jackson Park, and 

 gathered a thorny and meager bunch. It 

 was almost impossible to dislodge the 

 weeds from between the stones. I pulled 

 at a splendid thistle which spread out an 

 expanse of green top, but only succeed- 

 ed in breaking it off. Dandelions, plan- 

 tains, and pepper-grass crept out from 

 the cracks, very sorry looking but, after 

 all, successful. The fact that all, or most 

 of the weeds growing in these narrow 

 confines had adopted the rosette habit, 

 made such homes possible ; the petioles, 

 or stems of the lower leaves, are longer 

 than those of the upper leaves and the 

 whole plant is thus flattened into a ros- 

 ette. One will notice if he looks care- 

 fully at one of these plants, that the 

 leaves overlap each other and so the plant 

 does not get too much light and is some- 

 what protected from drought and heat. 



Not all weeds are as ugly and disa- 

 greeable in their habits as cockleburs, for 

 many are handsome and ornamental. 



Others, with a little cultivation become 

 desirable plants; the jimpson weed is de- 

 veloped by gardeners for decorative pur- 

 poses and is considered very beautiful. 

 Sometimes a weed is raised to an honor- 

 able position by the discovery that it is 

 of use, as is the case of the tomato, 

 which was regarded by the early English 

 colonists as a poisonous fruit. 



When we consider the ease with which 

 weeds grow, with no intentional help 

 from us and, on the other hand, the la- 

 bor that we expend on some of our gar- 

 den flowers, the latter hardly seem 

 worth while ! Why .do we prize so highly 

 sickly pansies, and tea roses, pale and 

 insect bitten? Wander along the road- 

 side or take a short cut across a vacant 

 lot and you will see dozens of weeds that 

 might easily rank in beauty with some of 

 our garden flowers. Imagine an autumn 

 garden after this fashion ; the fence 

 ablaze with the brilliant black-eyed Su- 

 san and blue-eyed daisy ; in front of these 

 a mass of golden rod ; on one side a great 

 bed of thistles, their foliage dark green, 

 their rosy heads the softest pink, and 

 bursting seed pods all of silver ; on the 

 other a large bed of yarrow. 



But I fear there would be prudent 

 souls who would object to such a garden 

 as this, and perhaps not altogether 

 wrongly. Pansies and roses stay in their 

 places quietly and respectably, but weeds 

 are a vagrant throng and I fear will get 

 over the tramp habit very slowly. 



Mary Lee Van Hook. 



BLOOMING OF THE FLOWERS 



The birds have come, and the flowers have come. 

 The music of waters, ice bound and dumb 

 Through frigid nights and the long cold days, 

 Is heard again in the psalm of praise, 

 That nature, in sylvan temple bowers. 

 Sends up with the vernal birth of flowers. 



Red are the buds and the leaves are green ; 

 An azure haze on the hills is seen ; 

 Like phantom ships in the crystal sky 

 The white-winged clouds go sailing by : 

 Sunshine and shadow and passing showers, 

 Sweeten the air with the breath of flowers. 



— Charles F. Fudge. 



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