300 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 



Brambles follow in the wake of the ax. In deadenings of 

 standing timber they flourish, apace — a transient population, 

 soon submerged if trees be allowed to grow again, and easily 

 eradicated with the plow. Yet feeble and transient as they 

 are, they are ever with us in those nooks and angles of the 

 farm that are neither plowed nor tree-covered, and all manner 

 of wild things love them. 



Study 44. The Brambles of the Farm 



The object of this study is to learn something of the 

 interesting habits of this little-esteemed class of wild plants, 

 something of the conditions of their existence, of their rela- 

 tions to other plants and animals, and of their relations to 

 ordinary farming operations. 



The program of work will consist of : 



i . Digging up in the patches of specimens of all kinds of 

 brambles, examining them, root and branch, and making 

 brief notes and sketches for the list mentioned below. 



2. Examining in some pasture the make-up of a typical 

 blackberry patch that is spreading from an old fence or brush 

 pile or stone heap. 



3. Comparing the growth of specimens of some one com- 

 mon kind of bramble, as the blackberry, in different situa- 

 tions, in relation to conditions in each place. 



The record of this study will consist of : 



1. An illustrated list of all the brambles studied, with 

 diagrams showing, for each species, manner of growth, mode 

 of increase, succession of stems (canes), flowering or fruiting, 

 etc. 



2. A diagram of a vertical section of a brier patch, show- 

 ing the briers in their relative height and abundance from 

 center to margin, showing dead mulch and green ground- 

 cover herbage, showing the common plants intermixed, 



