CHAPTER XIV 
THISTLES AND NETTLES 
«And the thorns which make us think 
Of the thornless river brink 
Where the ransomed tread.” 
—Mrs. Browning. 
THE Book of Genesis teaches that thorns and 
thistles grew out of the cursed ground, in punish- 
ment for our first parents’ sin. Modern science, 
harmonizing with ancient theology, holds-that this- 
tles and nettles, as we know them to-day, are 
younger children in the great family of plants. 
They are ‘‘highly specialized.’’ 
The larger thistles are suited in color and struc- 
ture to the tastes and needs of the bumble-bees, 
which are among the latest born of insects. The 
nettles employ the wind as their pollen-carrier, and 
are wondrously adapted to make the best use of 
this capricious servant, which outdoes the most ex- 
acting of trades unions in its determination to 
‘“‘lay off’’ when it pleases and to regulate its own 
holidays and the length of its working-day. And 
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