MANUAL OF NATURE STUDY. 
129 
through, the winter ? Can the seed of the syca¬ 
more be better protected on the tree ? How ? 
Protection against animals should here be dis¬ 
cussed. Illustrations of these may be found in all 
fruits covered with thorns, prickles, and spines. 
Examples:—Thornapple, or Jimpson burr, cockle 
burr, chestnut, sand burr, beggar lice. 
2. North American pine bears cones, the scales 
of which are pointed with sharp spines, which de¬ 
fend the seeds against the attacks of animals, until 
the seed ripens and falls. 
3. Wild roses retain their fruit upon the bushes 
long after maturity, when they are distributed by 
black birds and other birds that prey upon the 
pulp. Mice love the fruit very much and, if per¬ 
mitted to do so, would eat the heart out of every 
seed. But the rose bush has thorns or prickles all 
along the bark so as to prevent any of the rodents 
from climbing after the seed. If the rose bush 
should drop its seeds early, what dangers would be¬ 
fall them ? 
4. The sun-flower seeds are protected from in¬ 
truders by prickly bristles covering the stalk from 
bottom to top. How about black berries ? In all 
these cases which way do the prickles point? If 
upward they seem to protect against browsing 
animals; if downward, against climbing animals 
and caterpillars. How are pods, as bean or pea, 
