The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1897-07-15

insect. Yet there is much to learn. A
w~er in a French scientific journal as
serts that not only does the cockroacn
come into the world with ample abil-
ity to take care of his small self, grow
ing a.aily wiser as he grows older and
Fl. ttrr. hut the ms ,.ts slow Uynistah-
ably that they are possesN nd of the sem
timents of pity. dcvotion and courage.
The scientist was experimenting
with q lizard, and had co. cted a num-
reaches for the saurian's dim
ner. yIe says:
I'VE had placed in the reptiles glass
prison n porcelain cupful of water: we
did not wish our guest to suffer from
thirst. Now. in their confused move
ments. it happened several times that
one of the c~ockroaches rested on the
edge of the cup, and. in his haste. lost
his balance. We saw him tumble into
the water. almost always on his back
The poor insect then presented n Ia
mentable spectacles stretched out in
the water Oh his back, terrified by the
thought that tl,e lizard was so near
him. he waved his six legs in the air
despairingly. This accident happened
at least four or five times. And each
timc, without exception. some OF the
other co~chroaches Interrupted their
fight, went to the edge of the cup to
aid their companions: forgetting their
own danger. they actually succeeded
in saving him. aiding each other in
reaching their unfortunate brother,
and always showing the same agita.
ton"
The usuhl way for seeds to be ar
ried Is by the wind. Sometimes they
are so small and light as to be easily
waited by the breezeS. This is the
ease with the seeds of the moccaSin
flowers and meadow pinks, and the
other beautiful flowers of MI woods
ard hogs called orchids. And the tiny
bodies, like atoms of dust, called
Spores that answer to seed in ferns
and blossoms and toadstoOls. are borne
away by the 1ightest breath of air.
But most seeds are too heavy for this.
SO they are oft-times provided With
thin. broad wings that carry them be-
fore the wind as a sail carries Il boat.
The pairs of keys that hang in clus-
terS from the maple trees in spring are
such winged fruits. When ripe, they
float slowly to the ground. or. if a high
wind is blowing. they are carried far
Their from the tree. The ash has thi TX
lunches of winged fruits much like
these. but single. The elm has a thin,
papery border al around its small
seeds, which makes them quite on
spicuous as they hang upon the
branchlets before the leaves have
come out.
Numbers of plants have about the
seeds delicate hairs or bristles that
take the place of wings. A dandeli0n
CLOCK or a head of thistle-down is a
bunch of seeds. each with a circle Of
fine bristleS on the summit. When the
seeds are ripe along comes a breeze,
and, puff, away 70 the seeds. hanging
from their tufts of bristles. as the bas-
ket hangs from a balloon. The punches
of long. silky hairs that come from the
bursting pod of milkweed, and fill the
air around have each their precious
cargo. in the shape of a small brown
seed. The seeds that ripen in heads on
the clematiS. after the handsome pur-
pie fowcr-leaves have fallen, have
long. feathered tails. like slender bird
plumes, that do the same work that is
given to the silk of the milkweed. The
cotton around the seeds of the viii
lows at the river side. and of the pop
lars along city streets, serves the same
useful purpose. Cotton itself is only
a bunch of fine white hair around the
seed. Ages before men thought of
spinning it and weaving it into cloth,
it was making itself useful to the cot
ton plant by helping to scatter its seed
flow Plants Spread" by Thomas
II. Kearney, j.. in November st. Mich
olas.