Evening star., 1914-01-25

car or traInping along a country road for
exercise or business, whose clothing is
stuck full of burrs or ''beggar lice" and
such things. And though you may not be-
heve it. there is story in all this.
The Rambler met a man a day or so ago
who had come across lots through wood
and field-one almost writes through
flood and field" Why he did this is not
to the point His sartorial aspect was not
much to look at. yet his clothing was IN
teresttng. A city man, and particularly a
city woman, who did not care much for
rural things, would have avoided contact
with this man-would have side-stepped
him. He was literally seedy and weedy-
Sticking to his coat and trousers were the
seedS of burdocks, sanicles, cockleburs
and ragweed. TIckseed. tick trefoil and
the other little things Of the plant world
which 80 many persons vulgarly call
'beggar lice" though they are pretty In
dependent little things, clung to him.
perhaps affectionately, apparently with
determination, but certainly they clung.
of thistles. of golden rods and of milk
weeds. Several varieties of each of these
plant forms were represented.
DO you know" said a naturalist friend
of the Rambler, "how and why those
weed seeds cling to that MANI" OF course
the Rambler did not know. besides there
is no surer way of choking OF a man who
you have heard it before.
Well said the naturalist, and it is
surprising how many persons interested
in nature study one may meet around
Washington, some of those weed
seeds are holding on by hooks, some by
spines and prickles and some by plumes
and hairs. You see many of them are
merely hairs These hairs are of about
as many forms as there are varieties of
plants that bear them Prckles are only
hairs that are better developed and
uses, are still further developed along
the lines of strength and sturdiness.
You see that rosette of mullen by the
roadside, with a tall, dead, winter-black-
center? Well those woolly leaves are
covered with fine hairs. Examine a bit
of the wool from that mullen leaf. Each
OF the hairs branches in many directions
and the branches are themselves divided
The hairs of some plants are only a
pointed cell. some are long, some short,
some have a gland at the bottom, some
have knobs at the top, some lie fiat
against the plant some stand erect and
some have a starlike formation with four
points. six points or eight points In
some plants the hairs are on the stalk,
sometimes on the upper and lower sides
of the leaf and sometimes only on one
side Of the leaf. Sometimes they are on
the seed vessels and sometimes they are
on the seeds.
"A great deal of study can be put in on
this matter Of plant hairs, for on the
same species you will always find the
same kind of hairs. man who Is wise
in this branch of learning can 1dent1fy
many plants simply by examining hair
which you may hand him long after its
4hn MI mt "a
the tobacco leaf, the cabbage leaf, the
chrysanthemum, the hollyhock, the plm-
pernel, the groundsell and the SOW thistle
are very distinct or distinctive.
Nov you ask'-though the Rambler
had not asked-"why plants have hairs,
hooks, prickles and the like. have never
had a plant talk to me frankly and in
telligently about this matter, but l have
watched some plants. and have tried TO
read their sign language. In some cases
the business of the hairs on the leaves Is
to collect and hold moisture. dew or rain,
and some hairs have the junction OF AID
ing the respiration Of the Leaf some
times hair covers young buds to shield
them from harm, and when the buds open
the hairs, having done their duty, crop
away Some plants cover their Stalks
with hairs so that certain insects which
otherwise would climb up and devour
the leaves, cannot make the ascent. Some
times hairs grow at the entrance to
flower and protect the honey from in
sects which would not aid fertilization.
You also know that some hairs will
sting you At the base of the hair Of a net
tie is a reservoir of poison. 1t flows
through the hair, which is hollow, to
tiny bulb near the top. The hair pune
lures your skin. breaks off. and the poi
son flows into the wound-all, of course.
on a very small scale, but the scale is
big enough to give you a smart sense OF
irritation. The argument ] deduce from
this is that those hairs are needed by
the plant to protect it from its enemies.
Take the holly tree. for example. You
will notice that the leaves on the lower
part of the tree are much more prickly