It would be worth knowing how much the devastating sheep have had to do with driving the tender plants to the shelter of the prickle-bushes.

The seeds of Calendula, Marygold, bend up like a hairy caterpillar, with their prickles bridling outwards, and may thus deter some birds or insects from preying upon them.

The land outside was a barren mass of crowded prickle-weeds and gnarled old trees.