446 МВ. Т. А. DYMES ON THE 
it might have the effect of deterring the birds too, so I had to choose favour- 
able places and clear away the molluses first; by this means I managed 
all right, and the masses remained undisturbed until, when the strips had 
turned brown, I removed them myself, after some of them had been there 
for a week ; they had become very fragile and some of them broke at a 
touch, despite my efforts and desire to keep them whole. Thus, ignoring the 
first three masses, which were spoilt by the snails, the remaining fifteen were 
left severely alone by the birds during the whole period of observation. 
Summary of Section 11. 
In the face of this evidence, and in view of the fact that over a period of 
ten years or more I have never seen a seedling more than about a yard away 
from the parent plants, one can hardly maintain that the larva-like appear- 
ance is an adaptation or has any real dispersal value as far as my birds are 
concerned, 
On the other hand, I admit that I am still suspicious, for it is hard to 
account for the disappearances except by their agency, and I am inclined 
to think that they may be deceived at first but soon learn their lesson. 
[n my own garden and neighbourhood the seed-masses must be unfamiliar 
objects, if not altogether unknown to the birds ; there are such things as 
young and inexperienced birds and birds of ап inquisitive nature, and, as a 
matter of fact, the only masses. that disappeared at all, while these obser- 
vations were in progress, vanished during the first two days, presumably 
before the birds had had time to get used to them. The curious little point 
that, whatever the agent, the mass was in each case taken from the end of a 
row lends support to the view that cautious curiosity, soon satisfied, may have 
had something to do with it: a glance at the diagram will show that it was 
not only from the end of the row, but, оп both nights, from the lowest or 
outside row. Again, as I have already mentioned, the fall from the follicle 
does not break the mass, whereas those that I found some years ago were 
smashed, and this suggests a fall from a height greater than 25 inches. 
On the whole, while denying any adaptational mimiery on the evidence 
adduced by me, one may, Г think, admit the possibility of occasional dispersal 
by birds during the first few days of the fruiting-period, 
Section TII. Anrs. 
There remains the question of the part played by ants. In this matter I 
was unfortunately at a disadvantage in two ways—my supply of fresh masses 
did not hold out long enough and the fine weather broke up, rain falling on 
some days in torrents. The little I was able to do, however, interested me- 
very greatly. 
