DISSEMINATION AND LEAF REFLEXION OF yuccA. 99 
would be fatal to dissemination by birds of this size and 
nature. 
Numerous fruiting plants of alotfolia have been exam- 
ined and, in almost every case, some or all of the fruits 
were found to be somewhat eaten. Sometimes only a 
small portion of the pulp will be eaten, but again a large 
part of the fruit will have been removed. 
The seeds of aloifolia are comparatively thick, being 
usually from 2 to 2.5 millimeters, and have a narrow 
two-edged rim (Plate 47, fig. 4). They are blackish, 
nearly the color of the pulp, and lie imbedded in this 
tender substance but a short distance below the surface. 
The birds in picking off portions of the pulp, which is 
apparently a delicate morsel for them, soon come to the 
seeds. These they evidently do not want, but in their 
greediness they cannot avoid swallowing some of them. 
The birds, while usually quite shy, may yet with a little 
perseverance be observed in all the details of feeding. As 
portions of the pulp are deftly picked off, frequently a 
seed will adhere to the bill by the surrounding sticky pulp. 
Many times I have seen the birds throw off these seeds by 
a sidewise jerk of the head as a chicken does in trying to 
remove dirt or hair from its bill. This results in throwing 
the seeds to a considerable distance, frequently from 1 to 
2 meters. Many of the seeds taken with the pulp are 
apparently swallowed. All of the seeds removed from 
the fruits through the agency of the birds are not thrown 
to a distance in this manner or swallowed, but many of 
them are merely loosened and drop down into the compact 
rosette of erect leaves below. These either adhere to the 
leaves by the sticky pulp surrounding them or, if dry, roll 
down the leaves to the stem where they are effectually 
lodged. All over the upper portion of the plant in this 
stage, portions of the pulp are scattered, which were acci- 
dentally thrown off with the seeds or dropped by the birds 
in eating. These portions frequently contain seeds. 
While the fruits of aloifolia are in this bird-disseminat- 
