CHAPTER XIV. 



THE FRUIT DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDS BY WIND BY 

 ANIMALS WINGED SEEDS AND FRUITS BURRS 

 EDIBLE FRUITS. 



IN the last chapter the development of the seed has 

 been traced, and in one of the earlier chapters the ger- 

 mination of seeds has been described. But there is a gap 

 in the natural history of the plant between the ripe seed 

 contained in the ovary of the mother plant, and the seed 

 germinating in the earth. It is the object of the present 

 chapter to fill up this gap, by giving an account of the 

 methods by which seeds are sown in nature; while the 

 examples on which these methods are studied will also 

 illustrate the morphology of the fruit. 



When it is considered that a plant is a stationary 

 object, it is obvious that the seeds must be in some way 

 or other supplied with the means of locomotion, otherwise 

 it would be impossible that the seedlings should hit on 

 suitable habitats. The means by which pollen travels 

 have been described, and the distribution of seeds is an 

 equally important section of the natural history of plants. 



