The Scott is Ji Naturalist. 259 



resemblances in fruits of widely distinct species and of differ- 

 ences in those of closely allied species will be noted in the 

 sequel. 



It is unnecessary to dwell long on the great advantage that 

 plants derive from wide distribution of seeds. When widely 

 distributed there is, it is evident, a greater likelihood of some 

 being brought into favourable conditions for healthy and vigor- 

 ous growth. On the other hand, however favourable the condi- 

 tions may have been to the parent plant, were all the seeds to 

 fall close around it and to germinate there, it is evident that 

 there could not be room for the healthy growth of the progeny. 

 It is well known that the same crops cannot be grown for 

 several years continuously without impoverishing the soil, by 

 the removal of certain ingredients that must be artificially 

 replaced to keep that soil fertile. The same holds good with 

 wild plants ; hence advantage ensues from the young plants 

 not occupying the same spot as the parent. Moreover, as they 

 necessarily take the same substances from the soil, the struggle 

 for existence is more severe between plants of the same species 

 than between plants of different species, and this holds still 

 more with the offspring of the same plant ; hence it is of great 

 advantage to the young plants to be scattered to some distance 

 from one another. 



After these preliminary remarks, I shall now go on to notice 

 some of the various adaptations that favour the dispersion of 

 seeds. These adaptations are frequently far more striking in 

 exotic species than in any of our native plants, but I shall 

 almost restrict myself to the latter, in the hope that it may 

 excite the attention of some of you to what may be verified 

 at home, and may induce you to inquiry into a subject that 

 has been comparatively neglected among us. 

 The agents in the dispersion of seeds are : — 



1. Wind, in many species. 



2. Water, in a few. 



3. Animals, almost solely quadrupeds or birds. They con- 



vey seeds, or one-seeded fruits, from place to place 

 (a) attached to hair or feathers by means of hooks, 

 prickles, or sticky surfaces ; (b) they swallow the fruits, 

 and the seeds are discharged uninjured from the intes- 

 tines almost always at some distance from the place 

 where they were swallowed. The seeds of plants grow- 

 ing in shallow water and sinking into mud are often 



