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2. If the seeds all fell near to the parent plant, the young plants 

 would be so crowded that many or all of them would starve, — ex- 

 actly as if a family of a dozen children were compelled to sleep in a 

 bed large enough for one, and to Hve upon the bread and butter 

 which would be sufficient to nourish just one individual. 



3. As plants are stationary and cannot moA'e about and select 

 favorable positions in which to plant their seeds, the seeds must 

 find such positions for themselves, and in order to do this nature 

 provides that they must travel. 



4. As a seed has to take its chances, so to speak, of being dropped 

 in a favorable situation for growth, it is perfectly evident that where 

 one succeeds hundreds are likely to fail. Therefore, the plant must 

 develop many more seeds than would be necessary if it could walk 

 about like an animal and take care of its yoimg. In this connection, 

 it should be noted that some animals, as the moths and butterflies, 

 the toads, frogs and fishes, and many sea animals, lay very many 

 eggs, letting the young take care of themselves. Whenever the 

 young are thus left to care for themselves, many are destroyed and 

 but very few survive, and therefore many eggs are necessary. 



In studying the methods of seed distribution the following classi- 

 fication is usually followed: 



Poppy Chestnuts 



Seeds shaken out by the wind. Lily Beechnuts 



Seeds from cones 



Seeds that are carried by do-^Tiy or fluffy 

 appendages. ("Balloons.") 



Seeds with wings. 



Seeds snapped out of their receptacles. 



Witch hazel Jewel weed 



Violet Garden balsam 



Oxalis or wood sorrel 



Seeds blown over bare fields or 

 snowy fields. 



Locust Wild carrot 



Many grasses Honey locust pod 

 Weeds whose stalks stand above the snow 



Seeds carried by birds. 



Blackberry Virginia Creeper 



Raspberry Cherries 



Poison Ivy Juneberrj^ or shad-bush 



