30 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



violet, rattlebox, jewel weed, wild gera- 

 nium and others. The "squirting cu- 

 cumber" of Europe ejects a thin stream 

 of water with sufficient force to carry 

 the seed to a considerable distance. 



Other seeds, like the cocoanut, are 

 boats, and float for long distances to 

 become the originators of new colonies. 

 Some seeds are expert swimmers, be- 

 ing provided with numerous cilia, with 

 which they make good progress 

 through the water. To be sure the 

 action is mechanical, but the result is 

 the same. 



The seeds of the chestnut, hickory, 

 beech, walnut, hazel, oak and butter- 

 nut are all planted by squirrels and 

 other animals, w'hile innumerable small 

 seeds stored by mice are disseminated. 



The rose of Jericho, the Russian this- 

 tle, the tumbleweed and the tumble 

 mustard are travelers, shaking loose 

 their seeds as they roll along the 

 ground before the wind. The castor-oil 

 bean, which in appearance resembles 

 a beetle, gets snapped up by birds but, 

 being indigestible, is cast out at some 

 distant place. 



Still other seeds take long rides in 

 sleeping cars. This is chiefly true of 

 those that are surrounded by a juicy 

 pulp, like the raspberry, strawberry, 

 partridge berry, Indian cucumber, 

 checkerberry, mulberry and barberry. 

 The stomach of a bird makes a com- 

 fortable sleeping car. After the juicy 

 pulp has been digested, the seed is void- 

 ed in new territory. 



The linden produces a wonderful 

 parachute, a broad bract, hanging from 

 the middle of which is the fruit. 

 Caught by the wind, these fruits go 

 sailing afar, whirling dizzily, per- 

 chance to fall to earth on favorable soil. 



Then there is the type of seed men- 

 tioned by Mr. Dove in his article — the 

 dingers, covered with a sticky sub- 

 stance. The mistletoe is an example. 



An evening spent in the study of 

 fruits and seeds thus becomes a pursuit 

 of absorbing interest. Some of the 

 problems to be considered at such ? 

 meeting may be : "Why are some fruits 

 brightly colored?" "Why are some 

 sweet and juicy?" "Why do seeds of 

 juicy fruits have hard, indigestible 

 coats?" "Why do seeds travel?" "Why 

 do many plants produce so many 

 seeds?" "Why are the edible berries 

 usually found on low trees and shrubs 

 instead of tall trees?" "Why are wing- 



ed seeds found on tall trees?" "Why 

 are hooked seeds found on low plants?" 

 The wonderful cooperation between 

 plants and insects, and among birds, 

 quadrupeds and plants should also be 

 noted and discussed. 



The marvelous methods of seed dis- 

 tribution afford food for thought and 

 material for several evenings of fasci- 

 nating study. 



Four Square Feet of Jungle Debris. 



The New York Zoological Society 

 has published, a rather remarkable 

 book by C. William Beebe, in which 

 he tells of his observations on the birds 

 of Para, Brazil. But what should es- 

 pecially attract the attention of AA 

 workers is a chapter on his studies in 

 four square feet of jungle debris. What 

 he discovered in that limited area is 

 perfectly astonishing. He has shown 

 us what may be obtained from little 

 material. 



I belie\'e his studies in the jungle of 

 Brazil might be repeated, pari passu, in 

 any forest or grove in the United 

 States. In commendable contrast with 

 the craze for studying big animals, Mr. 

 Beebe has shown what interesting ob- 

 jects may be found in a little space on 

 the face of good old Mother Earth. It 

 has been said that "it is a wise natural- 

 ist that knows his own parish." Mr. 

 Beebe has proved that there is a world 

 of wonders in a little debris. The spirit 

 of his work is shown by the following 

 quotations : 



"Armed with forceps, lens and vials, 

 I began my search. For days I had 

 gazed upward ; now my scrutiny was 

 directed downward. With binoculars 

 I had scanned without ceasing the my- 

 riad leaves of a great tree. Now with 

 lens or naked eye I sought for sig-ns of 

 life on an infinitely smaller scale ; the 

 metropolis of a fallen leaf, the inhabi- 

 tants of a dead twig. When I studied 

 the treetop life in the lofty jungle I 

 was in a land Brobdingnag ; now I was 

 verily a Gulliver in Lilliput. The cos- 

 mos in my war bag teemed with mys- 

 tery as deep and as inviting as any in 

 the jungle itself. 



"Some of the half decayed leaves 

 were very beautiful. Vistas of pale, 

 bleached fungus lace trailed over the 



