ig8 NATURAL SCIENCE. March, 



(the last three wind-dispersed). In the last case the greater part of 

 the plants are wind-dispersed, as the tree is not well suited for birds 

 to roost in, and the stem is much exposed to the breeze. 



The greater part of this tree-flora is, it will be seen, composed of 

 bird-disseminated plants, the remainder being wind-drifted, with the 

 exception of the herbaceous Phyllanthi. I cannot suggest how these 

 plants succeeded in getting so high up the trees. 



But besides roosting upon trees, birds have a habit of frequenting 

 bushes, and often drop seeds round the buttressed trunks of big trees. 

 These spring up and form thickets ; more birds come and bring 

 more seeds, and so, eventually, woods may be formed. I have 

 examined several instances of this in the Botanic Garden, which are 

 very instructive. 



A very lofty tree of a new species of Terminated allied to T.pyrifolia 

 has a big climber, Spatholobus gyvocavpus, at its base, which climbs 

 to the top of it. Birds frequently roost there, and have produced 

 a veritable thicket of shrubs between the stem of the climber 

 and the buttresses of the tree, including : Flacourtia cataphracta, a 

 tree with a dark red berry, very popular with birds ; Erycibe Pvincei, 

 berries dark red; Passiflova laurifolia, fruit eaten by birds and bats; 

 Pithecolobium lobatum, seed carried about by squirrels, which very 

 commonly frequent this tree ; Fibranvea tinctoria, a large yellow drupe 

 usually carried about by civets, but also, I believe, eaten by birds ; 

 Clerodendron disparifolium, berry black, with a red calyx, eaten by 

 birds ; Scleropyrum Maingayi, a shrub with green fruits (I cannot 

 guess how this got here ; it is a rare plant and I do not know of its 

 occurrence within ten miles) ; Agrostistachys longifolia, a shrub, the 

 seeds of which are dispersed by explosion of the capsule. 



A large Shorea leprosula close by offers shelter to : Pithecolobium 

 lobatum; Passiflova laurifolia; Cupania pallidula, a tree with red capsules 

 and black seeds, with a yellow aril much sought by birds. 



A large bush of Bougainvillea spectabilis, a favourite resort of birds, 

 contains : Embelia Ribes, with red drupes very popular with birds ; Cissus 

 sagittifolia, grapes black ; Clidemia hirta. 



A large much-branched Ficus standing alone on the lawn bore 

 between its stems many plants, some of which are now fairly large 

 trees, namely : Eugenia Jambos and E. grandis ; Calophyllum Inophyllum, 

 these are usually disseminated by fruit bats, which roost in the tree; 

 Flacoiirtia calaphracta, several plants ; Cinnamomum iners ; Quassia amara ; 

 Arthrophyllum diver sifolium, fruit green ; Rhodamnia trinervia; Ilex cymosa; 

 Olea maritima ; Gomphia sumatrana, drupes black on a red disc ; Cupania 

 pallidula; Lantana Camara; and Caryota mitts', of the last two the drupes 

 are black and eaten by birds. Indeed, all these are commonly eaten 

 by birds, their fruit being drupaceous or baccate, except Cupania, 

 Thunbergia laurifolia, and Ruellia rcpens, the two latter having explosive 

 capsules. The last is common in the surrounding grass. 



These are examples of the results of dissemination by birds, and 



