THE DISl'EKSION «>1 SEKDS AND Sl'ORKS. 115 



to seek their food upon the ground, and capable of 

 swallowing considerable portions of the fruit -pulp. 

 Green may possibly present sufficient contrast to 

 the soil to attract the attention of an animal 

 browsing in the neighbourhood. But a bird from a 

 distance will not readily perceive a green-coloured 

 fruit lying on the ground. Apples and other green 

 fruits, after they have fallen to the earth, are much 

 more likely to be devoured by some quadruped than 

 by a bird. This consideration, together with the 

 purging character of the fruits of Cucurbitaceae, 

 perhaps warrants our regarding them as adapted 

 for dispersion by vegetable-feeding quadrupeds. It 

 should be borne in mind, however, that the pumpkin, 

 melon, and other overgrown berries of this descrip- 

 tion, have in all probability been greatly modified 

 through long cultivation ; and although we cannot 

 fully endorse the opinion of Hildebrand that by 

 these induced changes the fruits in question have 

 become entirely unfitted for dispersion, we are dis- 

 posed to accept this explanation in so far as it 

 relates to the green or pale coloured varieties of 

 grape, gooseberry, and other garden fruits before 

 referred to. 



Here, also, we may call attention to the frequency 

 with which the larger fungi present the appearance 

 of having been gnawed. The edible character of 

 many plants of this order, and the fact that so 

 many species occur chiefly, if not exclusively, on the 

 dung of particular animals, seem to confirm the 

 opinion of Berkeley and others that the spores of 

 the mushroom and several Agarics, as well as those 

 of certain Moulds, require to pass through the 

 stomach of some graminivorous or omnivorous 

 animal to facilitate their germination. Problems 

 are here suggested in connection Avith the dispersion 

 of fungi which well deserve the consideration of 

 mycologists. 



Undoubted evidence of adaptation to animal 

 transport is seen in those fruits or seeds which are 



