COLONIZATION 329 



hairy pappus, which serves as a species of parachute. 

 This structure is well exampled in the fruit of the Dande- 

 lion or that of the Coltsfoot. The pappus-crowned 

 seeds may be carried long distances even by a gentle 

 breeze. They travel with a whirling motion, seed down- 

 wards; consequently they come to earth in a position 

 most advantageous to germination. The seed of the 

 Dandelion is grooved like an augur. Aided by its 

 parachute-like appendage, it descends^ to earth with a 

 spinning motion, and is thus enabled to make a slight 

 boring for itself in which it may find anchorage and 

 home. The smooth, rounded seeds of Peas and Beans, 

 after they have been expelled from the pods, may roll 

 before the wind over any level surface. The seeds of 

 Orchids are exceedingly small — almost like dust — and 

 are light enough to be caught and dispersed by wind. 

 The Poppies produce capsules with flat tops, and there is 

 a series of openings just below the top. They yield a 

 large number of small hard seeds, which become loose 

 in the capsule when ripe, and are shaken out of the 

 openings by the wind. The Poppy may be likened to 

 a pepper-pot, with openings in a row below the margin 

 of the lid. 



As we have seen (p. 325), Mistletoe seeds are dispersed 

 by birds; they are not singular in this respect. Suc- 

 culent fruits attract hungry birds, and are usually con- 

 spicuously displayed and attractively coloured. We 

 know something of the depredations of the blackbird on 

 the Cherry crop. But the bird eats only the flesh of the 

 fruit, discarding the seed, which is enclosed in a hard, 

 indigestible stone. The fruits of the Rose, Hawthorn, 

 Holly, Bramble, and other plants, are beloved of birds, 



42 



