HIDE AND SEEK, 



97 



All the above-mentioned fruits, whose attractive 

 pulpy exteriors induce birds greedily to swallow 

 them, possess hard stones, which resist the action cff 

 digestion in the bird's stomach, and effectually pro- 

 tect the kernel or seed inside from any chemical 



Fig. 43. — Scarlet Bearberry 

 {^A rctostaphylos uva-ursii). 



Fig. 44. — Crowberry 

 {Efnpetrunt nigruni). 



decomposition. Thus, after birds have made a 

 hearty meal off the particular kinds of berries they 

 are fond of, they fly away perhaps to great distances, 

 and scatter the undigested stones and seeds in their 

 droppings. Such seeds cannot fly and disperse 

 themselves, like those of the thistle, but they cun- 



H 



