132 



SAGACITY AND MORALITY OF PLANTS. 



most ancient of true flowering plants. The wide 

 distribution and geological antiquity of species of 



plants distinguish- 

 ed by the abund- 

 ance of protective 

 secretions should 

 not be overlooked 

 by the botanist. 



It is note- 

 worthy that, in 

 nearly all the 

 Grasses, the largest 

 deposits of silica 

 take place in the 

 chaffy glumes 

 which protect both 

 the flowers and 

 the seeds. These 

 organs, the equivalents of the beautifully coloured 

 floral segments of the Tulip and the Lily, have a 

 practical and utilitarian duty to perform. Hence 

 their absence of beauty and nutrition is in their 

 favour. In some cereals these scales adhere quite 

 close to the seed-corn, as in Oats ; in others they 

 terminate in formidable awns, charged with silica, 

 as in the bearded Barley. In every instance they 

 are protective to seeds known by all animals to 

 be rich in nourishment. Occasionally these dry 

 chaff scales, faithfully adherent to their charge even 



Fig. 52. — Glumes and awns of Wall Barley. 



