314 



FREAKS OF PLANT LIFE. 



ground, and giving him such a pair of black eyes 

 that he was not seen on parade for a fortnight." ^ 

 It has been suggested that, in such trees as the 



Brazil nut, which is pro- 

 duced in forests swarm- 

 ing with monkeys, that 

 the closed capsule is a 

 protection, and that if 

 the capsule had been 

 an open one, not only 

 would Brazil nuts make 

 less appearance in the 

 markets of the world, 

 but the trees would run 

 a risk of extirpation^ 

 We must confess that 

 we are not prepared to 

 accept this as a sufficient 

 reason for the closed 



F/g.es.-knnonlS^\\{Courou- capsule. Monkey pots 

 pita guiaiiensis). are open capsules, and 



the trees are not yet ex- 

 tirpated ; yet monkeys are as delighted with the 

 " sapucaia " as with the " Brazil nut." In such a 

 case speculation does little good, when it is simply 

 an excuse for one's own ig-norance. 



1 Kingsley's "At Last," p. 275. 



