SELF-ANCHORAGE 85 
better, for provision is made for anchorage as well, and 
the Storksbill, a near relative of the wild Geraniums 
or Cranesbills, is an example that 
lends itself to comparatively easy 
observation. I recommend the 
reader to collect some of the 
fruitlets and to drop them dry into 
some wet herbage in order to 
witness the performance. The 
mechanism has been described in 
a good many books, and with the 
help of the illustration and ex- 
periment he will readily under- 
stand the use of the long side 
bristles, the sharp point, and the 
stiff hairs which give the seed-end 
the appearance of a miniature 
brush. 
It is clear, then, that the 
Storksbill anchors its seeds before 
germination commences, and that 
seems to be the common-sense 
procedure; nevertheless, with very 
little trouble we can observe a 
remarkably neat contrivance by 
which anchorage is effected by 
the seedling itself in the process 
of germination. 
In our own Flora we have 
the Small Scabious, but another 
species which is commonly grown 
in our gardens, where it is some- 

Fic. 30.—Seed of the 
Garden Scabious. x 3. 

Fic. 31.—Seed of the 
Garden Scabious ger- 
minating. xX 4. 
times known as Pincushions, is more convenient for 
our purpose because the seeds are so much bigger. 
