122 THE NATURE-STUDY OF PLANTS 
animal world and the wind, with a little occasional 
help from rain-runnels, especially on sloping ground, 
but the Herb Robert starts in a totally different way ; 
it seems to have a wholesome belief in muscular 
Christianity, for it begins with what one might almost 
call kicking its youngsters out of house and home. 
To see exactly what happens requires a little 
patience, but if we choose a sunny morning and select 
a fruit with its sepals spread out we probably shall 
not have to wait long, especially if the sun be upon it. 
At first there is a distinct suggestion of moisture 
which very soon disappears, and if we look carefully 
we shall see that the little swollen knobs at the base, 
containing one seed apiece, are distinctly hairy. 
These hairs, unlike those upon most parts of the 
plant, are not glandular. I think they merely help 
to keep the precious seed cosy and warm while it is 
maturing, and after it is ripe they soon dry up and 
fall or get knocked off. 
Now, while we have been noticing these things, 
changes have been going on in the fruit under our 
very eyes which probably will have escaped our 
attention, and presently we shall be startled by 
hearing a little click, followed by the sudden and total 
disappearance of one of the knobs which I will call 
the seeds, although as a matter of fact the seed itself 
is inside. 
Whether this has happened or not at the moment 
it very soon will, and this is how it comes about. 
The illustration shows us the fruit cut lengthways, 
all the seeds have disappeared except one, and that is 
on the point of following its four brothers. 
As the fruit dries the bill gradually loosens into 
five strips of elastic tissue arranged around a central 
