LIFE-HISTORY OF THE HERB ROBERT 125 
We should notice that the body of the seed apart 
from the threads bears a certain resemblance to a 
small insect, either dead or asleep, and this may be of 
some importance in deciding its ultimate fate. 
I puzzled for some time over the threads and what 
their meaning might be, although the suggestion was 
obvious enough in a broad way: they are so strong 
that we can take the seed up by them and shake it 
vigorously without breaking them, and I am quite 
sure that it is by them that the seeds cling to all sorts 
of things and so get carried about and dispersed. 
If a Field Mouse or a Shrew should run over one 
of them, all the chances are in favour of their catching 
in the fur and of the seed being carried on its journey 
by the creature, who of course would not be conscious 
of what he was doing. 
But feathered as well as furry animals are to be 
found in our hedgerows, and the Tree Creeper is one 
of the prettiest. He feeds upon small insects, and may 
be seen creeping up a tree from the base to the top, 
looking for food: then he flies to the ground and 
makes his way through the herbage to another tree, 
and goes through the same performance again and 
again. If he comes across one of the seeds he may 
very well mistake it for an insect, and on realizing 
that it is nothing of the sort and dropping it, it is 
quite likely that the threads will come into play ; and 
this, of course, is also possible if he passes over it 
without noticing it at all. 
Another promising bird is the Jenny Wren, which 
as it hunts about the hedges and shrubberies is as 
much like a mouse as a bird in its movements. The 
staple food of both these birds is insects, but sup- 
posing a seed-eating bird like a Sparrow comes across 
