THE WORK OF FLOWERS 



135 



distance ; and there are many others more or less Uke 

 in kind. Some have light growths of hair, serving the 

 same purpose; some have tails or wings or feathers; 

 all making it possible to rise lightly and to journey far. 

 Water lends a hand in the work, though not so 

 largely as wind. Naturally, the seeds of water-plants 



TARAXACUM OFFICINALE 



{Common Dandelion). 



are carried off by currents; and land-plants some- 

 times drop theirs into a river. Swept down towards 

 or into the ocean, they may voyage to a distant shore, 

 before finding a soil in which to root. But this can only 

 happen with those which have an outer coat hard 

 enough to keep the inside perfectly dry, from the begin- 

 ning to the end of their excursions. Cocoa-nuts floating 

 in the sea have been known to travel to far-away resting 

 places. 



