232 GLIMPSES INTO PLANT-LIFE 



adds much to the picturesque beauty of the tree. 

 The equinoctial gales separate the seeds from 

 their stalks, and awa)' the)' go far and wide, borne 

 up b}' the delicate membrane attached to the seed 

 ^\'hich catches the wind, and is carried by it to a 

 great distance from the parent tree. In the same 

 wa}' the winged ke}'s of the ash, being ver)' light, 

 are borne b}' the autumn gales to strange habitats, 

 so that the tree may often be found growing on 



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Xnt::i-al Size. Mailnificd. 



lUKCH SKKI). 



church towers, in ruins, and on crags inaccessible 

 to man. 



The pinus tribe of trees have seeds with wings 

 lightl)' twisted so that, if we hold up a dr)- fir- 

 cone, the seeds descend from it with a whirling 

 motion like small shuttlecocks. 



The winds which blow strongly in mountainous 

 places carry these seeds before them, and are thus 

 ever renewing the pine-forests by sowing the pro- 



