/)/,s/'/:a'.s7().v ()/■ lurrrs Axn seeds 241 



slu)rtrii lhr()ui;h (Ir)'iicss, the)' act ii|)on the walls 



of the k\L;uinc and we sec the result in such dried 



pods as thfjse of the sweet j)ea, hrooin, and 



lahurnuni. 



The pans)- has a thrce-\-al\-ed seed-pod, and as 



it dries the cd<jes of the valves press upon the 



polished, hard-shellcd seeds and they arc sfjuirted 



out with a jerk to a distance of se\eral feet. I 



was once ijreatl)' puzzled by a strani^e, cracklinfr 



sound in my room, and after a few minutes' search 



I disco\'ered it was causer! b}' a fusillade of pans)' 



seeds striking at^ainst the sides of a small box in 



which I had placed the capsules to ri|)en. It is 



worth)' of notice that the capsule hangs down to 



protect the seed-valves from rain ; but when the 



seeds are matured the capsule rises to an upright 



position so that the)- ma)- l)e projected far and 



wide. A conspicuous example of the elastic force 



of which 1 ha\e s|)oken is seen in the British 



balsam, I iitpaticiis Xoli-iiic-tangcrc ftouch-me-not). 



When its seeds are mature, the vaKes of the 



capsule curl up in a spiral form with such force as 



to i)roject both themselves and the seeds through 



the air man)- feet from the plant dropping the 



16 



