98 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



having its own coatings ; to which, however, 

 those of the fruit may adhere. By a fruit, 

 in science, we mean tlie ripened pistil, with 

 all adiiering portions and Ihe contained 

 seed. Nature's object is to disperse this 

 seed, not always widely, but at a distance 

 more or less remote from the parent. Thus 

 the future offsprings have a show in past- 

 ures new and under more favorable con- 

 ditions, as the parents may have exhausted 

 the original soil. To bring about this re- 

 sult manv devices are resorted to. One of 

 the commonest is a tuft of hairs, simple or 

 plumose, such as we know in the thistle and 

 d:indelion, where it is attached to the fruit, 

 or in the milkweeds and willow-lierbs(epil- 

 boium), where the seed itself is so endowed, 

 we rarely, if ever, find both pod and seed so 

 furnished. In other words, there is no 

 waste of devices. If one gathers the float- 

 ing thistle-down, in many cases he will per- 

 ceive tliat the parachute has dropped its 

 precious burden near home. How beauti- 

 ful are these featherly baloons, wafted 

 about by the slightest breeze. 



Among trees it is more common to find 

 winged seeds or fruits, as the case may be. 

 Thus, the maples, elms, and ashes, all have 

 such. In the lime or linden the whole clus- 

 ter of berries is borne ofii' attached to the 

 bract. Notice as these fall from the tree 

 the rotatory movement, giving the body a 

 divergent propulsion. In the ash the wing 

 twists on its axis, and forms a sort of pro- 

 peller fluke. Hooks and grapnels are fa- 

 vorite mechanical contrivances. The heads 

 of burdock are covered with retrorse hooks. 

 Eaxuj one knows how tiie little fruits of the 

 bed straw (Galium) attach themselves to 

 garments. So do the troublesome beggars 

 ticks and the jointed pods of desmodium, 

 and many fruits of the forget-me-not fam- 

 ily. The armature of some foreign fruit 

 is very formidable ; he must pity the unwill- 

 ing agents of dispersion. 



Man}' seeds are expelled fi'om the fruits 

 by curious mechanical contrivances. The 

 witch-hazel shoots off" its seeds as from a 

 pistol. Some of the violets and the related 

 ionidium throw them many feet. The 

 squirting cucumber ejects them in a jet of 

 liquid. The wild gemnium throws them at 

 maturity by the tension of a spring. The 

 blossoms turn the pod inside out with a jerk. 

 There are seeds that at a particular time, 

 say when the}' reach moist soil, release from 

 their suiface loniz flexil)le hairs which bind 



them to the earth. The seed of mistletoe 

 is viscid, and causes it to adhere to the sur- 

 face of trees, its future medium of growth. 



We must not forget that many fruits are 

 covered with a luscious pulp, at maturity 

 colored, and attractive to birds and other 

 animals. The continued seed is either re- 

 jected or undigested. Darwin tells us that 

 wading birds carry many seeds attached to 

 the mud on their feet. So the migrations 

 of animals and the operations of man tend 

 to scatter |)lants over the ear.h. They pass 

 on attached to fleece or feathers, to cotton 

 buds, to wool, and other fabrics. We can- 

 not wholly dissociate ourselves from these 

 hnmble attendants. The}' follow us every- 

 where, for good or for evil. Sometimes 

 they spring up as useful plants or show}' 

 flowers. Quite as often they disturb us as 

 pestilent weeds. 



In an article of this length it is quite im- 

 possible to present more than the barest 

 outline of this subject. We have long been 

 amassing notes from personal observation 

 and from careful reading. The more we 

 study, the more astonished and delighted do 

 we become. There is absolutely no end to 

 the beautiful adaption exhibited. It is but 

 tantalizing to ofljer the public this mere 

 luncheon when the feast, free to all, is so 

 bounteous. w. w. b. 



/ ^ 



A REMARKABLY fine Specimen of ruddy 

 duck — a male — in perfect plumage, with 

 the neck and upper parts brownish red, 

 lower parts silvery, sliaded with dusky, sides 

 of the head white, crown black, bill a very 

 striking blue, has just come into my hands. 

 It was taken in this locality and is regarded 

 as a rare bird, being the first that has come 

 under my manipulation in this condition of 

 plumage. ^ Thos. W. Fraine..' ' 



i . An oriole built a nest in a small apple 

 I tree near my house. I watched the building, 

 j and soon discovered there one egg. A 

 week later there was onh' one egg and no 

 female appeared for several days. I then 

 took the egg. The male still lingered about 

 the tree, and three weeks later a female 

 came and laid a set of eggs, and reared her 

 brood late in the summer. I surmise a cat 

 had killed the first female. I watched the 

 constancy of the male through his month of 

 loneliness with much interest. 



.billN X. Cl.AI.'K. 



