The 



31 



II. I'Ntillati' riow- 

 ers of the Willow. 



moisture- and light, nature has provided many kinds with the means 

 for being earned to a greater or less distance. 

 This natural dispersion of the seed may occur hi 



various ways : 



123. I)i.<j>< />/// hi/ tJi>' UV'/'/s. Most of the pines 

 and lirs have their seeds furnished with a thin 

 membranous wing at one end, that enables them 

 to he home to a considerable distance by the winds. 

 Th'.; elms have a thin disc entirely around the 

 seed, and the maples have their sn ds in pairs, each 

 side being furnished with a membranous wing. In 

 the ash the seeds have cl'.-ily adherent leav< s, 

 which enable it to be carried by the winds, and in 

 the hornbeam there is a leaf-like appendage, that 

 aids iu its dispersion. In the maples, the pairs 

 of seeds, with symmetrical wings, takes a ro- 

 tary, spinning motion as they fall. The poplars 

 and willows have a downy tuft, which enables 

 them to be carried by the winds sometimes many 

 miles from the tree where they grew. 



124. The cottonwood, which belongs to the 

 poplar family, derives its name fro in this downy 



appendage, which lies abundantly scattered over 



the ground at the season when it ripens. The 



ha 1 : 1 has a heavier seed, suspended on the 



underside of a leaf-like wing, which causes it to 

 shoot oil' obliquely as it falls. In some instances, 

 the seeds falling in winter upon a crust of snow, or 

 upon the ice, may glide along before the wind a 

 great distance, and in this way the pods of the lo- 

 cust, and other heavier seeds, in their capsul- 

 without them, may occasionally be scattered. 



Of the Agency of Aiiuiml* in tltr J'lnntiny of Tree 

 Seeds. 



125. We often find trees, especially such as bear 



edible nuts, or stone fruits surrounded by a pulp, growing iu situa- 

 tions where the seeds have been dropped by birds or animals. In fact, 

 the squirrels may be called the most industrious and successful 



15. Pine Seeds. 



16. Seedofthr Kim. 



17. Seed of the 

 Birch. 



