16 ELEMENTARY FORESTRY. 



The Fruit, botanically defined, is the seed-containing area 

 derived from a single flower. As used in nufsery practice the 

 term is generally applied to seeds having a fleshy covering or 

 an adjoining fleshy part. 



The Seed, botanically defined, is the ripened ovule, but as 

 the term is used in nursery practice it often includes the ovary 

 and other parts that may be attached to it. What is commonly 

 called the seed of Maple, Ash, Elm, Walnut and Basswood is 

 really the fruit. 



Distribution of Seeds. The seeds of plants are distributed 

 in various ways, the most common of which are (i) t>y means 

 of floats or wings which buoy the seeds up in the air or water, 

 and (2) by animals. The seeds of Ash, Arborvitae, Boxelder, 

 Catalpa, Elm, Maple, Pine and Spruce have wings which allow 

 them to be blown great distances by the wind, especially when 

 they break loose from the upper branches of high trees during 

 severe winds. The seeds of the Honey Locust are not shed 

 from the pod until after it has fallen, and as the pod is ten 

 inches or more long and spirally twisted it may be blown long 

 distances on level ground or snow crust. The seeds of the pop- 

 lars and willows have a cottony float attachment which buoys 

 them up in the air. In the case of the Basswood, the parachute- 

 like bract attached to the seed cluster aids in spreading the seeds 

 by carrying them through the air or along the snow crust. The 

 seeds of Mountain Ash, Wild Black Cherry, Hawthorn and oth- 

 ers are largely distributed by wild animals which eat the fruit 

 and allow the seeds to pass through the alimentary canal unin- 

 jured or carry off the fruit and spit out the seeds. Many seeds 

 or seed vessels have bur-like or sticky coats by which they 

 adhere to animals and are thus carried considerable distances. 

 Very often bodies of water aid in the distribution of seeds, since 

 all that are spread by the agency of the wind and most of those 

 that have fleshy coverings will float on the surface of the water 

 and may in this way be scattered. 



Shapes of Trees. Different species of trees naturally 

 develop different shapes. Some, like Spruces, Tamarack and 

 Balsam, have a decided tendency to form a strong stem and to 

 take on a conical form in preference to the development of a 

 crown or head; while others, like the Basswood, Oaks, Maples 

 and Boxelder, develop their crown in preference to their stem. 



