BALLOONING SEEDS 



171 



it meets in its travels, some of which are 

 even more beautiful in design. 



Every cobweb will show us a few of 

 them, and I have seen a single autumn 

 gossamer that offered an assort- ; 



ment of eight distinct forms, 

 mostly from the great order of 

 Composite , the very children of 

 the breeze. The thistle is 

 a familiar example. . 



. m 



>'; . ' '/' 



T i . 



* 



A long chapter might 

 be written on the pecu- 

 liarities and habits of winged 

 seeds, the evident intention 

 expressed in their special designs 

 both in their wings and bodies, and 

 their significance to the botanist, but 

 I shall have served my present pur- 

 pose if I awaken the interest of the reader 

 by briefly calling attention to a few of 



